Detective Aunty
Detective Aunty is a novel published in May 2025.[1]
It is the fifth novel of Toronto based novelist Uzma Jalaluddin.[1] Her previous novels were romantic-comedies, this is her first mystery novel.
Plot
[edit | edit source]The novel's hero is a mother, who rushes to help her daughter, when she is charged with murder.[1] Fellow writer Nalina Singh, who reviewed an advance copy of the novel, noted how the widowed hero is forced to re-invent who she thinks she is, when her daughters problems force her to think like a detective.
Reviews
[edit | edit source]Sarah Weinman, in The New York Times, praised the book, writing "the whodunit twist caught me pleasingly flat-footed."[2]
In an interview on Global News Jalaluddin said that her mother-in-law had, sadly, been widowed at a relatively young age, and had made a new life for herself, and served as a model for this novel's heroine.[3]
Sabriya Imami, in the The Michigan Daily, said the novel showed Jalaluddin could "both take you by surprise and have you triumphantly shouting 'I knew it!' by the final reveal."[4]
References
[edit | edit source]- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Detective Aunty by Uzma Jalaluddin". CBC News. 2025-02-13. Retrieved 2025-02-15.
- ↑
Sarah Weinman (2025-05-10). "New Crime Novels With Unexpected Twists". The New York Times. Retrieved 2026-02-19.
Jalaluddin, who has crossed into crime fiction from the romantic comedy genre, doesn’t skimp on plotting — the whodunit twist caught me pleasingly flat-footed — but shines most with character and community, showing the complexities of mother-daughter relationships and the variability of longtime friendships. “Detective Aunty” is the first in a new series and I certainly welcome more installments.
- ↑ "Detective Aunty: Best-selling author Uzma Jalaluddin leaps into mystery genre". Global News. 2025-05-09. Retrieved 2026-02-19.
- ↑
Sabriya Imami (2025-04-15). "Uzma Jalaluddin releases stellar mystery debut 'Detective Aunty'". The Michigan Daily. Retrieved 2026-02-19.
The mark of the best mystery novels is when the book is able to both take you by surprise and have you triumphantly shouting 'I knew it!' by the final reveal, and 'Detective Aunty' walks that line perfectly.