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The Unquiet Dead: A Novel
The Unquiet Dead: A Novel
The Unquiet Dead: A Novel
Audiobook11 hours

The Unquiet Dead: A Novel

Written by Ausma Zehanat Khan

Narrated by Peter Gaman

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

4/5

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About this audiobook

Despite their many differences, Detective Rachel Getty trusts her boss, Esa Khattak, implicitly. But she's still uneasy at Khattak's tight-lipped secrecy when he asks her to look into Christopher Drayton's death. Drayton's apparently accidental fall from a cliff doesn't seem to warrant a police investigation, particularly not from Rachel and Khattak's team, which handles minority-sensitive cases. But when she learns that Drayton may have been living under an assumed name, Rachel begins to understand why Khattak is tip-toeing around this case. It soon comes to light that Drayton may have been a war criminal with ties to the Srebrenica massacre of 1995.

If that's true, any number of people might have had reason to help Drayton to his death, and a murder investigation could have far-reaching ripples throughout the community. But as Rachel and Khattak dig deeper into the life and death of Christopher Drayton, every question seems to lead only to more questions, with no easy answers. Had the specters of Srebrenica returned to haunt Drayton at the end, or had he been keeping secrets of an entirely different nature? Or, after all, did a man just fall to his death from the Bluffs?
LanguageEnglish
Release dateJan 13, 2015
ISBN9781622316052
The Unquiet Dead: A Novel
Author

Ausma Zehanat Khan

Ausma Zehanat Khan holds a Ph.D. in international human rights law with a specialization in military intervention and war crimes in the Balkans. She is a former adjunct law professor and Editor-in-Chief of Muslim Girl magazine, the first magazine targeted to young Muslim women in North America. She is also the award-winning author of The Unquiet Dead and The Bloodprint, the first book in The Khorasan Archives. A British-born Canadian, Khan now lives in Colorado with her husband. 

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Rating: 3.917112352941176 out of 5 stars
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  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    When a friend, Tom Paley, from the Canadian War Crimes Commission asks him Esa Khatak to investigate the accidental death of a man who fell from the Scarborough Bluffs on to the shore of Lake Ontario, he knew there was more to it than deciding if the man committed suicide or was pushed.He and his partner Sergeant Rachel Getty are soon finding accusations of war crimes being suggested against the very wealthy and highly thought of victim. There is the strange attractive blonde who was planning on marrying the victim but whose children hated her and the man she was planning on marrying. There are other individuals such as the mystery gardeners and the young imam who also seem to have connections to the dead man.Esa's old friend, writer, Nate Clare lives near the victim and was a friend of the dead man. There is the museum that is being built on the same street to which the victim had promised a healthy contribution and the beautiful mystery woman who is behind the development of the museum and who Esa finds very attractive.The most disturbing parts of this book are the chapters in which the reader finds the testimony of the victims of the 1992-1995 war in Bosnia. This is Khan's first book about Esa who is policeman in Toronto and also a practicing Muslim. His partner, Rachel, is a woman who is still trying to sort out the consequences of having grown up in a dysfunctional family with an abusive father and an unsupportive mother. While working this case, she is also looking for her missing brother.If you know nothing about the Bosnian War, this will be informative plus disturbing.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    The sections dedicated to genocide and ethnic cleansing are very intense and well written.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    THE UNQUIET DEAD Is a mystery with a promising premise. A man has died falling from a bluff, an apparent suicide. Yet, detectives are asked to investigate. That is because the man is suspected to have committed war crimes in Bosnia in the 1990s. If he did, then there are many people who would like to see him dead. So the detectives must determine whether the suspicion is true and, then, who killed him.It’s a great premise, but I expected more of the investigation. It should not have bored me, but it did.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    annihilation, Bosnia, Canada, justice, law-enforcement, missing-persons, mystery, read, real-horror, retribution, thriller*****If you reading Stephen King is your idea of horror, the realities enclosed in this Canadian mystery will challenge that. At least King's stuff is 100% fiction. The horrors of Bosnia are not.The publisher's blurb is quite good and is an excellent hook, so I won't try to improve on it or do the spoiler thing, but some readers do need the *trigger warning*.The mystery itself is very well done and I highly recommend it. The main characters are engaging and very realistic (unfortunately, so are too many of the others). It's the thread of the backstory of the carnage in Bosnia that runs throughout the book and is totally inescapable that sets this book apart.What really made it more real for me was that I had just finished a book about the events in Somalia.I got this as an audio narrated by Peter Ganim.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I was craving a mystery/thriller but, given my ban on white male authors this year, didn't know where to go. I asked my friend Cyndy, and she recommended this terrific book, a mystery set in a Toronto suburb which brought in the recent history of the war in the former Yugoslavia.

