The Jealous Spy

Anna is shaken to discover her husband is a spy. Then he kidnaps their baby to war time Iraq. If Anna doesn't unveil his hidden past, she may lose her daughter forever.

Soon after Anna gives birth to Zina, she knows the child is not her husband's. And that she wants to spend her life with Zina's real father, Davoud. Most of all, she wants to be away from the horrible secrets that her husband Karim kept from her, of which a glimpse already shocked her to the core.

His suspicions about her affair bring Karim to kidnap baby Zina, in this espionage romance set mainly in Amsterdam and Iraq. His jealousy and vengefulness in combination with his past as a spy make for such a deadly brew that Anna and her lover are forced into hiding.

When Davoud finally goes to Iraq with Anna to look for their daughter, they find a country in disarray after bombing raids toppled the dictator. With their search for Zina getting ever more desperate, Anna realizes the time has come to disclose Karim's hidden past.

Judit Neurink shows not only her knowledge of Iraq and its people, but also her art to write suspenseful romance novels that contain close connections to real-life events.

This book was published before as A Devils Child

Acclaim for A Jealous Spy:

Judit Neurink draws on her long experience reporting on Iraq and the Kurds to craft another layered story where the conflicts in the headlines play out in the emotional battles fought by her characters. Love can skew our judgement and so can politics. Anna must navigate these two passions as she untangles the truths in Iraq and in her relationships to investigate, on the field but also in her heart, a shocking message: "Your husband is a murderer."
Diane Shugart, writer and translator

It is well possible to write a suspenseful novel and situate it in an existing world. Judit Neurink's latest novel is situated mainly in the Kurdish part of Iraq during Saddam Hussein's cruel rule. We are confronted with political intrigue in an atmosphere of threats and danger. But nowhere, the story loses its believability. It's fiction, but it feels as if I was there.
Rina Spigt, journalist

Judit Neurink presents a love story set amidst radical Islamic surroundings: hush-hush meetings with activists, teas in muted households, and deadly betrayal and intrigue. While it is fiction, Neurink weaves in personal insights from her many years of living in the Middle East. Thankfully, in this tale, female tenacity triumphs.
Kathryn Lukey-Coutsocostas, columnist/journalist/features writer

Judit Neurink wrote the novel The Jewish Bride, that was well received by Kurdish readers. And again, in The Jealous Spy, she pictures individuals from the Kurdish society, portraying their suffering better than many Iraqi writers. It is a novel to understand the wars and the power of dictators, the effect they have on the souls of the people and on the reasons they flee, and return again and again, to rebuild their lives.
Miran Abraham, writer and translator

The Jealous Spy is a suspenseful and intriguing book, beautifully written and compelling from the beginning to the end. About being married to a war criminal, the kidnapping of your child and the search then during the aftermath of Saddam Hussein's regime. But also, about the beauty of Iraq and the endless hospitality of the people.
Judit Neurink was once was my tour leader, touring around Kurdistan. Like she took me - almost literally - by the hand through the land then, she did that again with this book.
Marije van Holstein, reader and traveler

Neurink did it again! An ingenious thriller that offers a smooth read while at the same time filling your head with extra knowledge of the Middle East, in this case Iraq.
Franka Hummels, writer, traveler, historian, journalist