3.5 stars, rounded up
Blackwater Falls is the first in a series about Inaya Rahman, a female Muslim detective in Colorado. Her initial investigation as a member of the Community Response Team is the murder of a young Muslim girl who was found crucified on the doors of a Muslim mosque.
I enjoyed Inaya and found her to be fully developed, with an interesting backstory. Inaya can also rely on two other women - her Hispanic partner and a Muslim attorney, who were also well developed. Khan has a lot to say about masculinity, and how many men confuse it with superiority. Initially, I was worried she was setting up all the men to be villains, but as the story goes on, she does provide differences.
The story focuses on hate crimes, those against minorities, refugees and Muslims. Khan does an excellent job showing the suspicion of these groups of anyone in the police force, based on prior experiences. Even Inaya has been subjected to these prejudices. She also takes the time to provide information about the cultures represented by the refugees which I also appreciated.
Khan makes no secret of her politics, which align with my own. It would be easy to think her depiction of the evangelical church in the story was overdone. But I’ve been witness to the same beliefs she details here. And her writing is a strong reminder about what our shared God really teaches.
The book got somewhat bogged down in the middle and at times, it felt garbled. Khan provides multiple suspects and I will admit to not having a clue how it would play out.
I wasn’t as enthralled with the romantic subtext. It felt rushed and too soon in the series. But I will definitely seek out the next in the series.
My thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advance copy of this book.

At its core, Blackwater Falls, is a murder mystery/police procedural. However, the story has strong overtones of racism, xenophobia, prejudice, discrimination, police brutality, etc. The body of teenager and Syrian refugee Razan Elkader is found mounted on the door of the local mosque, posed in an emulation of the crucifixion. Blackwater Falls, on the outskirts of Denver, has a small minority community, mostly refugees from Somalia and various Middle Eastern countries who are employed at the local meat-packing plant. The town is grateful for the cheap labor, but otherwise many of the residents want little to do with the "foreigners." The pastor of the local evangelical megachurch, Resurrection Church, regularly preaches against the evils of foreigners, especially those who are Muslim. A local motorcycle "social group", the Disciples, act as enforcers, intimidating and harassing minority residents. The local sheriff is corrupt and racist, and some of his officers participate in or openly ignore the harassment or are "overzealous" in their interactions with minority residents.

Because of the racial tensions and in response to protests nationwide in recent years in response to police brutality, a Community Response Unit (CRU) has been formed within the Denver Police Department. Lieutenant Seif, Detective Inaya Rahman, and Detective Catalina Hernandez are tasked with solving the case, which is made more difficult because Sheriff Grant does not appreciate being sidelined, especially by "minority" officers. In addition, the local minority community is not particularly trusting of the police. Leading the "resistance" is Areesha Adams, a community organizer and civil rights lawyer who has had numerous confrontations with the sheriff and his officers. Making things even more difficult, Adams and others believe the attention being focused on Razan is because she appeared "white." Two teenage Somali girls had disappeared, but the police had been largely dismissive, conducting a cursory investigation at best. The CRU was unaware of these disappearances, which does not help their efforts to build credibility with the community.

The story is fraught with tension -- between the minority community and larger community, between the sheriff and his officers and the CRU detectives, and between Seif and Rahman, as Rahman cannot understand why Seif is so subservient and deferential to Sheriff Grant (and which Seif is not at liberty to explain). There are some unexpected alliances in this story. The author incorporates interesting discussions of religious iconography, as well as various aspects of the different African and Middle Eastern cultures (Persian, Arab, Afghani, Syrian, Somali, etc.) that are represented by the major and some minor characters. The ultimate motive for the killing of Razan, and the identity of the killer, is both surprising and not surprising.

I received a copy of the e-book via NetGalley in exchange for a review.