    I'm ashamed to admit that I didn't really pay much attention to this when it was in the news. It was in my periphery, but not something that drew me from my day-to-day life. I'll definitely be checking out some of the books the author talks about in the Author's Note.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I enjoyed the prose and dialogue in this book. I thought the relationship between Mink and Esa was less than believable though. Overall it was good enough to add the second book to my TBR.

    This was also the second book in less than a month that highlighted Srebrenica and the Bosnian genocide of the 90s. Both were graphic, but this book focused more on the Bonsnian testimony. I was in high school at the time and did not realize the extent of the massacre.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    The Unquiet Dead presented a chapter of history that I overlooked. A man falls to his death from an English hillside. Was the man pushed or did he commit suicide, or did he accidently slip and fall to his death? Rachel Getty and her boss, Esa Khattak gingerly search for answers in a death possibly connected to the 1995 massacre in Srebrenica. Author Zehanot Khan artfully maneuvers through the persecution of the Muslims in Srebrenica. These unfortunate people were starved, beaten, raped, killed, and imprisoned. Zehanot Khan displays the horror and the beauty of the Muslims. The story also shows the human errors of people such as Christopher Drayton and Esa Khattak and Rachel Getty. Rachel and her family suffer the disappearance of a brother/son and must come to acceptance of his lifestyle. A troubling but uplifting book.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This book was published in 2015 but I didn't take notice of it until someone praised it online. I thought I would see what this new to me Canadian mystery series was all about and now I am hooked. And it turns out this author also writes science fiction so I'm going to have to check that out too.Detective Esa Khattak is head of Community Policing Section, a federal initiative set up in response to the bungling of the Maher Arar case.He and his partner, Rachel Getty, investigate crimes that are racially motivated, particularly ones against people of the Muslim faith. He gets a call from a friend who is a historian at the Department of Justice about the death of a man on the Scarborough Bluffs. For some chapters we don't learn why this would be a case for Khattak; he doesn't even disclose why he is looking into the death of Christopher Drayton. Drayton had a house on the shoreline in Scarborough and had done well as a businessman. He was planning to marry Mellanie Blessant, a local woman with two teenage girls, and he was contemplating making a large donation to a local museum that was about to open. So it seemed Drayton had a lot to live for which ruled out suicide. Then the question is did he slip or was he pushed? And did the secret in his past lead someone to end his life or was it domestically related? All of these things Khattak and Getty explore and eventually Getty finds out that Drayton changed his name before coming to Canada. He was from the former Yugoslavia and may be an architect of one of the worst incidences of genocide since the Second World War.I was not paying much attention to the news when Yugoslavia melted into its component parts and fighting broke out there. I did know that Canada sent peacekeepers there and that there were many horrible events that caused PTSD in many of the soldiers who served there. This book filled in many of my knowledge gaps while still preserving an interesting story line in present day Canada. Well done.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    4.5 stars The characters are flawed, but well-developed and while the two main characters have secrets that in lesser hands could become annoying distractions, Khan deftly weaves them into the story, enhancing the narrative, not distracting from it. A man accidentally falls to his death while out for a walk. But is it an accident? Esa Khattak is asked to investigate because there's a rumor the man was not a successful philanthropic businessman, but rather a wanted war criminal. As Khattak and his partner, Rachel Getty search for the truth, the author provides heartbreaking details about the war in Bosnia and the atrocities committed. The ending to the novel is not neat and tidy, but it is satisfying, and I look forward to the next book in the series.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    #1 in the series set in Toronto. I learned a ton about Bosnia.