In A Dangerous Crossing, the fourth Rachel Getty and Esa Khattak mystery, Ausma Zehanat Khan (Among the Ruins) once again embeds a compelling whodunit within the context of greater political and humanitarian strife. Audrey Clare, a Canadian aide worker in Greece, has gone missing following a double homicide in one of the Syrian refugee camps on the small Greek island of Lesvos. The prime minister himself asks Inspector Khattak and his partner Getty to investigate the murders and Audrey's disappearance--but quietly, so as not to disrupt the tense politics surrounding the resettlement of Syrian refugees in Canada.
The mystery at the heart of A Dangerous Crossing stands alone, though references to the characters' pasts throughout the early parts of the novel may be confusing for those new to the series. As the story moves more determinedly into the disappearance of Audrey Clare, however, Khan's skill at conveying the very human impact of a case becomes clear. This exploration is by no means limited to the case at hand, as Khan skillfully sheds light on the very human side of the war in Syria--and the rest of the world's failure to grasp that humanity. Though a single novel cannot shift this narrative, A Dangerous Crossing does an excellent job of portraying the situation in Syria in a way that will help readers recognize hard truths. Moreover, it does so while drawing them into the type of carefully woven, multi-layered mystery that has become characteristic of Khan's expert novels. --Kerry McHugh, blogger at Entomology of a Bookworm