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  • Published: 19 November 2018
  • ISBN: 9780857988355
  • Imprint: Penguin
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 336
  • RRP: $22.99

The Zanzibar Wife




The Zanzibar Wife is a bewitching novel of clashing cultures and conflicting beliefs, of secrets and revelations, of mystery and magic, by the author of the international bestseller The Little Coffee Shop of Kabul.

Set both in Oman and on the Tanzanian island of Zanzibar, The Zanzibar Wife is the story of three different women, each at a turning point in her life . . .

Oman. The ancient land of frankincense, wind-swept deserts, craggy mountaintops and turquoise seas. A place where tales of evil spirits and eerie phenomena abound.

Into this magical nation come three remarkable women, each facing a crossroad in her life.

Rachel, a troubled American war photographer who is struggling to shed the trauma of her career for a simpler, gentler life. Now she has once again picked up her camera and is headed to Oman to cover a quite different story – for a glossy travel magazine.

Ariana Khan, a bubbly British woman struggling to keep up with the glitz of Dubai and ready to give up on love. She has rashly volunteered as Rachel's ‘fixer’, a job she's never heard of in a country she knows nothing about.

And Miza, a young woman living far from her beloved homeland of Zanzibar. As the second wife of Tariq, an Omani man, she remains a secret from his terrifying ‘other’ wife, Maryam. Until one day, when Tariq fails to come home . . .

As the three women journey together across this weird and wonderful land, they are forced to confront their darkest fears and their deepest wishes. Because here in Oman, things aren’t always what they appear to be . . .

  • Published: 19 November 2018
  • ISBN: 9780857988355
  • Imprint: Penguin
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 336
  • RRP: $22.99

About the author

Deborah Rodriguez

Deborah Rodriguez is the author of the international bestsellers The Little Coffee Shop of Kabul, Return to the Little Coffee Shop of Kabul, The Zanzibar Wife, Island on the Edge of the World and The Moroccan Daughter. She has also written two memoirs: The Kabul Beauty School, about her life in Afghanistan, and The House on Carnaval Street, on her experiences following her return to America. She spent five years teaching and later directing the Kabul Beauty School, the first modern beauty academy and training salon in Afghanistan.

Deborah also owned the Oasis Salon and the Cabul Coffee House, and is the founder of the nonprofit organization Oasis Rescue, which aims to teach women in post-conflict and disaster-stricken areas the art of hairdressing.

She currently lives in Mazatlán, Mexico, where she owns Tippy Toes salon and spa.

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