| Category: | Murder - Mystery |
|---|---|
| Author: | Lana Sabarwal |
| Publisher: | https://thedesaifoundation.org/ |
| Publication Date: | June 10, 2025 |
| Number of Pages: | 306 |
| ISBN-13: | 979-8992617818 |
| ASIN: | B0FC2K5HY3 |
Set in the mist-laden town of Shogie, Washington, in 1952, Maya,
Lana Sabarwal’s Dead and Dreaming follows Munna Dhingra, an Indian
secretary at Shuni University, who receives an anonymous letter claiming her
childhood friend Maya Hickman was murdered fourteen years earlier, not drowned
accidentally as officially ruled. Haunted by guilt for rejecting Maya’s plea
for help on the day she died, Munna reluctantly partners with her boss, Andrew
Weaver, and the enigmatic psychoanalyst Karenina to investigate. Their probe
unravels the Hickman family’s secrets, with Shelly, her mother, now diagnosed
with early-onset Alzheimer’s at the center of the scandal. Can Munna uncover
the identity of the murderer and why her friend was murdered? The answers are
shocking in this enthralling crime thriller.
Lana Sabarwal draws a fascinating portrait of Shogie, and as
I read about the place, it felt like some place familiar with the rain-slicked,
insular 1950s community where gossip is currency and social standing dictates
survival. Munna’s journey, from self-doubting outsider to resolute truth-seeker,
anchors the novel’s exploration of racial otherness, gender constraints, and
the toll of silence. Shelly emerges as a devastatingly complex antagonist, her
polished civility masking corrosive jealousy, while Karenina’s sharp intuition
and Munna’s empathetic questioning form a compelling investigative duo.
Thematically rich, the novel interrogates the fragility of memory, the violence
of buried secrets, and the cost of truth. I enjoyed how the author uses recurring
dreams to underscore the intersection of reality and trauma; the creek
symbolizes both sanctuary and betrayal; and dialogue-driven interviews
meticulously peel back layers of deception. More than a whodunit, Maya, Dead
and Dreaming is a meditation on how the past pills into the present and the
courage required to set it free. This was a page-turning read for me.
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