canadian. 1st of mystery series. excellent reviews

(The first book in the Rachel Getty and Esa Khattak series)

A solid introduction to a new series. I will definitely read book two.

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.

First book in series set in Canada. Highly recommend. Also check out Vicki Delany's Smith and Winters (In the Shadow of the Glacier) and Louise Penny's Three Pines (Still Life) if you like mysteries set in Canada.

This was a very different story as it was set in Toronto, but also in Bosnia. It's a brilliant matching of a devout Muslim detective with a white female partner, and the story is very current. It's dark, but very compelling.

An intriguing present day mystery coupled with a retelling of the horrors of the Bosnian war. I l loved this book for the combination, but the the Bosnian atrocities are painful to read about. I will look for more from this Colorado author.

Detectives Esa Khattack and Rachel Getty are called to investigate the death of a rich philanthropist. Did he fall from a cliff or was it murder? And why was he living under an assumed name?
First book in the series.

Wonderful book, devastating way to learn more in depth about what happened in Bosnia, especially in 2017 in the USA. Well written, good characters, totally plausible story. Retained mystery. The author had a few glitches in the beginning that any good editor could have caught, but they are minor in view of the plot and its delivery.

Wonderful debut, a detective mystery set in Canada, that keeps unraveling till the very end. It's focused on the recent Bosnian history, ethnic cleansing of Muslims. Each chapter heading is an emotional historical quote that makes one ponder about Bosnia's and the world's history.

The fictional characters are somewhat stereotypical, yet, they are plentiful, and entertaining enough to make the book a satisfying read. The best character is Rachel, the strong, smart, and determined detective. I gave the book 4 stars for it's historical parts, for learning more about Srebrenica massacre of 1995 and related events, presented through narration of survivors. I look forward to reading more by Khan.