Jenny D. Williams's first novel, The Atlas of Forgotten Places, is a gripping story of two women whose lives become entwined in war-torn Uganda in 2008.
Sabine is living a quiet life in Germany when she finds out that her 22-year-old American niece, Lily, went missing in Uganda after completing her volunteer work there. Sabine spent 20 years as an aid worker in Africa, including a stint in Uganda, so she sets off for the region, determined to track down her beloved niece.
Rose is a native of Uganda in her early 20s who was abducted by rebels at 13 and only recently returned to her family and her home village. She lost her right arm during her years in the bush and now works as an assistant to Christophe, an aid worker from Switzerland. Rose's boyfriend, Ocen, is also missing--she hasn't heard from him in a month.
The novel alternates between Sabine and Rose, two separate stories at first that gradually intertwine as they search for their loved ones in the lush jungle of East Africa, dodging dangerous rebels, gunfire and smugglers. Christophe accompanies the two women, each with secrets from their pasts, in their tense and treacherous quest. The narrative moves between Sabine and Rose in this suspenseful, compelling story set in a perilous region that many readers may have only heard about on the news. --Suzan L. Jackson, freelance writer and author of Book by Book blog