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    This is a tough novel to pin down. The narrative is a fictional police procedural, noir mystery but the storyline is deeply steeped in the very real horrors of the war/slaughter in Bosnia during the breakup of Yugoslavia in the early 1990s. Zehanat Khan rightly wants the story of the tragedy to be more widely known. In this respect she is very effective. You will know much more at the end of the novel, particularly if you read the footnotes that correspond to the quotations at the beginning of each chapter. It is hard to find words for the deep suffering experienced or for the depravity of the inflictors. It is very tough reading. The story itself provides an interesting pair of detectives. As they follow the clues their own learning of the painful sources of suffering that drive the various characters paralleled this reader's own learning. I do have to say that standing alone the denouement is not particularly striking. It is the depth of the rest of the story that makes this a compelling read. The author has chosen wisely for a venue to convey these sad facts.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Fantastic example of a great mystery combined with truly compelling literary fiction at its best. The relationship between Esa and Rachel is fascinating, and I can't wait to see it play out over (hopefully) many books to come. Highly recommended!!
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I nearly stopped reading early on - I find some of the characterization awkward and unrealistic. But I’m glad I stayed with it. A worthwhile read despite the flaws.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I swear this is one of the most impactful mysteries I have read. First, I enjoyed the two main characters [Rachel & Esa] and was reminded a bit of Elizabeth George's Lynley/Havers pairing. But the mystery not only was well-written, it dealt with the tragic history and background of the 1990's war in the Balkans. I learned much from the book, and hope to learn more on my own. I guess I thought people & nations had learned something from World War II and the genocide in Europe, but apparently humans can't resist some sort of imperative to erase entire civilizations from the earth.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    A man is found dead at the foot of cliffs and is thought to be a tragic accident. Why then is Inspector Khattak of the Community Policing Section asked to investigate?This book takes us into the terrible events that took place in Bosnia 25 years ago when communities turned against each other. We are drawn page by page into a time when it seemed the world stood back and watched. Although this is the author's first book and not yet published I was confused as it refers to earlier events as if the reader should know them.Although a work of fiction the research behind it means it reads as if an actual account and I found myself willing the story to have a positive end.The horrors of Srebrenica must never be forgotten and this novel stand tall in this respect.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    The Unquiet Dead – A Fantastic DebutThe Unquiet Dead is the fantastic debut from Ausma Zehanat Khan, and she really gets to grip with a story, with genocide at its heart. She raises questions about what we in the West did as we stood by and watched Bosnia and her people being raped and murdered and then ignored as the Serbs broke centuries of common living to unadulterated hated for their neighbours.Christopher Drayton has been found dead at the bottom of the bluffs after an evening walk, and nothing looks to suspicious to garner police attention, that is until Tom Paley at the Justice Department contacts Esa Khattak, who is head of the community policing section. Khattak is a rising star within the Police Department in Toronto along with his trusted Sergeant Rachel Getty who are dealing with a changing face of Policing in Canada.Paley asks Khattak look further into Drayton as everything may not be as it seems, and they need to consider his past. What they find does not please them, and Drayton’s death may have been murder while at the same time Drayton may not be who he told people he was. He was a rich man, where did his money come from, and with a fiancée, Melanie, who besides being surgery enhanced, is more interested in his money.Khattak and Getty must talk to the Bosnian community in Toronto and look back on a stain on the West’s conscience and their dealings during the collapse of Yugoslavia. They must dig deep in to the Srebrenica massacre the Dragan Corps and find out who Drazen Krstic was and who he is now. The investigation takes them in to a museum set up to commemorate Andalusia, but again everything is not as it seems.Who was Christopher Drayton, why a museum to Andalusia and what is the Bosnian community not telling them? These are all questions that need to be solved before Khattak and Getty can resolve what happened to Drayton. Will justice prevail and will the Bosnians be able to tell their stories?This is a fantastic debut novel, where one must question what is right and wrong, has justice been done, and what really is the definition of justice. How or why did the United Nations stand by allowing genocide on a massive scale to happen once again at the hands of fascists in Europe.This book will remain in your memory long after you have finished reading and asks sensible questions of us all. Just simply a fantastic debut.