Sand Daughter Book

"An epic filled with emotion and rich with atmosphere" ( Historical Novel Society) from the author of The Other Eden.

Khalidah faces an arranged marriage at the behest of her father, a Bedouin Clan chief. But when a mysterious stranger named Sulayman reveals the machinations behind her pending union, she suddenly finds herself a pawn in a deadly plot involving her own feuding tribe and the powerful Templar Knights.

Faced with certain death, Khalidah runs away with Sulayman, a man she barely knows. Their journey, and the desire that grows between them, will thrust Khalidah toward unimaginable adventure, and the echoes of a past that somehow connect her to the Jinn-the mysterious Afghan warriors who may hold the key to the coming battle for the Holy Land.

Publishers Weekly

In this Crusades-era historical, Bryant (The Other Eden) follows the journey of an ordinary Bedouin woman, Kalidah, who escapes her arranged marriage to run off with a mysterious minstrel named Sulayman. Doing so, she sets into motion a chain of events that draw her into plots with the Knights Templar, the legendary Saladin and the shadowy Jinn, a group of fearsome Afghan warriors who form the basis of the Islamic legend. Bryant also follows Kalidah’s childhood friend Bilal, who discovers that the father he thought was dead is not only alive but the commander of a band of warrior-monks; Bilal’s story explores Saladin’s army and the charismatic leader himself. Immediately immersing, rich in detail and complex in theme, this skillful novel uses nested stories and long reveals that call to mind the Arabian Nights, and doesn’t shy from challenging subject matter. Gripping and convincing, this is a worthy historical page-turner. (Oct.)