Currently Reading - The Final Bet, Abdelilah Hamdouchi

This book comes labelled as the first Arabic detective novel to be translated into English.  THE FINAL BET is set in Casablanca and the author, Abdelilah Hamdouchi, is one of the first writers of Arabic Language detective fiction.  He has written eight novels.

From the Blurb:

Casabalanca.  Othman, a handsome young Moroccan man, returns home to discover his elderly French wife, Sofia, brutally murdered in their bedroom.  Highly educated, but unemployed, Othman had been in desperate straits before meeting Sofia, who pampered him with fancy cars, expensive clothes, and access to her mansion in the most exclusive neighbourhood in Casablanca.  But living with a woman more than forty years his senior was too much for Othman - before his wife's murder he sought relief in a steamy affair with an attractive young aerobics instructor, Neema.

Opening Lines:

Among the dozens of restaurants spread out on the Ain Diab coast, Sofia's was the only one with an air of simple elegance, as if it reflected the personality of its namesake.  Most of the restaurant's customers were summer tourists or French people, who lived in Morocco year-round.  It was rare for locals to come and enjoy its coq au vin, soufflés, and escargots.