Women will identify with Detective Aunty, the main character in Uzma Jalaluddin’s cozy mystery. Kausar Khan is a 50-something woman who, despite terrible tragedies in her life still has time for her family and friends, especially when there’s trouble. She possesses qualities that make her a skilled detective. She’s a good listener, especially when people like to talk. She is observant, frequently noticing things that others, even the police, overlook. And, as an elderly woman, she’s often ignored, providing opportunities for her to search for clues.
Kausar and her husband, Hassan, lived in Toronto, with their children, Adam, Sana, and Ali. One night Ali, only 15, was late coming home and when the police showed up at the family’s door, Kausar knew something terrible had happened. Walking home, Ali had been killed by a hit-and-run driver. The culprit was never caught. Kausar fell into a deep depression and couldn’t stay in Toronto, so the couple moved to North Bay. Hassan managed to set up a medical practice at the nearby Canadian Air Force base. Even though Kausar’s daughter and two grandchildren still live in Toronto, she has never returned to a city which holds for her so many bad memories.
Uzma Jalaluddin (Photo Credit: Andrea Stenson Photography)
Kausar was just beginning to reclaim her life when Hassan was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. It’s been 16 months since he died, and Kausar receives a phone call that will force her to return to Toronto. Sana has a clothing store in an area of the city called the Golden Crescent Plaza. “I’m in trouble,” Sana tells her mother. “There’s been a murder, and I’m the prime suspect.”
Since Kausar hasn’t driven a car since Ali’s death, she calls her best friend, May, and asks for a ride to the airport. May is excited about Kausar returning to Toronto, especially if there’s a mystery to solve. She gives her friend a notebook with a colorful cover and the words, Kausar Khan Investigates written across the first page. Kausar is amused by the gift, but stresses that she is just going to help her daughter around the house, not to find the real murderer. But May knows her friend. With Sana in danger, Kausar will want to prove her daughter’s innocence and that means solving the crime. In the back of Kausar’s mind is how she was never able to bring justice to Ali. This time around, she won’t let that happen with Sana.
Imran Thakur, the man who was killed, owned the plaza where Sana had her store. He was stabbed with an ornamental dagger that Sana had on display in her store’s window. When the police arrived, Sana was bending over the victim’s body covered in blood, the knife in her hand. One of the other women who worked in the plaza told the police that she heard Sana arguing with Imran shortly before his death. No one is surprised when Sana is arrested and charged with the murder. Adding insult to injury, the detective doing the honors, Ilyas, was Sana’s high school boyrriend and, Kausar is quick to notice, still is in love with her daughter.
It doesn’t take a detective to see that Sana’s marriage is on the rocks. Hamza is rarely home and when he is, arguments between the two flare up, upsetting their two daughters, teenage Maleeha, and ten year-old Fizza. Kausar also learns that Hamza has made some bad investments, draining everything, including Sana’s inheritance from her father.
Sana is hiding something, but whenever Kausar pushes her for information, her daughter clams up. One thing Sana does say: she’s angry that her mother retreated to North Bay and wasn’t around to help her with Maleeha and Fizza. Sana also makes Kausar promise that she will not investigate the murder. Kausar seems to agree, but there’s too much at stake for her to bow out.
Although Detective Aunty is set in Toronto’s Muslim community, that close knit group is not so different from other ethnic and religious ones. Kausar has conversations with her friend, Fatima, about their arranged marriages. Were they really happy as part of a couple where women were marginalized? Much of the gatherings are made around food and the many dishes Kausar prepares are described so perfectly one can almost inhale the aromas. (Many cups of chai tea!) Clothing, too, is traditional for the older women and for the younger women during times of mourning.
There is someone who breaks the mold of the traditional Muslim man. A former flame of Kausar, Nasir, is a lawyer who is now divorced. He admires Kausar’s intellect and tenacity and is eager to help her solve the crime. He also makes no bones about the fact that he loves Kausar and wants to spend the rest of his life with her. Kausar is flattered and does nothing to discourage him. (We hope we can see where this is going in the next book!)
And there will be another in the series. Kausar won’t stop until she finds out who killed Ali. And now that she’s committed to staying in Toronto, she will have time and some help to close that case, too.
Detective Aunty
Uzma Jalaluddin
Top photo: Bigstock
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