The Tyrant's Daughter

After her father, the king of an unnamed Middle Eastern country, is assassinated, Laila, her mother, and brother find themselves living in a DC suburb, rescued by the CIA from certain death in exchange for Laila's mother’s cooperation. The author, a former undercover CIA officer, tells a suspenseful story in which Laila, surrounded by lies, risks everything to do what's right. Reading list, websites.

After her father, the king of an unnamed Middle Eastern country, is assassinated in a coup, fifteen-year-old Laila, her mother, and her younger brother find themselves living in a tiny apartment in a D.C. suburb. They've been escorted there by the CIA officer who rescued them from certain death in exchange for Laila's mother's cooperation. So far, though, the former queen has been less than helpful, and Laila soon suspects that her mother, determined to return home, is in cahoots with her brother-in-law, the very man who killed her husband. The author, a former undercover CIA officer, tells a suspenseful story in which Laila, surrounded by manipulation and lies, risks everything to do the right thing. But the book isn't entirely plot driven. Readers will be intrigued by Laila's culture shock at the "differences between Old Life and New Life" as she walks around town alone and unveiled, attends high school classes, and even goes on dates. Most engrossing, though, is Laila's heartbreaking disbelief at the information she uncovers via library books and the internet -- that her beloved father was not a king at all, but a dictator: "My father had no adoring empire, and his was an authority based more on bloodshed than blood right." Even more anguishing are her interactions with young Amir, another refugee from her country, whose family was decimated during her father's reign. The book's ending will haunt readers, who will feel fully invested in Laila and the difficult future that awaits her. jennifer m. brabander