The Stardust Thief
SynopsisPlot
Neither here nor there, but long ago . . . Loulie al-Nazari is the Midnight Merchant: a criminal who, with the help of her jinn bodyguard, hunts and sells illegal magic. When she saves the life of a cowardly prince, she draws the attention of his powerful father, the sultan, who blackmails her into finding an ancient lamp that has the power to revive the barren land. With no choice but to obey or be executed, Loulie journeys with the sultan's oldest son to find the artifact. Aided by her bodyguard, who has secrets of his own, they must survive ghoul attacks, outwit a vengeful jinn queen, and confront a malicious killer from Loulie's past.
Story
About this book
Loulie al-Nazari operates under the name the Midnight Merchant, trading in illegal magic across a desert landscape populated by jinn, ghouls, and human rulers. She works alongside a jinn bodyguard whose loyalties and hidden knowledge add complexity to every deal. When she intervenes to save the life of a reluctant prince, her actions catch the notice of his father, the sultan, who uses the threat of execution to force her cooperation in a new task: locating an ancient lamp said to hold the power to restore life to dying lands.
The quest sends Loulie into the desert with the sultan's oldest son, navigating threats that range from ghoul ambushes to a jinn queen seeking revenge. At the same time, a killer connected to Loulie's own history is closing in. Chelsea Abdullah draws on the tradition of One Thousand and One Nights, building a setting where storytelling, magic, and political power are closely linked. The novel follows multiple perspectives, and each character carries separate motives that shift alliances along the way.
Abdullah, who has roots in Kuwait, sets her fantasy in a world shaped by Arabian folklore and the tension between human authority and jinn existence. The narrative treats magic as a commodity, regulated and fought over, rather than a neutral force.
