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A review by mg_in_md_
Blood Betrayal by Ausma Zehanat Khan
5.0
This series is officially a must read for me, even though this is only the second book in the series. I had to sit with this one for a bit after I finished it because there was a lot to digest in terms of the themes and the characters. Even though it was a heavy read, I could not put the book down once I started it and cannot stop thinking about it. Another relevant, timely tale that tackles tough issues facing this country.
One of the things I love about this series and the author's prior mystery series is the inclusion of difficult themes/issues impacting the communities in which they are set. This novel focuses on police shootings and their aftermath in Blackwater Falls, Colorado. There are two separate shooting incidents that the Denver Police Department's Community Response Unit (CRU) is brought in to investigate, one of which has ties to Detective Inaya Rahman's past. We learn more about her, her family, as well as her coworkers Detective Catalina Hernandez and Lieutenant Waqas Seif. I feel like I am deeply invested in their lives due to their compelling backstories and how fully formed/three dimensional they seem. The story is intense, both from a professional and personal standpoint for the three characters who all find themselves at crossroads. The cases and the character development were equally gripping to me and kept me wanting to read "just one more chapter."
This book will challenge your thinking, especially as each character wrestles with their own demons, past and present. I felt like the outcomes of the two shootings also challenged my beliefs and thoughts about how they would turn out. I felt like I was experiencing the same emotions as some of the characters as we learned the motives and reasons for the shootings. The resolution of one was particularly heartbreaking to me. While this story was fictional, it could have easily been ripped from the headlines.
I think it would be easy enough to read this as a stand-alone novel, but you should 100% read the first book in the series if you have not had a chance to read it yet. It is excellent and this follow-up is equally stellar. It will stay with me for some time. And I cannot wait to find out what comes next for the CRU team in Blackwater Falls.
Many thanks to Minotaur for the NetGalley copy and a chance to read the latest installment in the Blackwater Falls series early!
One of the things I love about this series and the author's prior mystery series is the inclusion of difficult themes/issues impacting the communities in which they are set. This novel focuses on police shootings and their aftermath in Blackwater Falls, Colorado. There are two separate shooting incidents that the Denver Police Department's Community Response Unit (CRU) is brought in to investigate, one of which has ties to Detective Inaya Rahman's past. We learn more about her, her family, as well as her coworkers Detective Catalina Hernandez and Lieutenant Waqas Seif. I feel like I am deeply invested in their lives due to their compelling backstories and how fully formed/three dimensional they seem. The story is intense, both from a professional and personal standpoint for the three characters who all find themselves at crossroads. The cases and the character development were equally gripping to me and kept me wanting to read "just one more chapter."
This book will challenge your thinking, especially as each character wrestles with their own demons, past and present. I felt like the outcomes of the two shootings also challenged my beliefs and thoughts about how they would turn out. I felt like I was experiencing the same emotions as some of the characters as we learned the motives and reasons for the shootings. The resolution of one was particularly heartbreaking to me. While this story was fictional, it could have easily been ripped from the headlines.
I think it would be easy enough to read this as a stand-alone novel, but you should 100% read the first book in the series if you have not had a chance to read it yet. It is excellent and this follow-up is equally stellar. It will stay with me for some time. And I cannot wait to find out what comes next for the CRU team in Blackwater Falls.
Many thanks to Minotaur for the NetGalley copy and a chance to read the latest installment in the Blackwater Falls series early!