Fast compulsive read - timely - immigrant girls are going missing and detective Inaya must find out - takes place in Colorado

This was a pretty good book, it was a mystery a police investigation, into the murder of a young Muslin woman and the disappearance of two other girls. It was also a book about racism, racial and religious violence, sexual violence and corruption in the police and Christian church. At times it felt too detailed and that made it a bit slow. Reading about other cultures was interesting, and while I agree with the political perspective it represented, for others this might be problematic

Blackwater Falls by Ausma Zehanat Khan was covered in my Fall Book Preview, where I share a curated list of the season’s hottest new titles including the books I’ve most enjoyed, the ones I’m most looking forward to reading, and the ones the industry is most excited about. I love Khan's writing and mysteries.
Our Fall Book Preview event is exclusively for members of our MMD Book Club community and What Should I Read Next Patreon “Book Lover” supporters. Our communities also received a printable of all the picks with Blackwater Fall's publishing info and release date included.

I really liked this new take on a detective thriller. I loved that the main character was a Muslim woman. I enjoyed looking and learning about different cultures and societal norms . The plot was well crafted and was just a good book
Thanks for letting me review this book to Netgalley and the publisher

Detective Inaya Rahma, a Muslim woman of color who is part of a community response police force has been called in to investigate the death of a young Muslim girl found nailed on a cross. As she and members of the team investigate the death, they discover two other girls have gone missing and have been reported as runaways by the police. However, as connections are discovered between the girls, is there a connection to the workplace of the fathers? How much does the distrust between locals and immigrants factor in along with clashing religions?
#Blackwater Falls #NetGalley

Blackwater Falls is the first novel in a new series by Ausma Zehanat Khan. Inaya is a Muslim detective that has been assigned to help solve the murder of a young Muslim girl who was a recent refugee from Syria. During her investigation, she discovers that several other girls have gone missing from the Muslim community with no publicity about their cases. The novel is set in a small town in Colorado during the present time and the current issues of racism, immigration, police brutality, and religious extremism all come into play. Overall, I felt it was a great start to the series and I look forward to seeing where the next books will take us. Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC.

I was very excited to be graced with an early read of this book. I loved "The Unquiet Dead." and was eager to read another book by this author.

This book started out well and the main character, Detective Inaya Rahman, was able to early on show some of what it would be like to be a Muslim woman in a small, backwater town in Colorado, especially one who was a detective.

I have to admit, I stopped reading half way through. What should have been a thrilling murder mystery became bogged down in leftist politics and a very open critique of some of the politics and policies in the U.S. that is definitely an attack, at least in my view.

My first great offense was when the author had the character misaligning those whose ancestors came to the U.S. as immigrants, did well and now forgot about that and was against immigration. My great grandparents on both sides came from other countries, had to suffer through many things, including a great prejudice against Catholics. They farmed and worked hard and brought their children up to look on all as their brothers and sisters in God and raised very liberal Democrats. That no longer exists. There are only leftist extremists left in that part. The second part was to bash U.S. immigration policies and attacking those who did believe that people needed to enter this country legally.
The final blow was this, " The FBI called BLM activists radicals too-when God knew the least received idea in history was that of protecting life."
As I live in the Minneapolis area and watched as that city burned, small businesses destroyed, vandalized and yes, even people murdered by BLM activists I can only say that if the author believes that BLM is about protecting black lives, she is living in a world of delusion. But........if they were, they would only be interested in protecting black lives, no one else's. Pretty bad example to cite as doing God's will. Their action and the actions of those in local government who supported them have turned a wonderful city into a sewer.

I would recommend that she research BLM before she starts applauding them. If she wishes the reader to understand the moral and ethical lives of Muslims, then she might not want to prop up organizations that wish to destroy the family, raise up homosexuality, accuse all white people of being racists and wishes to overthrow the U.S. society because of "white supremacy." We have seen their work all over this country for years. They are being paid to divide and destroy. They would not bother to step up to speak against the grave number of black babies being aborted nor speak up for the need for fathers in the home and an intact family. I have never met anyone who was Muslim who was on board with BLM.

I worked in social services for 37 years and I have interviewed and assisted refugees from just about every war torn country in the world and many who were not refugees, but immigrants; and I think that the authors remarks do not fit in with any of the wonderful people I have met.