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Inspector Esa Khattak, a second generation Canadian Muslim, has been promoted, to head Canada’s newly formed Community Policing Section, which has its headquarters in Toronto. Its remit is rather vague but has its roots in a perceived need to respond to an increasing shift to the right in Canadian politics and, seen from a rather cynical point of view, could maybe be a something of a “fig leaf”, there to counter any accusation of bias towards minority groups, particularly Muslims. Although he recognised the nature of his appointment, he relished the opportunity to select his own team, with his first choice being his previous partner, Sergeant Rachel Getty, a young woman he regarded as the best officer he had ever worked with. One evening, as he is kneeling on his prayer rug, his evening prayers are interrupted by his telephone ringing. The call is from his friend Tom Paley, chief historian at the Department of Justice, who asks him to investigate the death of a wealthy businessman, Christopher Drayton, whose body was found on the shore following his fall from the cliffs near his home. Esa wonders why this apparent accident is seen as a job for his department but when his friend offers an explanation, he realises that he is about to embark on an investigation which will be both complex and highly sensitive, will bring back many painful memories for him and will frequently test his objectivity. As he finishes his prayers he feels glad that he will be able to rely on the clear-sighted support of Rachel. As the investigation progresses it soon becomes clear that, as Drayton’s past comes to light, there is no shortage of people who had the motivation to kill him. From the opening sentence of this complex story, which links an investigation into a man’s sudden death with the Bosnian War and the massacre in Srebrenica in 1995, I felt immersed in the author’s eloquent and quietly powerful writing. All the sub-plots and their gradual resolutions were convincing and so too were each of the characters – some of whom I grew very fond of, and some of whom I really disliked – especially Melanie Blessant, Drayton’s gold-digging fiancée! I thought that the main characters, Esa and Rachel, were particularly well drawn, and that the relationship between two seemingly very different personalities worked in a convincing way. He older, “urbane, soft-spoken, respectful and decisive”, and very comfortable in his religious faith; she rather “boxy and square-shouldered” and unconcerned about her appearance; inclined to be rather direct in her interactions but also capable of great sensitivity. However, what they share, in addition to a commitment to seeking truth and justice for victims, is a profound sense of personal loss. Although this is, for the most part, unspoken and unshared between them, the reader gradually learns more about their personal backgrounds, what motivates their need for resolutions, and why their relationship works so well. This is a story about revenge and retribution, loss, the power of love, redemption and the need for justice, for both the living and the dead. However, it also examines the complexities of the notion of justice, and whether it can always be achieved by following the strict letter of the law. Each of the chapters in the book starts with quotes from testimonies heard during the War Crimes Tribunal, held following the Bosnian War. There were times when these made me weep because of what they revealed, not only of the terrible things human beings are capable of, but also of the courage and hope which they represented in the face of truly monstrous treatment and experiences. However, it wasn’t until I reached the end of the book that I discovered that there are comprehensive notes from the author at the back which explain the origin of each of the quotes. I think it is a shame that there is no indication at the start of the book that they are there because they would have added an extra depth to my reading and to the developing story.The author’s background as a human rights lawyer, with a specialisation in military intervention and war crimes in the Balkans, enabled her to write with authority and powerful clarity on the genocide of Bosnian Muslims, especially in the Srebrenica massacre, as well as about the destruction of centuries of cultural heritage. This genocide is described as “Europe’s greatest tragedy since the Second World War”, a time when UN forces turned their backs on the Muslims and, by doing so, enabled the Bosnian Serbs to continue with the horrors of their rape and torture camps and their systematic slaughter of so many people, but especially of the men and the boys. This was a shameful period in modern history and I can recall with great clarity my horror at the time at what appeared to