Among the Ruins

Khan’s provocative third mystery featuring Esa Khattak (after 2015’s The Language of Secrets) takes Khattak, who’s on leave from Toronto’s Community Policing Section, to Iran. In a small town outside Esfahan, Esa meets an agent for the Canadian government, who asks him to look into the death of Zahra Sobhani, a renowned Iranian-born filmmaker who settled in Toronto. Sobhani created a media storm to secure her return to Iran, where she made a documentary, A Requiem of Hope, detailing the irregularities of the country’s 2009 election and the protests that followed. She also evaded her handlers to take photos at the notorious Evin prison. Sobhani was later arrested, tortured, and killed. Members of a ragtag protest group help Esa delve into the maelstrom of Iranian politics. Back in Canada, Esa’s police partner, Sgt. Rachel Getty, investigates Sobhani’s life in Toronto. Esa and Rachel risk their lives in an effort to discover who killed Sobhani and why. Khan intertwines a tale of love and fear with the rich history of a troubled land. [em]Agent: Danielle Burby, Hannigan Salky Getzler. (Feb.) [/em]