Kausar Khan #1
This is the first mystery for writer Uzma Jalaluddin, though she’s already had a successful writing career creating women’s fiction. Her detective, a recent widow named Kausar Khan, lives in North Bay, Canada. One morning she gets a call from her daughter Sana, back in Toronto, telling her there’s been a murder and she’s the prime suspect. Then she hangs up. Kausar, who hasn’t been back to Toronto since the death of her son many years ago, nevertheless hurriedly packs a bag and jumps on a plane.
She arrives at Sana’s to find Sana uncommunicative. She’s delighted to see her granddaughters who are 10 and 15, but her son in law is missing. When he does return, it’s obvious something is wrong. Sana isn’t sharing too many details with her mother but it does emerge that the murdered man was her landlord at the plaza where she had recently opened a clothing store. It doesn’t take much time for Kausar to discover that the man was soundly detested by all his tenants, but beyond that, Sana asks her just to be her mom, to be there to take care of the kids and do the cooking.
Kausar was a traditional Pakistani wife. She had an arranged marriage with a very traditional man – a man who she loved – but who expected the same of her: cooking, taking care of the house, child minding. Kausar, however, is something of a natural detective and simply cooking and babysitting are not going to cut it, especially when her daughter’s life is on the line. Of course she begins to ask questions, despite Sana’s pleas that she keep her nose out of it. So far, so cozy.
The strength of this book are the characters, especially Kausar, who is finally coming to terms with the hit and run death of her son at age 15. Being back in Toronto in her old neighborhood she begins to run into old friends and to feel out the community where she had lived for so many years. This has a strong Vera Wong vibe – older detective who sticks her nose in where it doesn’t belong, bolstered by great cooking and in Kausar’s case, kindness. As with Vera Wong, the author is new to mysteries, and that part shows a little bit in the slightly meandering middle.
What kept my attention was Kausar and her unexpected, blossoming relationship with her sometimes sullen teenage granddaughter, Maleeha. Maleeha, however, has the same goal as Kausar: clearing her mother’s name. The two of them make an excellent duo as Maleeha knows things about Sana and life in Toronto that Kausar simply does not. It’s the relationships in the novel that maintain interest for the reader and make the story a more compelling one. Each connection to Kausar’s past is not only another way she begins to feel more at home, but it’s a connection to be explored in the hopes of clearing Sana’s name.
The author paints an in-depth picture of the depression that followed the death of Kausar’s son – depression that took her and her husband to remote North Bay, depression that cut her off from her other children and from life and friends back in Toronto. As the depression lifts, Kausar begins to feel more sure of herself, that she is a woman who can solve problems and right wrongs.
The little community at the shopping plaza where Sana has her store is also deftly portrayed – the plaza is aging and not doing too well. After the owner’s death it looks like it will be sold and converted to something else. Jalaluddin proves to be expert at drawing the threads of the story together into a solution, and the book is structured in an extremely traditional manner, with Kausar concluding the novel by bringing all the suspects together as she explains what actually happened. As a reader I never thought Sana was guilty, but things do look dire for her. However, I had faith that the capable Kausar would discover the truth.
This is a charming mystery stuffed with memorable and interesting characters. If you lose a little heart about half way through stick with it – have faith in Detective Aunty. She’s going to discover the truth. — Robin Agnew