Review Detail

The Djinn’s Apple is a historical fiction set in the Abbasid period in Bagdad. This is a setting and culture new to me but the story is straightforward and the gaps in a reader’s knowledge weren’t a barrier to following the plot. Nardeen’s family was esteemed until the Caliph blamed them for a murder and ordered her entire family line killed. Nardeen goes from noble to slave, daughter, and sister to orphan in a single night. She is taken in by the esteemed Muallim Ishaq and her education in medicine continues what her father began, despite her being female.
The plot moves quickly and I finished it within a few hours and a single sitting. Nardeen buries her pain in the following years after her family's murder but plans her revenge on those who betrayed her family. I couldn’t tell if it was due to translation or trying to show how numb with grief Nardeen’s character was but the story doesn’t have the emotional exploration and depth that would have made this story more gripping. Nardeen’s character is icy and stoic throughout.
The ending was a bit of a surprise in why her family was murdered. The reason for the title, Djinn’s Apple, didn’t become apparent until the end, but made for a great surprise connection to previously mentioned events. Overall, it is a quick read with a bit of murder mystery set in a unique period.