Welcome to my stop of this blog tour for THE UNQUIET DEAD by Ausma Zehanat Khan
I would of course, as every #BlogTour like to thank Ausma Zehanat Khan and No Exit Press for gifting me an early copy of THE UNQUIET DEAD. I am forever grateful and ensure that the review below is 100% honest and of my own views.
To kick off, we have the “blurb” for the book;
Detective Esa Khattak is in the midst of his evening prayers when he receives a phone call asking that he and his partner, Detective Rachel Getty, look into the death of a local man who has fallen off a cliff. At first Christopher Drayton’s death—which looks like an accident—doesn’t seem to warrant a police investigation, especially not from Khattak and Rachel’s team, which handles minority-sensitive cases. But it soon comes to light that Drayton might have been living under an assumed name, and he may not have been the upstanding Canadian citizen he appeared to be. In fact, he may have been a Bosnian war criminal with ties to the Srebrenica massacre of 1995. And if that’s true, any number of people could have had reason to help him to his death.
As Rachel and Khattak dig deeper into the life and death of Christopher Drayton, every question seems to lead only to more questions, and there are no easy answers. Did the specters of Srebrenica return to haunt Drayton at last, or had he been keeping secrets of an entirely different nature? Or, after all, did a man just fall to his death in a tragic accident?
So, you want to know what I think?
The one thing I am really enjoying this year is how I am being pushed as a reader to bend the lines of what I usually read by adding something a little different. THE UNQUIET DEAD has definitely pushed that boundary for me in regards to the type of crime fiction I usually read.
If I had to chose a ‘go-to’, then it’s those police procedurals which pretty intense, with fast paced action throughout. If like me, you thrive on this type of story, then THE UNQUIET DEAD is not for you.
With that said, this review is not a negative one. I have to praise the author for pushing me to pick up their book with was none of the things I listed above – but by the same token, enjoyed each page. This story to me is a slow burning mystery and starts with a simple crime; a man is found at the bottom of Scarborough Bluffs and it not known whether this was a suicide, or something else entirely.
Esa Khattak and Rachel Getty are tasked with discovering the truth behind his death and are soon shocked to discover that the victim is not who he is stated to be. He is something much more sinister. As the blurb suggests, the victim has links with the 1995 Srebrenica massacre and with Khattak’s history and background – he struggles to remain objective in discovering the truth.
The story touches on some pretty grim events, and knowing that they are based on true events, give it that extra edge of emotion that I normally wouldn’t feel when reading a standard fictional crime piece. The author has not glamorised these events for the sake of writing a piece of fiction. She has used these events to tell a pretty important story.
THE UNQUIET DEAD is one of those books that make you sit back and think “Shit. This is based on true events. I need to understand more.” So to the author, I thank her as without this book – I would have remained oblivious to such events.
About the Author;
Ausma Zehanat Khan is the author of The Unquiet Dead which won the Barry Award, the Arthur Ellis Award and the Romantic Times Reviewers Choice Award for Best First Novel.
A frequent lecturer and commentator, Ms. Khan holds a Ph.D. in International Human Rights Law with a research specialization in military intervention and war crimes in the Balkans. Ms. Khan completed her LL.B. and LL.M. at the University of Ottawa, and her B.A. in English Literature & Sociology at the University of Toronto.
Formerly, she served as Editor in Chief of Muslim Girl magazine. The first magazine to address a target audience of young Muslim women, Muslim Girl re-shaped the conversation about Muslim women in North America. The magazine was the subject of two documentaries, and hundreds of national and international profiles and interviews, including CNN International, Current TV, and Al Jazeera “Everywoman”.
Ausma Zehanat Khan practiced immigration law in Toronto and has taught international human rights law at Northwestern University, as well as human rights and business law at York University. She is a long-time community activist and writer, and currently lives in Colorado with her husband.
THE UNQUIET DEAD is out on July 27th 2017 and can be purchased at the following outlets;
Amazon (UK) | Amazon | Waterstones | The Book Depository
-S.
Be sure to check out the other blogs who participated in this Blog Tour. See below for further details and be sure to follow all of the action across Twitter!
The P.Turners Book Blog 