When the Apricots Bloom

by Gina Wilkinson

Overview

“Breathtaking…Riveting and profound! I adored this book!” —Ellen Marie Wiseman, New York Times bestselling author of The Orphan Collector

“A deeply involving and important novel by a master storyteller.” —Susan Wiggs, # 1 New York Times bestselling author

INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER

In this moving, suspenseful debut novel, three courageous women confront the complexities of trust, friendship, motherhood, and betrayal under the rule of a ruthless dictator and his brutal secret police. Former foreign correspondent Gina Wilkinson draws on her own experiences to take readers inside a haunting story of Iraq at the turn of the millennium and the impossible choices faced by families under a deadly regime.

A BuzzFeed Most Anticipated Historical Fiction Release
A Target Book Club Pick
A Publishers Marketplace Buzz Books Selection

At night, in Huda’s fragrant garden, a breeze sweeps in from the desert encircling Baghdad, rustling the leaves of her apricot trees and carrying warning of visitors at her gate. Huda, a secretary at the Australian embassy, lives in fear of the mukhabarat—the secret police who watch and listen for any scrap of information that can be used against America and its allies. They have ordered her to befriend Ally Wilson, the deputy ambassador’s wife. Huda has no wish to be an informant, but fears for her teenaged son, who may be forced to join a deadly militia. Nor does she know that Ally has dangerous secrets of her own.

Huda’s former friend, Rania, enjoyed a privileged upbringing as the daughter of a sheikh. Now her family’s wealth is gone, and Rania too is battling to keep her child safe and a roof over their heads. As the women’s lives intersect, their hidden pasts spill into the present. Facing possible betrayal at every turn, all three must trust in a fragile, newfound loyalty, even as they discover how much they are willing to sacrifice to protect their families.

“Vivid…secrets and lies mingle as easily as the scent of apricot blossoms and nargilah smoke. Wilkinson weaves in the miasma of fear and distrust that characterized Hussein’s regime with convincing detail. Richly drawn characters and high-stakes plot.” —Publishers Weekly

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781496729354
Publisher:	Kensington
Publication date:	02/02/2021
Pages:	320
Sales rank:	137,741
Product dimensions:	8.20(w) x 5.20(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Gina Wilkinson is an award-winning journalist, author, former foreign correspondent, and documentary maker who's reported from some of the world's most intriguing and perilous places for the BBC, NPR, ABC, and other renowned public broadcasters. During two decades living and working in hotspots across the globe, she spent more than a year in Baghdad under Saddam Hussein. At that time, Iraq was virtually sealed off from the outside world, and Gina lived under tight surveillance. One of her closest Iraqi friends even worked as a secret police informant, reporting on her every move. Gina now works in international development, supporting efforts to end poverty in the developing world. She lives in Australia and can be found online at GinaWilkinson.net.

Editorial Reviews

11/09/2020

In Wilkinson’s vivid debut, set in early 2000s Baghdad, secrets and lies mingle as easily as the scent of apricot blossoms and nargilah smoke. Huda, a secretary to the Australian deputy ambassador to Iraq, is forced by the secret police to become an informant on Ally Wilson, the ambassador’s wife, or risk her son’s forced recruitment into the deadly fedayeen, the militia led by Saddam Hussein’s son, Uday. Meanwhile, Ally, whose presence in Iraq is motivated by a search for answers about her long-dead American mother, strikes up an acquaintance with Rania, Huda’s estranged childhood friend. When Rania’s daughter draws the attention of Uday’s cronies, Rania and Huda form a reluctant alliance and later rope in Ally, whose own safety is imperiled due to her being part American, to help protect their families. While the denouement is somewhat abrupt, Wilkinson weaves in the miasma of fear and distrust that characterized Hussein’s regime with convincing detail (“Two can keep a secret only when one of them is dead,” a character remarks sardonically). Scenes from Iraqi life—paying for work with food items, or snacking on “counterfeit ‘Keet Katts’ ”—offer a glimpse into a country crippled by economic sanctions. The richly drawn characters and high-stakes plot are enough to compensate for the minor shortcomings. Agent: Heather Jackson, Heather Jackson Literary. (Feb.)

Publishers Weekly

Praise for Gina Wilkinson and When The Apricots Bloom

“In Wilkinson’s vivid debut, set in early 2000s Baghdad, secrets and lies mingle as easily as the scent of apricot blossoms and nargilah smoke. . . . Wilkinson weaves in the miasma of fear and distrust that characterized Hussein’s regime with convincing detail. . . . Richly drawn characters and high-stakes plot.”
—Publishers Weekly

“A deeply involving and important novel by a master storyteller. Gina Wilkinson highlights the humanity at the center of a brutal conflict. She brings her lived experience to every page of this harrowing, dramatic, and ultimately hopeful book.”
—Susan Wiggs, # 1 New York Times bestselling author

“Gina Wilkinson’s breathtaking novel explores the plight of ordinary people who must flee their country to survive, as three women living under the tyrannical regime of Saddam Hussein and his brutal secret police risk their lives to protect themselves and their children. Riveting and profound! I adored this book!”
—Ellen Marie Wiseman, New York Times bestselling author of The Orphan Collector

"A thrilling yet heart-wrenching education in what it is like to live in a country without freedom and how friendship and forgiveness are sometimes the only way to enable profound change.  This must-read novel is mesmerizing, captivating, and profound."
—Deborah Rodriguez, bestselling author of The Little Coffee Shop of Kabul
 
"I truly felt for the memorable women risking their lives to protect themselves and their families . . . Baghdad springs into vivid violent life . . . Outstanding!"
—Dinah Jeffries, number one Sunday Times bestselling author of The Tea Planter’s Wife

"A thrilling yet heart-wrenching education in what it is like to live in a country without freedom and how friendship and forgiveness are sometimes the only way to enable profound change.  This must-read novel is mesmerizing, captivating, and profound." 
—Deborah Rodriguez, bestselling author of The Little Coffee Shop of Kabul

"I truly felt for the memorable women risking their lives to protect themselves and their families . . . Baghdad springs into vivid violent life . . . Outstanding!"
— Dinah Jeffries, number one Sunday Times bestselling author of The Tea Planter’s Wife 

“Huda, Rania, and Ally provide a glimpse into the world of Iraq during the reign of Saddam Hussein. Their lives are so different, and yet common bonds create a friendship that withstands the distrust and paranoia that pervades the dictator’s rule. It is hard to imagine how hard life must have been, although Wilkinson does a marvelous job depicting the fear that all of these characters experienced. Her personal experience in Iraq during in the years prior to the Iraq war adds genuine depth to this story and the characters’ lives. Reading this story gave me an appreciation for my life in a free country! It was riveting from beginning to end. I loved the characters and their strength and perseverance. A great read!”
—Stephanie Crowe, Page & Palette (Fairhope, AL)
 
“Wilkinson’s atmospheric and suspenseful novel explores the complicated relationships between two Iraqi women and a diplomat’s wife during Saddam Hussein’s tyrannical rule. It powerfully illustrates the peril women faced under his misogynistic, autocratic regime, and the risks, lies and betrayals they had to commit in order to protect their families. I read this novel with my heart in my throat.”
—Lisa Johnson, Penguin Bookshop (Sewickley, PA)

From the Publisher