be going on in a country I had visited and loved. As more details emerged following the war, I became more aware of the extent of the horrors which had been perpetrated but The Unquiet Dead has brought to life, in such a powerful way, the awful realities for all those who were caught up in this reign of terror.This is a book which is as deeply disturbing as it is moving. However, I think it is one which should be read by anyone who has an interest in trying to understand why such atrocities occur, the effects on the survivors and what we as fellow human beings need to do to attempt to ensure that history doesn’t repeat itself – a lesson we seem to be particularly bad at learning. I think that this is an outstanding debut novel and, because of the widely-ranging themes would be an ideal choice for reading groups. As I have now discovered, there three further books featuring the main characters (The Language of Secrets, Among the Ruins and A Death in Sarajevo) so I am looking forward to reading more of Khan’s intelligent, informed writing and to getting to know Esa and Rachel much better.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    The Unquiet Dead was recommended to me by the owner of Murder By The Book bookstore in Houston last year. When she handed it to me it was clear she loved this book.It takes place in Canada. Esa Khattak heads the newly formed Community Policing Section, meant to address community relations issues. One of the more problematic issues has become Islam. Khattak seems perfect for the job. A Canadian born Muslim with homicide and international terrorism experience, he is a solid professional. In this position he is responsible for sensitive police investigations that could be requested by senior investigators in any branch of government. Khattak's chosen partner is Rachel Getty, the daughter of a former police superintendent. Though she is in her early thirties and rough around the edges, he considers her the best officer he has ever worked with. When Tom Paley calls asking Khattak to investigate the death of a man who has fallen from a bluff, it doesn't seem like an investigation that should come to CPS. But Paley is the chief historian at the Department of Justice, highly respected, and someone Khattak trusts. Hearing worry and fear in Paley's voice, Khattak begins to understand why Paley is calling. He has reasons to question that the dead man, Christopher Drayton, is who he has claimed to be. Paley has reasons to suspect Drayton may have been a Bosnian war criminal who has immigrated to Canada. A war criminal who instigated the murder of eight thousand Muslim men and boys. A war criminal who has been legally processed into Canada.The author, [Ausma Zehanat Khan], is not someone who was fishing around for a topic to write a novel about when she chose the Bosnian war. She holds a Ph.D. in international human rights law with a specialization in military intervention and war crimes in the Balkans. When I bought this last year it was a stand alone but now is first in a series of three. I've bought the other two and look forward to seeing how Khattak and Rachel progress. The shortcomings of this first novel are with characters. Though she has created a good character in Rachael she failed to create believable characters in two other women. Oddly in descriptions of these women she described their wrists! They were small of course because they were both beautiful women. Khattah needs some development too. I feel sure those weaknesses will be overcome. She's otherwise a fine writer.Be warned that war and genocide are at the core of this novel. The unquiet dead? They talk to us throughout the book. Khan's author notes at the back give a good explanation of the Bosnian war and events leading up to it. The next time I hear someone remark that you can't learn anything from fiction, I can smack them in the face with this book.4/5
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Fantastic. Funny. Touching. Amy shares stories from her career, her childhood and her own motherhood. The audiobook is tremendous, with Amy reading, plus guest appearances. It ends with a live reading of the last chapter.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I do not find it strange that Ausma Zehanat Khan chose the framework of a crime novel to write this haunting story of the atrocities carried out in Bosnia. What is crime fiction but the quest for justice? Scattered throughout the book are quotes from survivors' testimony to what happened all along the route to Srebrenica where so many innocents were massacred. These quotes become the Greek chorus of The Unquiet Dead. They serve to remind us how important it is to prove whether or not Christopher Drayton is a war criminal in order for true justice to be done.As far as I'm concerned, Rachel Getty is the star of this book. Her abusive father, her runaway younger brother, her intelligence and drive-- all of this has come together to turn her into a good, intuitive