The Unquiet Dead by Ausma Zehanat Khan @AusmaZehanat @noexitpress #BlogTour

One man is dead.

But thousands were his victims.

Can a single murder avenge that of many?

Scarborough Bluffs, Toronto: the body of Christopher Drayton is found at the foot of the cliffs. Muslim Detective Esa Khattak, head of the Community Policing Unit, and his partner Rachel Getty are called in to investigate. As the secrets of Drayton s role in the 1995 Srebrenica genocide of Bosnian Muslims surface, the harrowing significance of his death makes it difficult to remain objective. In a community haunted by the atrocities of war, anyone could be a suspect. And when the victim is a man with so many deaths to his name, could it be that justice has at long last been served?

In this important debut novel, Ausma Zehanat Khan has written a compelling and provocative mystery exploring the complexities of identity, loss, and redemption.

The Unquiet Dead by Ausma Zehanat Khan is published by No Exit Press in paperback on 27 July 2017 and is the author's debut novel.
The Unquiet Dead is  the Winner of the Barry Award, Arthur Ellis Award, and Romantic Times Reviewers Choice Award for Best First Novel. I am delighted to kick off the Blog Tour for this extraordinary book.

The Unquiet Dead is set in Canada, but deals with the horror and tragedy of the war in Bosnia in the 1990s. Inspector Esa Khattak, along with partner Rachel Getty work within the Community Policing Section in the Canadian police and are tasked with dealing with racial crimes.

Christopher Drayton has been murdered and Khattak and Getty are on the case. On the surface, Drayton appeared to be an average business man; elderly with a younger fiancee. However, it soon becomes clear that Drayton's past may hold the answers to his death when it is discovered that he is, in fact, a Bosnian war criminal.

As the characters begin to dig into the past, the author very cleverly and effectively informs the reader of the atrocities of the war in Bosnia. This is emotionally draining for the reader at times, especially with the knowledge that the author has used genuine transcripts from interviews given by survivors of this terrible era. As a reader, I began to question myself; why did I not know more details about this war? How can something that happened not so long ago have been allowed to continue? Where was the intervention from the powerful countries of the world?

Part police procedural, part crime thriller, part mystery; The Unquiet Dead is also a complex and haunting look at our recent social history. I was intrigued to find a Muslim lead character who is so far away from the current stereotypical beliefs, and the insight into both Esa's and Rachel's own lives added an interesting depth to this story.

The Unquiet Dead is a well plotted and elegantly written story. It is a remarkable debut that raises questions, but also has all the requirements for crime thriller readers.

My thanks to the publisher for sending my copy for review.

Ausma Zehanat Khan is the author of The Unquiet Dead, and winner of the Barry Award, the Arthur Ellis Award and the Romantic Times Reviewers Choice Award for Best First Novel. Her widely acclaimed second novel, The Language of Secrets, was published in 2016. Among the Ruins, her third mystery will be published in February 2017. She is also at work on a fantasy series, to be published by Harper Voyager, beginning in 2017. The Bloodprint is Book One of the Khorasan Archives.

A frequent lecturer and commentator, Ms. Khan holds a Ph.D. in International Human Rights Law with a research specialization in military intervention and war crimes in the Balkans. Ms. Khan completed her LL.B. and LL.M. at the University of Ottawa, and her B.A. in English Literature & Sociology at the University of Toronto.

Formerly, she served as Editor in Chief of Muslim Girl magazine. The first magazine to address a target audience of young Muslim women, Muslim Girl re-shaped the conversation about Muslim women in North America. The magazine was the subject of two documentaries, and hundreds of national and international profiles and interviews, including CNN International, Current TV, and Al Jazeera "Everywoman". 

Ms. Khan practiced immigration law in Toronto and has taught international human rights law at Northwestern University, as well as human rights and business law at York University. She is a long-time community activist and writer, and currently lives in Colorado with her husband.

Author photo taken by Athif Khan.

For more information visit : www.ausmazehanatkhan.com
Follow her on Twitter  @AusmaZehanat