Carolyn Baugh Books In Order

Publication Order of Nora Khalil Books

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Carolyn Baugh is a teacher at Gannon University’s historical department. The petite soft spoken woman is also a novelist.

+Biography

Carolyn Baugh was born in 1972 in Evansville, Indiana, one of just three children. Because of her father’s career in the Foreign Service, he traveled a lot, his job taking him to places like Colombia, Ghana and Bogota. Of course, all that was before he had a family.

Carolyn has always had a knack for foreign culture, particularly Middle Eastern culture. And her passion in that arena found new strength when she went to Duke University and events conspired to have her study at the American University in Cairo.

Carolyn thought that her most memorable moments would emanate from her decision to join the rowing team; the author’s interest in the sport had been sparked by her brother, who experimented with rowing while studying in Scotland.

‘The View from Garden City’, the author’s first book, explored the life of an American student in Cairo and it set her on the path to becoming a renowned novelist.

The author now spends more of her free time writing than anything else. Carolyn’s love for Arabic culture shines through everything she does. Carolyn is especially passionate about digging into the annals of Middle Eastern history and gaining an understanding about the art and music scene of the times.

When she isn’t pursuing her passions, Carolyn Baugh is working to support causes like the fight against Human Trafficking.

+The View from Garden City

An American student comes to Cairo to learn Arabic. However, the journey she encounters is far more memorable as the women of the Garden City district reveal to her a new side of life in Egypt.

The women of the Garden City district live a life far removed from what the student understands, struggling with all manner of problems ranging from secret romances to arranged marriages.

There is Huda who couldn’t wait for the man she loved. And then there is Afkar, who gained freedom but at a very steep price. Selwa could do little more than struggle through the deaths of her children, while Samira had to suffer the love she held for a man that was not hers.

The View from Garden City aims to lift back the veil, revealing a private world that is often ignored but which hides an inner strength, especially for the women of the Garden City district.

Carolyn Baugh’s love for Egypt is difficult to ignore in this book. The story she tells is very comprehensive in the way it tackles the struggles of multiple generations even while looking at a plethora of religions and cultural traditions.

Each little story that Carolyn tells in this book not only highlights the struggles of different generations of Egyptian women but it contrasts their lives against that of the American student through whose eyes Carolyn explores the Garden City district.

Carolyn’s characters are flawed. Their decisions do not always make sense. In fact, it is difficult to agree with many of the decisions they make. But one cannot help but sympathize with the events that drove them to act as they do. One also cannot help but love and admire the strength that they display.

Carolyn paints very vivid images of life in Cairo.

+Quicksand

Few people would want to be Nora Khalil. As a police officer, Nora must do her best to navigate the complicated waters of the joint operations that have brought the FBI, the Philadelphia Police Department and the Local Sheriff’s offices together in a task force designed to keep the streets of Philadelphia safe.

While the streets present their challenges, especially with all the gang violence, for Nora Khalil, the expectations of her traditional Egyptian-American family sometimes present even more complexity.

But Nora does her best, even in the face of hardened criminals.

Nora’s skills are put to the test when a mutilated body is discovered. To catch a killer, Nora must rely both on her police training and cultural background.

Nora’s first attempt at writing crime thrillers is pretty decent. This book is set apart not only because the lead is a female investigator but the fact that she is of Egyptian descent.

Nora’s mettle is tested when a young girl is murdered. Her colleagues want to believe that the death was gang-related. However, that line of thinking goes out the window when another woman is killed, and in very brutal fashion. Nora knows there is a killer on the loose and she won’t stop until she stops him.

Nora’s personal life plays an important role in this book. She works very hard to keep her personal and professional lives separate, especially in light of her father’s disapproval of her career choice.