police officer. I want to see more of her. On the other hand, I didn't much care for her boss, Esa Khattak. As seen here in The Unquiet Dead, Khattak's head is much too easily turned by a pretty face. Since at any given point in time females can make up at least 50% of a suspect list, that's a handicap I'd rather a major character not have. And speaking of Khattak's little foible, there are two important female secondary characters whose portrayals border on caricature.But as irritated as I was with Khattak and those two women, I was immediately pulled right back into the story by Rachel Getty and Ausma Zehanat Khan's Greek chorus of voices. I have read books before where the dead were supposed to speak, supposed to cry out for justice, but this is the first time for me that they actually did. These voices horrified me. They made me weep. They made me despair-- once more-- for the human race. And they made me demand that Rachel Getty and Esa Khattak find them justice.This is an unexpectedly powerful book that has me looking forward to the next in the series, The Language of Secrets.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    The seemingly straightforward death of a man falling off a cliff in Toronto is investigated after a call from Canada's Department of Justice alerts Esa that the victim may be connected to Bosnian war crimes during the 1990's. With alternating points of view of Esa and his partner Rachel, the story unfolds for each of them while they simultaneously deal with their own losses: Esa's perceived betrayal by his lifetime best friend; and Rachel's 7 year search for her missing brother. Actual statements by victims of the genocide in Bosnia, as well as italicized accounts of horrific brutality, add weight to this detective story and make it much more than a police procedural. The writing at times betrays the author's inexperience, but this book is unforgettable, and subsequent titles in the series will be most welcome.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This is a very compelling story based in Toronto, involving the death of a prominent citizen from a fall at the Scarborough Bluffs. Initially is seems like a tragic accident until the true identity of the victim is uncovered. It turns out that he was involved in the massacres of Muslims in Bosnia during the 1991-1993 war after the breakup of Yogoslavia and came to Canada under an assumed name. The community Police service then becomes involved and the investigation is led by Eas Khattak and Rachel Getty. It is a story that is very tragic with graphic details of men and boys murdered and women and children raped by the Serb soldiers. Several other characters turn out to be not who they seem. It is a story of genocide, revenge, justice and potential reconciliation. It is a very good read and very well written first novel.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    modern day Canadian mystery, but focuses on slaughter of Srebernista (? spelling), with the many atrocities. Some of the prose was a little hard to get in to at first, but the story was in fact compelling...
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    A special thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. THE UNQUIET DEAD, Ausma Zehanat Khan’s stunning debut, and the first in the Rachel Getty and Esa Khattak series delivers a powerful and complex mystery and suspense, keeping you holding your breath, for the next installment. Detective Rachel Getty (she has some secrets of her own) and her boss Esa Khattak (a second-generation Canadian Muslim with some secrets) who heads the new Community Policing Section, created to deal with delicate cases involving minorities are investigating a crime. Christopher Drayton’s death- who fell from a cliff (a sensitive case). However, not everything is as it appears and Khattak is not being forthcoming with information and Drayton may have been a war criminal with ties to the Srebrenica massacre of 1995. Who is out to get him, was foul play involved, or was this an accident? An emotional, heartbreaking and haunting mystery of horrific crimes committed against Muslims in Bosnia. Khan delivers an engrossing story of tragedy and devastation which will grip you to the end. Lovers of international crime fiction will devour THE UNQUIET DEAD, written with beautiful lyrical prose; one of loss and redemption. The novel is based upon events that occurred during the 1992-1995 war in Bosnia, formerly a republic of the nation of Yugoslavia. Incredible and extensive research -- drive of those for ethnic and religious uniformity; “Courage, perseverance, and dignity in the face of appalling carnage remind us why Bosnia was a place worth saving.” The author’s background, a former law professor with a specialty in Balkan war crimes offers her incredible insights making for a stellar and impressive debut. Her credentials and associations - a former adjunct professor at American and Canadian universities, she holds a Ph.D. in International Human Rights Law, with the 1995 Srebrenica massacre as the main subject of her dissertation. She also worked briefly with the Bosnian Canadian Relief Association during the war and met members of Bosnian communities, witnesses, activists, and scholars. Well done!
