I was excited to read "When the Apricots Bloom" by Gina Wilkinson, and it didn't disappoint me. While the book is fiction, the author writes from her own knowledge and experiences while working in Iraq as a journalist. This book is set in the early 2000s in Baghdad under the regime of Sadam Hussein. It tells the horror and hardships of living under Hussein's regime, particularly being a women.
There are three main characters two of which are Iraqi, Rania, a daughter of a sheikh and Huda her less privileged, very close childhood friend. The third is Ally, the wife of an Australian ambassador. All three lives become dangerously entangled, it's complicated and intense.
The book is well written with three strong, interesting women whose lives intersect. It's thought provoking and moving story about loyalty, betrayal, forgiveness and hope.