A review by serendipitysbooks
The Unquiet Dead by Ausma Zehanat Khan

challenging dark mysterious reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

 The Unquiet Dead definitely contains grit. It follows Esa Khattak and Rachel Getty who have been asked to investigate the death of Christopher Drayton, who appears to have fallen from a cliff in Toronto. So why is their unit, which handles minority-sensitive cases, even involved? It soon transpires (spoilers ahead) that Drayton may be a false identity and he may in fact be a war criminal involved with the Srebrenica massacre. And it seems he didn’t shed his proclivities with his actual identity. The depiction of what occurred at Srebrenica and other wartime atrocities is quite graphic, meaning this book will not be for every reader. I was sometimes frustrated by Khattak’s inscrutability but I’m keen to learn more about him and see how his partnership with Rachel Getty unfolds. His being a practising Muslim and the bi-cultural nature of their partnership gave this book a definite point of difference and helps it stand it from the standard the police procedural. 
Expand filter menu Content Warnings