cover image Night Falls on Damascus

Night Falls on Damascus

Frederick Highland, . . St. Martin's Minotaur/Dunne, $23.95 (259pp) ISBN 978-0-312-33789-6

Set in 1930s French-occupied Syria, Highland's engrossing third novel (after 2003's Ghost Eater ) centers on the efforts of Nikolai Faroun, "chief of the Damascus Prefecture," to solve the murder of Vera Tamiri, a beautiful, modern woman from a prominent Damascus family. That a jealous lover is the culprit is only the most obvious explanation, and Faroun suspects more complicated motives behind the demise of a philanthropic woman working for social change in a politically volatile city. His inquiries disturb the unwritten rules and double standards—especially regarding women—of the many closed societies uneasily coexisting in Damascus. Born to a Maronite Christian father from Beirut and a Russian mother, Faroun is an unusual protagonist. While some of the murky intrigue is hard to keep track of, it adds to the sense of mystery. (Dec.)