The sand men

This book is many things. There's a lot of JG Ballard in the isolation of the expat compound and the stunning artifice of the luxury hotel. It's a homage to Ira Levin, especially The Stepford Wives and Rosemary's Baby, it's an impassioned rant against the treatment of migrant workers in Dubai, and it's an ecological metaphor, where the theme of children disappearing around the hotel can be read as a commentary on how short term profit seeking ignores the consequences for the future. The ending is maybe a bit too ambiguous for my tastes, but nevertheless it's fun getting there. Well worth a read.