Beneath The Crimson Circle – A Review

Assalamu aleikum dear Readers.

Summary:

A dead archaeologist. A stolen artifact. A lost treasure. Are the three mysteries tied together?

That’s what teenage sleuths Zahra, her brother Zaid, and their friends Adam and Layla must discover during their vacation to exotic Noha Island. They are convinced that Idris, a university student, has been framed for the murder and they vow to catch the real killer. Soon, they’re in pursuit of multiple suspects and wriggling out of one sticky situation after another. As they come closer and closer to the truth, danger lurks at every corner.

Unfortunately, time is running out for Idris. As his trial approaches, the teenagers must make one more desperate bid to ambush the enemy. Will their ruse work or are they destined to become the ones ensnared?

Beneath the Crimson Circle is the intriguing fourth book in The Moon of Masarrah Series.

Review: Beneath the Crimson Circle by Farah Zaman is a mystery and fantasy young adult read. In this book, our teenage sleuths are back with another thrilling murder to solve because they are always eager to lend a hand. They call themselves nosy, and I like it! The brave gang easily navigate the deceptive world of adults at times because it’s easy to discount children and sometimes their investigative skills is at their own peril because not everyone is so trusting of children their age.

Layla, Zahra, Adam and Zaid have a dead archeologist, a lost treasure and a lost artifact which might be connected somehow on their hands.

The dead archeologist is “Enemy of the State.” This means anybody this archeologist worked with had a motive.

The lost treasure is believed to be a myth and a folk tale locally but to some believers of lost treasures like archeologists and antique thieves, the lost treasure is not a joke.

Then, we have a missing artifact from a well-known local museum which seems like a distraction. Or is it? That’s the question that Layla and her zumrah decipher wittily and successfully in this tome with the help of other adults and four other students; two of which are West African characters with names well-cherished in their Muslim part of the world. I really wish to see more of these two characters in subsequent tomes.

Finally, we also learn that appearances are misleading among other things. Overall, Beneath the Crimson Circle surprises the reader at every turn and is an absolute page turner! I could hardly put it down in the two and half days I read it. It has been a while since a book has occupied most of my waking thoughts like this book did. I am usually good at turning off my thoughts when I close a book to attend to other tasks. However, this skill of mine turned out to be very difficult to implement with this read. The reason is simple: Beneath the Crimson Circle has an engaging plot. It is well-written and edited. Also cryptic, Zaman delivers yet another compelling YA book in her growing mystery series. Well done.

Rating: 5/5

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