Scan barcode
A review by dgrachel
A Dangerous Crossing by Ausma Zehanat Khan
5.0
This is the fourth full length novel in Khan’s Esa Khattak & Rachel Getty mystery series, and quite possibly the best. It certainly is the most heartbreaking. Like her previous novels, the mystery is set against a backdrop of a humanitarian crisis. The Unquiet Dead dealt with the aftermath of the Srebrenica massacre, The Language of Secret with stopping a terror attack on Canadian soil, Among the Ruins discusses the Iranian regime and their torture of political dissidents, and this book brings the Syrian crisis into full view. It is devastating.
It is difficult for me to separate feelings about the book from feelings about the events in Syria and the plight of the Syrian people, both as refugees fleeing their homeland and those left behind. Khan has a PhD in International Human Rights Law and you can tell this is something she cares about deeply. Her characters care deeply and as a reader, you can’t help but care, too.
We’re given more insight into the main characters, their personal lives, including budding romance, but at no point does it overwhelm the greater narrative. As always, there are multiple layers of complexity to the story and nothing is as simple as it seems on the surface. I love that. I don’t want to give anything away, so I’ll just say have a box of tissues with you while you read, but know that even in the darkness, there is light, and be prepared to be angry enough to need to take action. Find the helpers, as believe Mr. Rogers said, and join them. That’s my plan.
It is difficult for me to separate feelings about the book from feelings about the events in Syria and the plight of the Syrian people, both as refugees fleeing their homeland and those left behind. Khan has a PhD in International Human Rights Law and you can tell this is something she cares about deeply. Her characters care deeply and as a reader, you can’t help but care, too.
We’re given more insight into the main characters, their personal lives, including budding romance, but at no point does it overwhelm the greater narrative. As always, there are multiple layers of complexity to the story and nothing is as simple as it seems on the surface. I love that. I don’t want to give anything away, so I’ll just say have a box of tissues with you while you read, but know that even in the darkness, there is light, and be prepared to be angry enough to need to take action. Find the helpers, as believe Mr. Rogers said, and join them. That’s my plan.