“What we don’t know about Cairo during World War II turns out to make for an enthralling novel.  Egyptian born Juliana Maio knows this territory like the palm of her hand, which is where she holds us. City of the Sun weaves a tangled tale of espionage, wartime romance, political intrigue, and action in a city crawling with all four.  If you liked Casablanca, this story is for you.”

 

          –Nicholas Meyer, New York Times Best Seller and Screenplay Academy Award nominee for The Seven Percent Solution; screenwriter, The Human Stain; director of Star Trek II – The Wrath of Khan

 

“Juliana Maio’s City of the Sun belongs in the “one percent” of new novels to read, not only because of the way she weaves suspense to keep you turning pages, but because she has married it all to a fascinating point in World War Two history with Middle East setting descriptions that will have you swearing you’ve been there. The kind of book that turns non-readers into obsessive ones.”

 

          –Andrew Neiderman, author of The Devil’s Advocate

 

“Juliana Maio’s “City of the Sun” is a vivid novel of Cairo in the early days of the war in North Africa and where café society was all but invented. This is a romantic adventure, rich with spies, Nazis, ever-changing power and international refugees. The reckless events of the story are a distant mirror for the desperate troubles of the Middle East of today. A sexy and dangerous book.”

        –David Freeman, author of One of Us, the adventures of an Englishman in pre-war Egypt

 

“You feel the sweat on your forehead and smell the scents of the marketplace as you walk the colorful streets of Cairo with Juliana Maio’s vividly-drawn characters. City of the Sun weaves together intrigue, romance, action and danger as American Mickey Connolly races against a fiendishly clever German adversary to locate the Jewish refugee who  may just hold the key to the greatest secret of the war. Maio’s detailed research brings alive the ancient city and creates a vibrant setting for her twisting, racing story. This is historical fiction the way it was meant to be enjoyed—and the way it was meant to be written!”

 

          –Kelly Durham, author of Berlin Calling and The War Widow

 

 

“Juliana Maio artfully brings to life a very rich and crucial period in Egyptian history. Her scenes evoke intense emotions about the fragility of love and the cruelty of war, as well as the tragedies of religious persecution. Meticulously researched, this is a beautiful novel full of life that will stay with you long after you’ve read it. In her first foray into writing Maio proves that she has what it takes to be a great novelist.”

          —Alaa al Aswany, author of the international bestseller The Yacoubian Building

 

“City of the Sun” is a marvelous romantic spy thriller set in one of the most cosmopolitan yet exotic cities of its time — Cairo, Egypt, known as the “Paris on the Nile,” a place on the Mediterranean where numerous nationalities and languages mingled and a glittering European-style social life developed, especially among the city’s once substantial Jewish community. In many ways it is a memorial to a world gone by. Set in the fateful year of 1941, when the fate of North Africa and indeed all of World War II hung in the balance, the novel is impeccably researched in both military matters and the details of day-to-day life, allowing us to meet as if in person characters who heretofore have appeared only in history books. A fantastic read from beginning to end — you won’t be able to put it down! 

        –Prof. Marianne Sanua Dalin Dept. of History Florida Atlantic University