I am sorry I jumped up on my soapbox, but people need to know what they are going to read and I was so sad that this is what the book is based on. The investigation of the murder itself gets lost in the politics of the author. This was really disappointing after the first book I read, which I loved. I have lost all interest in finishing the book.

Though Ausma Zehanat Khan's reputation precedes her this is the first of her books that I have read. The start of her new series with protagonist Inaya Rahman is indeed a strong one. Inaya is on assignment in Blackwater Falls, Colorado as part of the newly formed Community Response Unit. With additional team members (Catalina Hernandez and Jaime Webb) Qas Seif is heading up the investigation into alleged corruption within the Blackwater Falls Police Department. They are also hoping to successfully reach out to specific parts of the town, i.e. refugees and immigrants. However, their task is complicated by the gruesome murder of a local Syrian teen. The investigations intertwine and end up complicating the team's efforts.

This book is so much more than a police procedural. It shines an uncomfortable light on current day issues while trying to show all sides of those issues. Each of the fictional team has a traumatic back story which is slowly revealed. The character development is excellent and the plot complexity is also well done. The social issues Ausma Zehanat Khan skillfully depicts will stick with you long after you finish the final page. I look forward to a continuation of this new series.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for sharing this e-galley.

The first in a series, Blackwater Falls tells of a particularly chilling crime - the apparent crucifixion in a mosque of a Syrian teenage girl. The Community Relations Police of Denver are called in to solve this sensitive crime in a community already torn apart by racism and religious hatred. The main character, Detective Inaya Rahman, is a complex, well-drawn character, and I enjoyed her interactions with her colleagues and a community activist, as well as her point-of-view as an observant Muslim woman detective. The uniqueness of that POV makes the book stand out. The main plotline is very interesting, although it sometimes seemed to get overwhelmed by all of the other plotlines, and the story was very slow to develop. The characters overall represented many different ethnic groups and religions, just about to the point of feeling like an exercise to put as many possible backgrounds into the book to see what happened. I will definitely read the next book in the series to see what happens to all of the characters and how the author develops their relationships and whether some of the villains who went unpunished in this book ever have to pay for their crimes. Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC.

Thank you to Netgalley and Minotaur Books for giving me an arc to review! Also big thanks to @kahaneewitches for posting about this book on their Instagram stories. I was immediately hooked when I saw the main character is a Muslim detective and just knew I needed to read it!

I don’t read adult mystery/thriller all that much. A lot of the mystery books I’ve read are historical fiction/mystery or more ya contemporary mystery/thriller, so I was excited to see what I would think.

To start off with, the plot of this book and the actual mystery was very complex with lots of twists and turns I was not expecting. And I loved every second of it! It kept me on the edge of my seat and I loved getting to know the good, the bad, and the ugly parts of Blackwater Falls. In a way, you kind of get to be Inaya as the reader. Inaya is pretty new to Blackwater Falls, so as the reader, you both go on this journey of learning the secrets the town and its people are hiding. The book was fast-paced and I couldn’t put it down. And instead of focusing on just one mystery—of Razan’s murder—we also get swept up in the disappearance of two Black Muslim girls, plus the ongoing investigation happening with Sheriff Grant. It’s all interconnected but also a confusing mess, but in a good way! I miss that when it comes to books. The delicious complexity of a plot really made me realize I need to read more adult fiction.

Inaya is part Pakistani and part Afghani. Her relationship with her family was so relatable it kind of hurt lol. Her younger sisters are “fashionable” and into boys, whereas Inaya is focused on her work and the murder of Razan. We have a whole scene in chapter ten of the book where Inaya’s mom tries to convince her to see this rishta and goes on a whole spiel about how important it is to get married, and how Inaya’s younger sisters can’t get married until she does, and she’s getting older now, etc etc. Like I said, painfully relatable. I do wish we got to see more moments of Inaya with her family. Her baba is honestly the best, sweetest, kindest man alive. To see someone in her family be so supportive of her dreams and her career made me emotional. And it was a nice balance when it came to her mom’s persistence.

