Counting Down

7pm AEST Thursday 25 February 2021
Deborah Rodriguez has launched her newest enchanting novel The Moroccan Daughter, in conversation with much-loved Sunday Mail columnist, Frances Whiting. This free on demand event is available to view anywhere and at any time. Captions are included.

Presented in partnership with Penguin Australia and other Queensland public libraries.

Want to reserve a copy of the book?


You will need to be a library member to be able to reserve your copy of The Moroccan Daughter. Not a member? Not a problem, you can join online.

More about The Moroccan Daughter


Morocco: a captivating country of honor and tradition. And, for these four women, a land of secrets and revelations.

From the twisted alleyways of the ancient medina of Fès to a marriage festival high in the Atlas Mountains, Deborah Rodriguez's entrancing new bestseller is a modern story of forbidden love set in the sensual landscape of North Africa. Amina Bennis has come back to her childhood home in Morocco to attend her sister's wedding. The time has come for her to confront her strict, traditionalist father with the secret she has kept for more than a year - her American husband, Max.

Amina's best friend, Charlie, and Charlie’s feisty grandmother, Bea, have come along for moral support, staying with Amina and her family in their palatial riad in Fès and enjoying all that the city has to offer. But Charlie is also hiding someone from her past - a mystery man from Casablanca.

And then there's Samira, the Bennises' devoted housekeeper for many decades. Hers is the biggest secret of all - one that strikes at the very heart of the family.

As things begin to unravel behind the ancient walls of the medina, the four women are soon caught in a web of lies, clandestine deals and shocking confessions...

More about the author


Deborah Rodriguez is the author of the international bestsellers The Little Coffee Shop of Kabul, Return to the Little Coffee Shop of Kabul, The Zanzibar Wife and Island on the Edge of the World. She has also written two memoirs: The Kabul Beauty School, about her life in Afghanistan, and The House on Carnaval Street, on her experiences following her return to America. She spent five years teaching and later directing the Kabul Beauty School, the first modern beauty academy and training salon in Afghanistan.

Deborah also owned the Oasis Salon and the Cabul Coffee House, and is the founder of the nonprofit organization Oasis Rescue, which aims to teach women in post-conflict and disaster-stricken areas the art of hairdressing.

She currently lives in Mazatlán, Mexico, where she owns Tippy Toes salon and spa.


Discover more