City of the Sun, is the first book from Juliana Maio, an Egyptian ex-pat who grew up in Paris and has lived in California since college. Her story is part history of Jewish exile, internecine rivalry within Cairo's pre-WWll Jewish community as well as the political and military machinations of Egypt, Great Britain and the US. All the while a cat and mouse game of Spy vs. Spy goes on. A lot of material for a first time author even with one with the Bona Fides of Ms. Maio. Intriguing plot, engaging femme fatale and enough real life characters to hold our interests. My only complaint is that she relies a bit too much on somewhat precious dialog cliches presumably to set the action in the right time period. It didn't quite strike a strong chord with me, but I can see the appeal to history buffs, WWll aficionados, and people trying to understand some of the roots of today's Mideast political problems.

Life is usually messy. We may have problems at work, at home, with family or the plumbing. Books don't often involve the reader in the multiple problems of its characters. "Bitter River" manages to do it well. Belfa Elkins, divorced mother and Prosecuting Attorney, is a mess. A younger lover, a murder that strikes close to home, a mysterious stranger... You get the picture. Julia Keller pulls it off. The disparate characters get enough time to develop so that we care and the denouement works. I loved the fact that the setting was hardscrabble West Virginia, the heroine was a mess and though life remains chaotic, we wouldn't want any other way.