By Amina Akhtar
Narrated by Dilshad Vadsaria, Kimberly Woods, Rhett Samuel Price
Who doesn’t want to live a life of health and wellness? Feel your best by doing your best. Achieve enlightenment and all that jazz.
And do it all in the red rocks of Sedona, the heartland of wellness.
When Ronnie agreed to move from New York to Sedona with Marley so that Marley could expand her life-coaching business, Ronnie had hoped she would transform from a victim of cultural abuse to a blossoming flower of self-assurance.
But when the girls arrive in the desert, and a string of murders start to pop off around the wellness community, everyone starts asking questions. Clearly the murderer couldn’t be anyone in the community, right?
So they start looking at outsiders – those who do not belong. And Ronnie starts to feel her Pakistani features stand out against the white-skinned, blonde-haired, blue eyed community. As a presumed outsider, she is more susceptible to things that those who follow the crowd are not.
There are misdeeds in Sedona and Ronnie is about to find out that what goes around, comes around – it’s Kismet.
“A book that I absolutely love that is coming out this year is a book called ‘Kismet’ by Amina Akhtar. She’s this incredible writer. She writes very witty, funny thrillers, and if you like ‘Big Little Lies’ [or] ‘Nine Perfect Strangers,’ you will love this. She writes about New Yorkers in a really funny way, and I’m really excited about that book.”
Mindy Kaling, February 2022
When Kismet popped up on the “thrillers” section of Kindle Unlimited, and I saw the red rocks, I was already hooked. As an Arizonian of almost 30 years, I’ve spent some time in Sedona – weekend getaways, trails, hiking, and biking ventures, and I’ve run the Sedona 5k, 10k, and half marathon. You can’t promise me a new age, iconic setting and not deliver.
And Amina DELIVERS. She has clearly spent time in or has done her research on Sedona. The book is developed so well that the setting is a character in itself. Amina brings in popular hiking trails, such as Devil’s Bridge, and gives us the actual feel of the town – it’s hippy-dippy, new-agey, and profit-driven-wellness focused.
Ronnie was an incredibly shy, timid character and we get glimpses of her childhood with an abusive Aunt who raised her after her parents were killed in a car accident. Ronnie knows it’s abuse, her aunt knows it’s abuse, and her community knows it’s abuse – but no one talks about it because “that’s how they do it back in Pakistan.” Ronnie knows that’s not necessarily true because her parents were loving and nurturing. So she knows she has to leave her Auntie’s house.
Through Marley’s life coaching, she learns to stand up for herself and agrees to follow Marley to Sedona, leaving the abuse behind. But Ronnie soon learns that abuse and manipulation come in many forms and she has to search within herself to fight her people-pleasing instincts.
Ronnie surprised me the most in the end. I don’t want to spoil the climax, but I was really shocked by her actions. Not shocked in a bad way or a good way, just really surprised.
I saw a few reviews that said “If you’re white, prepare to feel bad about yourself. The author makes all white people out to be bad.” If it counts for anything – in my perspective as a (bleach) blonde-haired, blue eyed white woman, that couldn’t be further from the truth. Ronnie never talks about hating white people, or blaming white people for anything. But she does notice the cultural change from New York to Sedona and she feels loneliness. I probably would too if I traveled some place where I didn’t fit the mold. Ronnie also finds herself a victim of racism in ways that may not be so clear to those who have not experienced racism personally. So if you’re offended that the author brings up race, maybe dig a little deeper and try to understand why it bothers you so much.
I listened to the audiobook version of Kismet and the voice actors did an amazing job. I highly recommend this book in general, but I loved the audio version.
Check out Kismet by Amina Akhtar on Amazon, Amazon Kindle, and Audible:
Holly Writes and Reviews 