One thing I think this book does well is address the complexities when it comes to being a visible minority while working in a system that is known for its systemic racism and violence. I hate the police. With a passion. And this book will make you hate them even more. But what’s difficult is seeing how Inaya is hated by members of her community for being on the “wrong side” and working within this system to try and bring people justice. It’s complicated and honestly I don’t know how I feel about it either. In one way, it makes sense that since we can’t immediately defund the police, having people who represent the community working within the system could be a way to make change. But at the same time, we’ve seen visible minorities working among the police and seen how they suppress their background and differences to fit in and be like everyone else. Seif, Inaya’s boss, is one such example since he’s white passing and also has twisted his name and past to suit his purposes. So all in all, it’s hard to say who’s right and who’s wrong and if the Community Response Unit is the way to go with dealing with police brutality and misconduct. I don’t think I’m educated enough on this topic to have a proper opinion, but I appreciate that this was addressed rather than ignoring it entirely.

Another interesting aspect of this book is the difference in how the disappearance of two Black Muslim girls is treated vs. Razan’s more public murder (as a white-skinned Syrian). Another thing I was glad was addressed and Areesha is definitely going to be a character many people will fall in love with. (I’m also obsessed with her fashion sense).

I do want to address a couple things though. I think this book needs trigger warnings, and I really hope the publisher sees this and can add this before the book is published. This book is disturbing and hard to read at times. We get Razan’s refugee backstory, the systemic racism and discrimination Muslim and refugee members of the Blackwater community are going through, plus there are two scenes where characters get their hijabs ripped off while being filmed and terrorized by white men.

The chapters in particular are: 18 and 53

While I’ve never personally experienced the horror that these two scenes describe, I think it’s a common fear for a lot of hijab-wearing Muslims. That and it being Muharram and my mind being back in Karbala when the women in the Prophet’s family were stripped of their hijabs, physically abused, and marched through the streets of Damascus…I was not mentally ready to be reading something like this. It was really difficult and triggering and I had to take a break from reading before continuing on. The only other scene that triggered me was something that was more personal and specific to my experiences, so I won’t mention anything except if you’ve had bad experiences when it comes to rishtas and matchmaking, that’s something you should have a heads up on.

While I loved so much of this book, the one thing that just didn’t work for me was the romance. I was not a big fan. Inaya is religious. She doesn’t hide her faith, even though she doesn’t wear hijab anymore. And Seif…well he’s the complete opposite. I think the first proper pov we get for him he’s completely smitten and it feels out of nowhere, especially considering he knows Inaya is Muslim and practicing, whereas he’s not just the complete opposite, but he’s also pretending to be white in front of everyone else. It just didn’t work for me and felt awkward and almost one-sided. While Inaya is interested in Seif and her sisters keep hinting at the possible romance there, Inaya didn’t seem to feel the same way. And Seif’s commentary about Inaya and her beautiful hair and dark eyes…and we even get a moment when he’s “filled with lust” just made me uncomfortable. One thing I did like was how Inaya stays firm in her beliefs, and while it seems like Seif could be on the bridge of change for future books, I don’t know if how I feel about the two of them together changes much. It might be more me than anything. But I would have loved this book more without the romance since there’s already so much going on plot wise.

The end of this book did surprise me a little. I can never really guess mysteries lol so I’m always surprised. I’m not sure how I feel about all of it though, but it did tie things up well. The very last chapter was absolutely heartbreaking though and I almost cried.

Another difficult book to rate, but I think I’m going to give it 3.75/5 stars. I am interested to see what happens next since there are still some loose ends, and I did love Cat and Areesha and Inaya’s family a lot. Though I’m not sure if I’ll be rushing to pick up the next book.

Blackwater Falls is book one in the Detective Inaya Rahman Series by Ausma Zehanat Khan.
This being my first ever read by Khan I was very impressed.

