海角大神

Well into Ausma Zehanat Khan鈥檚 new novel, 鈥淏lackwater Falls,鈥� police Detective Inaya Rahman and her partner Catalina 鈥淐at鈥� Hernandez confront a motorcycle gang threatening an immigrant family鈥檚 home. The scene is taut; violence looms. Yet a mixture of smart questions, calm resistance, and help from a surprising source eases the standoff.

It鈥檚 a compelling moment that reflects the tone and time of Khan鈥檚 gripping story. The setting is the present; the place is a mountain burg called Blackwater Falls, Colorado, where an influx of newcomers from the Middle East and Africa stake their claim within the largely white, but diversifying, community. In the town鈥檚 wealthy enclaves and picturesque downtown, cultures mix and often miss, emotions blaze hot, and assumptions run rampant. How welcome, then, to have Khan at the narrative rudder. A practiced mystery writer, as well as the former editor-in-chief of Muslim Girl magazine, she delivers a top-notch page turner that navigates the complex identities, conflicting allegiances, and shifting traditions of our modern world.

Inaya, a member of the Community Response Unit of the Denver Police Department, is a principled investigator in love with her job despite a traumatic incident early in her career. She鈥檚 also a devout Muslim, nearly 30, and the eldest of three girls who remains, much to her devoted parents鈥� distress, unmarried.

The novel opens with a gruesome, but bloodless, murder. A girl鈥檚 body 鈥� neatly dressed and carefully posed 鈥� has been hung on the door of the town鈥檚 mosque in a position akin to a crucifixion. Inaya recognizes her immediately; she鈥檚 Razan Elkader, the teenage daughter of a Syrian refugee family. The distressing scene, including the conspicuous absence of Razan鈥檚 customary hijab, causes Inaya to faint, which prompts derision (plus several sexist, racist jabs) from the local sheriff and his men.聽

Lt. Waqas Seif, Inaya鈥檚 hard-to-read superior, seems to offer scant support. 鈥淵ou live here, don鈥檛 you have any insights?鈥� he probes. When Inaya asserts that the killing is obviously a hate crime, Seif pushes: 鈥淕et out there. Make your own observations.鈥� It鈥檚 one of the book鈥檚 many key themes 鈥� the need to think and look deeply, rather than accept the slim satisfactions of face value.

The investigation quickly hits snags. Inaya and her team discover this isn鈥檛 the first attack on recent arrivals; months earlier two Somali girls went missing and the case was suspiciously closed. An influential and inflammatory anti-Islamic pastor must be questioned, and the racist sheriff 鈥� a pugnacious, sneering force 鈥� is clearly involved.聽

As 鈥淏lackwater Falls鈥� twists and turns with the revelations and setbacks typical of the genre, Khan takes pains to allow the edges, doubts, contradictions, and complexity of many of her characters to surface. Relying on backstory, flashbacks, unvoiced worries, and telling gestures, she emphasizes that the roles individuals play 鈥� detective, student, biker, businesswoman 鈥� mask a roiling ocean of individuality. This isn鈥檛 a new idea, but it鈥檚 a refreshing reminder, especially in the context of Muslim and refugee characters, who continue to receive short shrift in American pop culture.聽

Lieutenant Seif is one such robust character. He鈥檚 a Palestinian Iranian who鈥檚 raised his two younger brothers 鈥� now in their 20s 鈥� since the death of their parents. He鈥檚 climbed the professional ranks through hard work and, he increasingly fears, a reliance on code-switching and his racial ambiguity. As the story progresses, Lieutenant Seif is both alarmed by and drawn to Inaya鈥檚 open expressions of faith, love for family, and pride in her Afghan Pakistani background.聽

The novel speeds to an exciting conclusion as it weaves in a slew of au courant topics, including school bullying, doxxing, worker intimidation, and vigilante tactics versus activism and protest. It鈥檚 a lot to juggle, but Khan nimbly balances her many messages and messengers.聽

鈥淵ou may have fought your battles, but that doesn鈥檛 mean we haven鈥檛 been fighting ours,鈥� challenges Cat during a confrontation with a hard-charging civil rights lawyer invested in the case. It鈥檚 yet another call for individuals to resist the urge to judge based on minimal interactions and surface impressions. Inaya and her colleagues certainly can鈥檛 afford to do so as they track down the guilty 鈥� and crack open the truth 鈥� in Khan鈥檚 fresh, urgent, and rousing 鈥淏lackwater Falls.鈥