Tangerine.

Set in Tangiers in 1956, Tangerine recounts the story of Alice Shipley who is living there rather unhappily with her rakish husband John. When Alice's ex-college roommate, Lucy Mason, shows up unexpectedly, Alice soon finds herself feeling stifled with a head full of thoughts that soon have her and those around her questioning her state of mind.

This novel of suspense has been said to be inspired by Alfred Hitchcock and Patricia Highsmith. I found it to be a highly derivative female version of 'The Talented Mr Ripley'. 

The writing is adequate if a little repetitive, but the plot isn't original, tight, or detailed enough and verges on being unbelievable at times. Coupled with the tale's unpleasant characters and a somewhat stereotypical view of Morocco I was left feeling unsatisfied.

(One of the things that initially attracted me to the book was that it was set in Morocco in the year of Moroccan independence and considering that the name of the book refers to the natives of Tangiers I was expecting this exotic local to have more significance to the story. However, there was scarcely any mention of the political upheavals of the time and apart from mentioning the names of a few famous cafes and landmarks the setting could have been almost anywhere).   

Although Tangerine is a debut novel I was expecting it to be a competently executed literary thriller as it has had excellent reviews and been so widely recommended. Sadly I found this book to have been a victim of overhyping which left me feeling unsatisfied.