Uzma Jalaluddin’s Detective Aunty

Here’s something new and different, and very welcome: a murder mystery (cozy-ish) set in a multicultural Scarborough neighbourhood with a widowed Indo-Canadian woman in her late 50s as the plucky heroine.

Uzma Jalaluddin is a Canadian author and journalist who has written acclaimed fiction and one play; this is her first murder mystery.

Kausar Khan’s life has been shaped by other people’s expectations. At only seventeen, she was introduced to the man who became her husband, an older and well-established doctor. Their love grew over the years and they had three children. When their teenage son was killed in a hit-and-run accident late one night, Kausar was plunged into unbearable grief. Community gossip worsened her bereavement.

A move away from Toronto helped her begin to heal from a long period of depression, and she and her husband spent nearly twenty years in North Bay, where he became a beloved community doctor. Even after his death, Kausar was reluctant to return to Toronto to visit–until she received an urgent call from her daughter, Sana.

The murder mystery is intertwined with Jalaluddin’s deep exploration of community ties in a fascinating setting. As Kausar desperately seeks evidence to exonerate Sana, whom the police have identified as the prime suspect in the murder of her commercial landlord, she delves into the lives and stories of a large cast of characters. She also re-connects with the close friend from whom she has been estranged for decades and grows closer to her granddaughters, Sana’s two girls.

This is not a light cozy: Kausar’s reminiscences about her life are marked by her two deep experiences of bereavement. She and her friends have thoughtful conversations about everything from arranged marriage and generational expectations of women to adultery and murder.

But this is a fresh, often funny, and always engaging mystery.

For some readers, it may seem like the investigation recedes at times, but Kausar is always seeking out information that will help her defend Sana. She’s aware of having failed her daughter when she was overwhelmed with grief for Sana’s brother, and Kausar is determined to make amends.

This is a book full of food and family, and it’s not an idealized portrait of a community or a neighbourhood–which is a significant strength.

A terrific beginning to a promising new series.