City of the Sun
"The many historical  figures lend authenticity, but it is Connolly and Levi's romantic  entanglement that drives this satisfying exploration of a key time in  western and Middle Eastern relations." --Publishers Weekly"...A strong historical thriller that uses real persona and events to  anchor a powerful storyline. Readers will feel they are in 1941  Cairo...  The romantic subplot adds hope and passion in the midst of  strife. However, readers will relish the profound look at the early days  of the Middle East dispute (interwoven into a superb drama) that still  haunts the region and world decades after the end of WWII."- Midwest  Book Review.“[An] entertaining, informative, and sometimes heartbreaking  novel.”- Jewish Book Council, Book Review "Romance  and characters' personal stories are as important as a political plot,  which touches on the fate of the post-WW II world, in this thriller that  holds readers' attention to the very end. Maio's research is excellent,  and the background it provides for present-day events in the Middle  East is fascinating. The novel unfolds at a pleasant pace, the  characters are sympathetic and Maio effectively uses three viewpoints to  tell her story." --RT Times, 4 stars"War book aficionados will  be pleased with this one. Even if you're not a military/history buff,  this in-depth story is still one of the most interesting and thrilling  reads imaginable... Driven by fascinating characters, this author weaves  an amazing tale based on real historical figures...  Well done!"  --Suspense Magazine"An ambitious work set against the backdrop  of real events, Juliana Maio’s City of the Sun provides a fascinating  insight into the events that helped shape the forces at play in Egypt  and the Middle East today. This book couldn't be more timely." --Reza  Aslan, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Zealot“Juliana  Maio’s City of the Sun is a stunning work of historical fiction,  capturing the romance, intrigue, and danger of Cairo in 1941. Against  the backdrop of an increasingly threatened Jewish community in Egypt and  the rise of the Muslim Brotherhood—yes, the same one that keeps coming  back to haunt that country—Maio magically transforms an almost genteel  love story into a heart-stopping thriller.” --Andrew Nagorski, former  Newsweek foreign correspondent and senior editor, and author of  Hitlerland: American Eyewitnesses to the Nazi Rise to Power“What  we don’t know about Cairo during World War II makes for an enthralling  novel. Egyptian-born Juliana Maio knows this territory like the palm of  her hand—which is where she holds us. City of the Sun weaves a tangled  tale of espionage, wartime romance, political intrigue, and action in a  city crawling with all four. If you liked Casablanca, this story is for  you.” --Nicholas Meyer, New York Times bestselling author and Academy  Award nominee for The Seven Percent Solution; screenwriter, The Human  Stain“This book fuses three of my greatest passions: drama,  history, and the Jewish/Arab conflict. I was tremendously excited to  discover City of the Sun—an engrossing, first-class historical drama.  It's a goldmine!” --Richard Dreyfuss, Academy-Award winning actor and  founder of the Imagining the Future Fund“Juliana Maio's City of  the Sun belongs in the ‘1 percent’ of new novels, not only because of  the way she weaves suspense to keep you turning pages, but because she  has married it all to a fascinating point in World War II history with  descriptions of the Middle East that will have you swearing you've been  there. The kind of book that turns non-readers into obsessive ones.”  --Andrew Neiderman, author of The Devil's Advocate“. . . A  marvelous romantic spy thriller set in one of the most cosmopolitan yet  exotic cities of its time—Cairo. . . [T]he novel is impeccably  researched in both military matters and the details of day-to-day life,  allowing us to meet as if in person characters who heretofore have  appeared only in history books. A fantastic read from beginning to  end—you won't be able to put it down!” --Professor Marianne Sanua Dalin,  Florida Atlantic University, Department of History“Juliana Maio  artfully brings to life a very rich and crucial period in Egyptian  history. Her scenes evoke intense emotions about the fragility of love  and the cruelty of war, as well as the tragedies of religious  persecution. Meticulously researched, this is a beautiful novel full of  life that will stay with you long after you've read it. In her first  foray into writing Maio proves that she has what it takes to be a great  novelist.” --Alaa al Aswany, author of the international bestseller, The  Yacoubian Building