The Salt Road - Jane Johnson
I really enjoyed this.I came across it after reading this article all about the author Jane Johnson.. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2140590/I-married-Berber-tribesman-Jane-thought-middle-aged-women-fell-handsome-foreigners-crazy--locked-eyes-Abdel.html
I am myself a european woman with a north african husband,albeit a city boy from Algeria, and have become pretty interested in the people and lands of the region, so this was right up my alley.

I enjoyed the wonderful description of desert life, customs and people as well as wanting to know how the protagonist's father had come by the amulet he bequeaths to her, and what was its significance and connection to the Tuareg woman Mariata, whose story was the most interesting to me.

My only little niggle which didn't deter me from rating this highly was that at times I felt I didn't have a handle on the exact historical period in which Mariata's part of the story was taking place..sometimes it seemed further in the past than it ultimately turned out to be..