A Woman From Cairo [Paperback]

Val Landi (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 16, 2006

A Woman from Cairo is a novel of suspense about a young Egyptian documentary filmmaker who accidentally films the assassination of a fictionalized Osama bin Laden. It is an absorbing tale of intrigue, orbiting around an axis of betrayal, love, passion, stolen identity, history and religion, murder and revenge. The landscape shifts from the peaks of the Hindu Kush to Cairo's Old City, Manhattan, and Madrid's Prado Museum to its startling conclusion at the Sundance Film Festival. This is Val Landi's debut novel. He holds a master's degree in history and literature from Harvard.

Product Details

• Paperback: 332 pages
• Publisher: BookSurge Publishing (February 16, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1419621327
• ISBN-13: 978-1419621321
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,254,998 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Woman from Cairo, March 10, 2006

By 

Michael Cornu (Park City, Utah) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: A Woman From Cairo (Paperback)

I just finished reading A Woman from Cairo and felt compelled to write a review about it. It's been a while since I came across a book that tested my own skills to read faster, turn the pages quicker and to put off all responsibilities just to get to the ending. My job and marriage are intact, so apparently the basics weren't ignored. It is that kind of a read and I thoroughly enjoyed it and would highly recommend it.

Living in Park City, Utah, I was certainly intrigued as much of the book centers around the Sundance Film Festival and our surrounding areas. Mr. Landi successfully portrayed the tone of our community and his accuracy as to the details is fascinating. For me, this is important to note because the book equally centers around the terrorists and their communities and includes much discussion regarding attitudes, local morays and the general Arab culture. I found it incredibly interesting and an important angle. Much was learned about what might be going through a terrorists mind and more importantly, why.

These two opposite landscapes of the book offer a fantastic tension that grips the reader. Are there two more completely different communities in the world... that of the Hollywood elite, The Sundance Film festival, and that of the underground terrorist organizations, bent to destroy all that the West stands for? Truly an amazing yarn he spins that is as honest a page turner if there ever was one!

I, for one, commend Mr. Landi on an excellent book. I look forward to his writing and myself reading more captivating and stimulating books in the future. His work is of the ilk that teases us with facts, intrigues us with characters and unravels a suspense that is impossible to put down.


Michael Cornu
Park City, Utah

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Thrilling Novel Artfully Framed By The Conflict of Our Time, March 29, 2006

By 

S. F. Woit (Lexington, MA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: A Woman From Cairo (Paperback)

"Couldn't put it down," as they say--complex characters, intricate plot twists and turns that kept me guessing up until the very end.

Author Val Landi strikes a nerve with his masterful portrayal of terrorists and operatives at the red hot core of the seething global conflict between Christianity and Islam--the central conflict of our time.

It doesn't matter where you stand politically--you will be moved, because this fast-moving tale draws strength from its passion and empathy for those caught up in the conflict--Killers, spies, filmmakers, journalists, and innocents alike.

Not unlike a cinematic experience, you will lose yourself in this one and gain a deeper understanding of the clash of civilizations as well.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Woman From Cairo, April 23, 2006

By 

Steve Clackson (Canada) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: A Woman From Cairo (Paperback)

I have just finished Val Landi's debut thriller, a solid debut with enough twists and turns to keep you reading long into the night.
Nicely paced the story pushes and pulls the reader from the streets of Cairo to the mountain areas of Utah with many stops in between. Starting with a documentary film maker who films the assassination of a fictionalized Osama bin Laden the story unfolds with plots of deception, murder and revenge leading up to suspenseful intrigue at a snowed in cabin and finally to a exciting conclusion at the Sundance Film Festival.
Overall a great debut and an author to watch for those who like their thrillers to keep them turning the pages long after they should have turned in for the night.
Steve Clackson - Author of Sand Storm.
http://sandstormauthor.blogspot.com