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    •I was a little confused at the beginning by the characters we are quickly introduced to and their relation and reactions to each other but reading a little further cleared up my confusion.•For me the most fascinating aspect of the book was information regarding the Bosnian War of which I knew very little before reading this book. I also like the format of how the information was presented to us. At the beginning of each chapter was an actual quote from testimony, correspondence, etc from information collected regarding the war. Also as appropriate there was background chapters inserted regarding survivors of the war. At the back of the book the author includes the source of this information. (This is similar to what was done in Jam on the Vine regarding the quotes/articles from the Black Press).•I also enjoyed the parts about Andalusia and the Muslim impact on that region•For me mystery series are also about the lead investigators of the crime/puzzle/mystery to be solved and Esa and Rachel are an interesting pair with intriguing back stories that readers will I sure learn more about in future books. I also liked the idea that Esa is a practicing Muslim.•I also enjoyed that this book was set in Canada. •There were a couple of times when I thought the prose got in the way of the story and seem to trip it up a little for me. But nothing really to worry about.•I would recommend this book to fans of cultural mysteries and history. I will definitely be looking forward to the next book in the series.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    "The Unquiet Dead" is not crime fiction, it is not a mystery. It is barely a novel, a highly over-rated one. . Police procedural? No way! Its structure reminds me somewhat of one of those self-discovery/improvement books of the 70's where our protagonist meets a bearded man while on a hike through the woods and as they sit and chat, the wise man asks lots of questions thereby slowly revealing truths and values our hero had not contemplated in his heretofore empty life. Other readers might see a parallel here with the works of Ayn Rand - certainly not with the philosophy, only with the structure. Again, it's about the message, not the "plot". What's it supposedly about ? The death of a successful middle-aged man from a fall off a bluff in the woods. What's it really about? Specifically, the 1995 Serb massacre of 8000 lives in Srebrenica, Bosnia. A number of survivors have relocated to various parts of Canada, including a suburb of Toronto where the story takes place. The characters are fairly well developed but a bit unreal; the good people tend to be very, very good people, highly moral and heroic. Sometimes the dialogue gets a little syrupy. There's an interesting subplot about a very dysfunctional family and their connections to the main characters but they just seem to disappear about 80% of the way through. But the book's strengths are in the very descriptive, very moving scenes of the horrific slaughter, and excellent capsule summaries of the events of that war. Those many pages are well done and very informative. At the end, a very difficult question is raised dealing with the recent death of one the killing squad commandos, but the question isn't answered; it will be passed on to higher level Canadian government officials to resolve. Our hero has disappointingly punted. I understand a second book is underway. While I am generally satisfied with this book despite all the limitations listed above, I doubt that I will read the next one, though I will be interested to see what the "real subject" will be.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Ausma Zehanat Khan's novel focuses on the Balkans genocide, but its setting is Toronto. She evokes the Muslim culture there along with motives for revenge using the police procedural genre. While genocide is the central theme, the murder seems secondary. She maintains the focus on the genocide by including testimony from Human Rights Watch reports and witness statements made before tribunals as well as flashbacks highlighting the agony and suffering of the genocide’s victims. Her background as a Human rights attorney suits her well for this task.Many of the characters in the book become suspects in the mysterious death of Christopher Drayton, from a fall, most because of greed. This approach successfully maintains a level of suspense. Getty and Khattak are two interesting personalities who have personal problems that are only referred to obliquely and never resolved in this novel. It is understandable that his tactics will position them for many future novels, but the approach is less than satisfying.