A crime fiction that brilliantly exposes political issues, violence, racial tensions, and police corruption.
Detective Inaya Rahman and Lieutenant Waqas Seif of the Denver Police are characters you’ll love.
Trying to solve two disappearances and the murder of a teenage girl in a small town. Is starting to become a tasks for the duo.
The characters are extremely relatable and likable.
With an extraordinarily compelling story. I was instantly hooked once I started.
Beautifully written and plotted, a page turner that has a lot to say about the current state of our world in which we live in today.
Blackwater Falls is driven mystery, but it’s also moving and complex.
I can't say enough about this superb book! And I definitely can't wait for book two.

"I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own."

Minotaur Books,
Thank You for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!
I will post my review to my blog, platforms, BookBub, B&N, Kobo and Waterstone closer to pub date.

This book is a great start to an exciting new series. Inaya, Waqas, and Catalina are detectives in an immigrant community. Their job is to be a liaison with the local community through a new police unit. The local police are not happy with this unit. There is a murder of a young immigrant girl and the discovery of other missing young girls. This is a tough case that will call on their ability to use all her resources and trust in the local community. There will be many roadblocks along the way.

I have not read many crime/mystery/thrillers like this book. The detectives are women and men of color who are not welcomed into the police force. It shows how difficult it is for women to enter male dominated fields. There should be more stories like this. It would allow the rest of us to gain an understanding of the immigrant community and the courage of women who try to enter these fields. Bravo to the author. I would definitely recommend this book.

Thank you to #NetGalley, #AusmaZehanatKhan, and #MinotaurBooks for a copy of this book.

I requested a digital copy in order to sample the prose on my phone (since I don't have a eReader) before requesting a physical copy for review. My review will be based on the physical ARC I read (if I qualify)

Excellent first novel in a new series.

Detective Inaya Rhaman and her boss Waqa Seif are called to investigate the murder of teenage Syrian refugee Razan, found displayed at the local mosque. Set in a small Colorado town, this story is full of xenpphobia, racist and islamaphobic behavior, and white Christian extremism. When the detectives link the murder of Razan to the disappearance of other Muslim young girls, they are blocked at every turn by the sheriff, and the local motorcycle gang - members of an extreme Christian church.

The local exclusive school, and the meatpacking plant where most of the refugees work are also key players in the plot. Inaya realizes there is clearly something else going on within this small community. Who can she trust?

I really felt the menace of both the sheriff and the motorcycle gang, as tensions rise and the threats of violence escalate. I appreciated learning a lot about the various cultures in this novel - getting to understand the meaning of the hijab to Inaya and Razan, learning about the journey that some of the refugees had taken, gaining additional insight into the family dynamics at play within the different cultures.

I can't wait to read the next in the series..

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the copy of Blackwater Falls.This is the first of a new series and well worth checking out. A lot of the book was introducing the characters and their relationships. The only relationship that didn’t feel real was Inaya’s budding romance, unfortunately. The story was intriguing and had many layers, but the writing was uneven - sometimes I really loved it and then I would lose interest for a while. When I wasn’t reading this book though, I thought about it and looked forward to finding out how it would end! I look forward to the next book in the series.

Refreshing - if you can say that about a murder mystery. Once more Ausma Zehanat Khan gives us insight into diverse characters and a complicated plot based on those diverse backgrounds.

While this mystery really revolves around a company that is fulfilling a government contract, the real story lies within the characters.
   The setting is a small town outside Denver: picturesque and prejudiced. There is a large population of practicing muslims that face comments and discrimination in their daily lives. Not to mention the muslim police chief and muslim members of the force who encounter snide remarks and obstructions within their own ranks.
   Beside the excitement of a police procedural book, you will be engrossed by the various ongoing scenarios: the evangelical biker group that reek havoc on the immigrants; muslim parents and how they want to keep the old customs for marrying off their children in spite of living here in the states; muslim women who try to retain their religion and ethnicity and still carry out their jobs.
   It’s an intriguing  book with present day situations well represented.

I would love to interview Ausma for my podcast Raise Your Words. Blackwater Falls includes a hijabi Muslim detective and I love the adult Nancy Drew vibes I’m getting from it. Except it’s a little darker than that.