Stunned speechless by her husband's brutal murder, devoted Afghan wife and mother Zeba is unable to defend herself when she stands accused and is put in jail. There she meets a teenage runaway, a young woman fleeing an honor killing, and more—all society's rebels who have found a safe haven of sorts behind bars. Hashimi debuted with the 100,000-copy best-selling The Pearl That Broke Its Shell and followed with When the Moon Is Low, an O, the Oprah Magazine Summer Must-Read pick; with a 50,000-copy first printing.

In her third novel, following When the Moon Is Low and The Pearl That Broke Its Shell, best-selling author Hashimi delivers another moving portrayal of life in contemporary Afghanistan. Zeba, a devoted mother of four, is arrested after her husband, Kamal, is found brutally murdered in the courtyard of their home. While Zeba's children don't believe their mother would commit such a crime, Zeba is unable to account for her whereabouts at the time of the murder—and Kamal's family demands justice. Chapters alternate between Zeba's lonely childhood after her father disappeared and her difficult years as a young bride with the personal plight of Yusef, an inexperienced lawyer born in Afghanistan, raised in Queens, and viewed as an outsider by a town suspicious of strangers. As in her previous books, Hashimi creates compelling minor characters in cellmates Latifa, Nafisa, and Mezghan, who become a makeshift family as word of Zeba's jadu, or magic, spreads throughout the prison. Meanwhile, Yusef is committed to make a difference in a country he used to call home, even if he can barely recognize that home anymore. VERDICT With elements of love, anger, and sheer optimism, Hashimi's latest is sure to engross those who enjoyed her previous novels and attract new readers as well. [See Prepub Alert, 2/21/16.]—Stephanie Sendaula, Library Journal