In this fifth and final book of the Islam Quintet series, the characters were somewhat more fleshed out than in the third or fourth. As in each of the previous four novels, the strength and interest lies primarily in the many varied anecdotes, by turns intriguing, horrific, hilarious and poignant. This is where the author’s writing skill shines, although some of the dialogue writing is also engaging. However, the plot - and characters - meander excessively and seemingly pointlessly, trying to cover too much ground and pursue too many narrative threads.

The device of the mysterious final painting, which is unveiled at the very end, is a clever way to bring together all of the characters from their disparate wanderings and draw a kind of closure for the series, since it makes reference to characters from previous books in the series. However, it is a little too much too late and has the feel of deliberate artifice, which obscured what may have been intended as a more subtle farewell to what was in many ways a very provocative and interesting collection of tales.