The Lost Ones

May 8, 2017
At the start of Kamal’s convoluted debut, Vancouver research assistant Nora Watts meets with Lynn and Everett Walsh about their missing 15-year-old daughter, Bonnie. Nora assumes that the couple want to hire her boss’s PI firm to locate the girl, but, as it turns out, Nora is Bonnie’s birth mother, and the Walshes think that Bonnie is trying to find her. Nora tries to put the matter from her mind, as Bonnie was born after a brutal rape that left Nora comatose for six months, but she can’t stop thinking about the teen and eventually decides to conduct her own search. Nora quickly discovers that she and the Walshes aren’t the only ones hunting for Bonnie. While Kamal uses Nora’s investigation to spotlight important social issues such as homelessness, political corruption, and the mistreatment of Canada’s indigenous population, the book’s plot is unconvincing and overly dependent on coincidence. Nora is too idiosyncratic to feel real, and none of her relationships rings true, further sapping the tale of heft and verisimilitude. Agent: Miriam Kriss, Irene Goodman Agency.

February 15, 2017

When her daughter vanishes, Nora Watts immediately goes on the hunt, but it's not what you think; she gave up her newborn for adoption 15 years previously and is being contacted by the adoptive parents as their last hope. Nora is homeless, burned by her foster-care past, and bitter about the birth, but she's trying. A big debut with a 100,000-copy first printing and sales to a dozen countries.

Copyright 2017 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

June 15, 2017

DEBUT Nora Watts has a sketchy past. She's a recovering alcoholic working for a small Vancouver PI shop. When she gets a call from Everett Walsh about his missing daughter, she has no idea that the girl is hers, given up for adoption at birth, after Nora suffered a horrible assault and rape. Hesitant to open old wounds, Nora ultimately agrees to take the case and drops everything to search for her daughter. Aided by her AA sponsor, a former detective, Nora finds her search forces her to relive the hardest parts of her life; in the process, she learns painful lessons about love, trust, and resilience. And although she may not be the most likable central character, her strength and tenacity are truly admirable. VERDICT Offering an intriguing twist on the standard missing-person thriller, Kamal's debut is raw, violent, and thought provoking. An author to watch! [See Prepub Alert, 1/23/17.]--Susan Clifford Braun, Bainbridge Island, WA

Copyright 2017 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 1, 2017
Life's been rough for Nora Watts, a First Nations Vancouver resident who's survived foster care, a brutal rape, and alcoholism. She struggles to get by, putting her street smarts to work as a research assistant to the only employer who will put up with hera private-detective friend who's also in recovery. Nora is not used to caring for anyone but her worn-out dog, but when she finds out that the daughter she gave up for adoption is missing from her troubled adoptive family, she's unexpectedly torn. Things quickly turn dangerous as Nora fights corporate forces that want her missing-person mission to fail and that may even, she realizes, want her dead. The rainy PacificNorthwest is a fitting setting for this sometimes grim tale that also shows how determination and love can break through the grittiest facades. Actress and debut author Kamal has penned a believable survivor in Nora, a woman whose relentless struggles many readers will identify with. Give this to patrons who enjoy down-on-their-luck detectives, and mysteries by Tony Hillerman.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)