The Language of Secrets

Loosely based on a terrorist plot foiled by Canadian law enforcement in 2006, Khan’s engaging sequel to 2014’s The Unquiet Dead finds Esa Khattak, the head of Toronto’s Community Policing Section, investigating the murder of an estranged friend, Mohsin Dar, who, unbeknownst to him, infiltrated a Muslim terrorist cell that was planning a devastating attack. Khattak, who still mourns his late wife seven years after her death, struggles daily with his man-in-the-middle role between police and fellow Muslims. But as he and his personable partner, Sgt. Rachel Getty, sprint to uncover out what’s really going on in the cell led by the charismatic Hassan Ashkouri while being kept dangerously in the dark by Khattak’s nemesis, Ciprian Coale, about a larger antiterrorist operation, the stakes suddenly skyrocket with the engagement of Khattak’s headstrong sister, Ruksh, to Ashkouri. Those prepared to slog through the blizzard of poetry used to convey clues will be rewarded by a gripping climax in the snowy wilderness of Ontario’s Algonquin Park. Agent: Danielle Burby, Hannigan Salky Getzler. (Feb.)