Gabriel Sherlock arrives in Oman in 1982, fleeing shame and disaster back home in Ireland, and begins an intense affair with a woman whom no one else has seen. Locals insist she must be one of the jinn—a supernatural being—but Gabriel refuses to buy into the folklore, despite her sudden, unexplained disappearance.

Twenty-six years later, Irishwoman Thea Kerrigan lands in Muscat, chasing her own ghosts from the past, and is approached by Gabriel, who believes she is his lost lover. Certain that they have never met before, Thea is nonetheless drawn to this deluded, and perhaps dangerous, stranger and the rumors that surround him.

“Sometimes, the sunniest settings have the darkest shadows. Of Sea and Sand takes you to such a place, plays tricks with light and time—and leaves you not knowing who is real: Us, or Them? Fictional angels and vampires have had their time. Now it’s the turn of the jinn.”—Tim Mackintosh-Smith

Reviews

"An unusual story of exile and remorse -- and the fluctuating nature of belief. . . . a mind-bending journey in which reality and fantasy get intertwined."—Gulf News

"Supernaturally good. It is an engaging, unusual, and thought-provoking book, by an Irish writer who knows the world."—Irish Times

"A love story with supernatural overtones, and the feel of a thriller. It's a fascinating and atmospheric read."—Examiner

"'Of Sea and Sand' is a triumph, a compelling page-turner, warm and witty, and brilliantly written, informed by a deep love of the desert landscape and suffused with the spirit of the Arab world’s playful but dangerous shape-shifters, the jinn."—Alannah Hopkin, writer and journalist

“In this novel Denyse Woods celebrates the beauty of Oman, Iraq, and Ireland and explores the mysterious folklore and the supernatural traditions of these countries. . . . Of Sea and Sand carries the reader around the world in a strange tale of Irish faeries and Arabian jinn, tied together by a story of love and damage and loss.”—West Cork People magazine

“Sometimes, the sunniest settings have the darkest shadows. Of Sea and Sand takes you to such a place, plays tricks with light and time—and leaves you not knowing who is real: Us, or Them? Fictional angels and vampires have had their time. Now it’s the turn of the jinn.”—Tim Mackintosh-Smith, author of 'Travels with a Tangerine'