AS FAR AS SHE KNEW

When Amira Abadi’s husband, Ali, dies in a car crash, her grief is nearly all-consuming; the only thing keeping her grounded is her concern for her college-age children—and the secrets that soon begin to surface.

Awad intermingles chapters from “Before” and “Now,” so the story of Amira and Ali’s life within their mostly arranged marriage unspools alongside the strange occurrences that begin right after Ali’s death: Someone breaks into Amira’s house and a man claiming to be one of Ali’s co-workers turns out not to be what he seems. Most devastating of all, Amira learns Ali owned another house several hours away, and that he not only kept it secret from her, but set up an LLC that guaranteed she wouldn’t inherit it upon his death; instead, the house reverts to the person who has been living there—another woman. Throughout both the “Before” and “Now” sections, the specter of Ali’s college girlfriend, Lizzie Martins, looms. Despite his mostly happy marriage to Amira, is it possible Ali was keeping Lizzie as his mistress the whole time? Living on her own for the first time as she navigates a towering grief, Amira is determined to find out the truth, even if it changes everything she thought she knew about her husband, everything her kids thought they knew about their father. With the help of her sister, Lulu, and Ali’s handsome cousin Nasser, she peels back layer after layer of the past. Awad not only writes a strong mystery, but she crafts endearingly flawed characters. Amira is relatable and admirable as she fights for her own sense of independence in the midst of loss.

A brilliant balance of sustained genre tension and complicated human grief.