Quicksand

July 13, 2015
This atmospheric series opener from Baugh (The View from Garden City) introduces Nora Khalil, an officer with the Philadelphia PD assigned to the FBI’s Safe Streets Violent Gang Task Force. When a battle between rival gangs leads to two murders, Nora, whose parents are Egyptian, visits local mosques and uses her Arabic and knowledge of Islamic traditions in her effort to find the truth and bring the criminals to justice. The team’s only female member, Nora must also contend with sexism and racism. Baugh, who holds a Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania in Arabic and Islamic studies, clearly knows her Philadelphia geography and Muslim culture. Her action scenes crackle, though her character interactions tend to follow formula, as in a subplot about Nora’s overprotective father having a Big Dark Secret and the flirtation between Nora and a white colleague, Ben Calder. Still, readers will look forward to seeing more of the plucky Nora. Agent: Loretta A. Barrett, Loretta Barrett Books.

An Egyptian-American police officer fights for respect.Philadelphia cop Nora Khalil is working with the FBI on a special task force to combat gang violence. In high school, running track helped her escape bullies; now she uses her speed to good effect chasing down criminals. Though Nora's attracted to FBI agent Ben Calder, her widowed, very strict father forbids her to date. So she spends her free time helping her brother study for the SAT and fighting off her father's attempts to arrange a marriage for her. Together with Calder, her partner, John Wansbrough, and others, Nora raids an apartment to arrest Dewayne Fulton, the drug-dealing leader of the Junior Black Mafia, who's a suspect in the murder of 14-year-old Kylie Baker. Members of the task force think she was killed as payback for the death of a Junior Black Mafia member at the hands of her brother Kevin's gang, the A&As. Breaking the code of silence, Kylie's mother gives the task force a good deal of information. But when they find the body of a Muslim woman with her eyes cut out, the members soon realize they're dealing with an altogether different criminal enterprise. Nora's ability to speak Arabic stands her in good stead when the trail leads to a mosque where the dead woman did volunteer work. She and her teammates risk their lives to track down a ruthless gang whose despicable activities shock even those who've seen it all. Baugh (The View from Garden City, 2008) launches a new series featuring a strong heroine and plenty of action. COPYRIGHT(1) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Starred review from October 1, 2015

In Philadelphia, policewoman Nora Khalil is working with a joint task force: the police department, the FBI, and the local sheriff's office are trying to combat gang violence and an accompanying drug epidemic. Nora's traditional viewpoint as an Egyptian Muslim may assist in solving the murder of a young girl in a rundown section of Philly. Nora is a welcome addition to the mostly white lineup of sleuths in the mystery genre, a Muslim who struggles to retain her cultural traditions within a Western environment. The added piquancy of sex trafficking and Nora's dilemma about dating outside her father's expectations create more tension. VERDICT Readers looking for more diversity in their mysteries as well as a deeper understanding of the immigrant experience in America should add Baugh's (The View from Garden City) series launch to their library holds list. [Asuma Zehanat Khan's The Unquiet Dead also features a Muslim detective.--Ed.]

Copyright 2015 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 1, 2015
Hand-picked by the Philadelphia PD for the FBI's joint Safe Streets Violent Gang Task Force, Egyptian-American Nora Khalil has occasional self-doubts and dreads being called a sand nigger. Her older partner, FBI Agent John Wansbrough, assures her that she's bright, strong, smart, and the fastest young agent he's ever seen. These attributes, plus her language skills, serve her well when potential warfare between drug-dealing gangs leads to the discovery of something worse. Despite a rookie mistake that could have been fatal, Nora helps identify the mutilated corpse of a young Arabian woman, uses her knowledge of Arabic with key witnesses in uncovering a sex-slavery ring, and saves a colleague's life in a deadly-dangerous operation. Meanwhile, she balances work with her obligations to her younger brother and deals with the Old World cultural expectations of her restaurateur father, all the while denying her attraction to FBI Agent Ben Calder, who clearly adores her. This smart, fast-moving procedural, focusing on sex trafficking, is the first of an intended series featuring Khalilwho's never gone on a date or eaten a Philly cheesesteakand it looks to be a winner.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)