Joanne Leedom-Ackerman has worked as a journalist, a Vice President for PEN International and former board member of the International Crisis Group, Human Rights Watch and Save the Children, which have taken her all over the world, including the Middle East and North Africa, and given her insights into culture and politics, human rights issues, and global tensions.
”The Far Side of the Desert is that rare story – a literary work and a first-rate thriller. Joanne Leedom-Ackerman, who has traveled the world advocating for human rights, is one of the few writers today who can construct a superb and complex international spy novel. The Far Side of the Desert is stellar.“
— Jennifer Clement, former President of PEN International and award-winning novelist of Prayers for the Stolen, Gun Love and The Widow Basquiat.
From the acclaimed author of Burning Distance, a political thriller, family drama, and love story that explores the link between terrorism and global financial markets
In her latest release, The Far Side of the Desert (Oceanview Publishing, paperback release April 15, 2025), the award-winning writer follows the fates of two sisters—one, a US foreign service officer; the other, an international television correspondent—after their lives are shattered by a terrorist attack and the personal toll of its aftermath.
Monte, the youngest of the three Waters children, followed in their father’s footsteps and was building a career in the Foreign Service, aspiring to reach the pinnacle he never achieved: National Security Advisor or Ambassador at the United Nations. Her sister, Samantha, and their big brother, Cal, were too prone to adventure, too defiant, to move from embassy to embassy working in the government bureaucracy.
Now, at thirty-seven, with two children and hints of gray at her temples, Monte is resigned to going wherever she’s told to keep doing an impossible job—monitoring insurgent movements—and placating her accountant husband so he’ll keep following her. In her worst moments, she’s envious of her sister, who, at almost forty and still single, is a reporter with International News Network (INN), and gets noticed for her stunning looks as well as her breaking news stories.
For the first time in a long while, the sisters are vacationing together in Santiago de Compostela, Spain, enjoying a festival and waiting for Cal to join them for a little fun before they each move on to their next assignment. At first, Monte is surprised and flattered when a handsome man at their hotel seems drawn to her rather than Sam. What starts as an innocent happy hour flirtation is disrupted by two car bombings in the crowded town square and the ensuing panic.
Putting her trust in a stranger, Monte follows Stephen from the lobby bar to a supposed place of safety while worrying about her sister who she knows will be in the thick of the frenzy, chasing the story and a target for terrorists. Just as she tells Stephen that she needs to get back and check on her sister, Monte is surrounded by three men whose faces are obscured by masks. Suddenly, Monte—an expert in insurgencies, trained by the US government—understands that it is not Samantha being taken hostage, but herself. Within hours, Sam realizes that Monte has gone missing—but she has no clue what happened or why.
Moving from Spain to Washington to Morocco to Gibraltar to the desolate Sahara, The Far Side of the Desert unravels an intricate plot involving terrorism, money laundering, and the manipulation of financial markets to the disadvantage of the US economy. At its head is a shadowy, dangerous figure known as the Elder and a financial genius with an ulterior motive, alternately known as Safir Brahim, his Moroccan name, and his birth name, Stephen Oroya. But why was Monte kidnapped? And why doesn’t anyone seem to be negotiating for her release?
Back in Washington, the Waters family is using all their contacts and resources to find Monte, while Sam tirelessly continues to track down every possible lead. As the months pass by, the outlook for Monte darkens. Can she be found, or is she forever lost? And even if she returns, will the damage to her and to her loved ones be irreparable? Meanwhile, during her time in captivity, Monte is undergoing a profound transformation. Is Stephen her tormentor or her savior? Keeping the tension mounting, The Far Side of the Desert gradually reveals the complicated answers, while affirming the power of family, love, and grace to overcome brutality and destruction.
ABOUT JOANNE LEEDOM-ACKERMAN Joanne Leedom-Ackerman is a novelist, short story writer, and journalist whose other works of fiction include Burning Distance, The Dark Path to the River, and No Marble Angels. Her recent nonfiction book, PEN Journeys: Memoir of Literature on the Line, drew inspiration from her job as a vice president of the worldwide writers and human rights organization, PEN International.
She is also on the boards of the American Writers Museum and Words Without Borders, and an emeritus board member of Refugees International, Human Rights Watch and Poets and Writers, as well as a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the Texas Institute of Letters. A native of Dallas, she has lived in Boston, New York City, Los Angeles, London, and Washington, DC.
