Deception on His Mind (1997), a Novel by Elizabeth George: summary

Elizabeth George is an American author who best-known for mystery novel and most of her novel have been filmed by for television by the BBC. The 712-page book is published by Bantam Books in 1998 and first edition in 1997.

The death of a Pakistani immigrant blows the political demonstration and racial trouble in Essex. The author describes Pakistani family and community in this book back to twenty years ago. Mystery, jealousy, greedy, hypocrisy, racial anger, love, family, religious and cultural clash change a small beach town, Balford-le-Nez in Essex. Detective Sergeant Barbara Havers of New Scotland Yard is hired by an old friend Emily Barlow, Balford Chief CDI (Criminal Investigations Department) to seize the murderer.

Deception on His Mind (1997), a Novel by Elizabeth George: summary

The town was small but growing Pakistani community were calling the death a racially motivated crime- hence, nothing short of murder- but the police had yet to declare what sort of they were pursuing. Balford had an agenda for racial trouble so it was not really matter who was arrested. As a member of New Scotland Yard, Detective, Sergeant Barbara Havers, knew that the polyglot society had engendered a score of polyglot problems.

The body of a man named Haytham Querashi had been discover in a pillbox on the beach in Balford-le-Nez by an early morning walker, Ian Amstrong. In life, Haytham Querashi had looked innocuous enough. His dark face was pleasant but largely forgettable. He was clean-shaven and moon-faced that he would have been given to carrying too much extra weight in the middle age. The victim recently arrived from Karachi, Pakistan, to wed the daughter of a wealthy local businessman. He had been the production manager at a local business which concerned was owned by Pakistani Akram Malik who also a member of the town council. There were three condoms, two receipts and little ten pounds on him. He devoutly prayed five times each day; he was on his third reading of his holy Koran; and twice already he had paced in the footsteps of millions of Muslims who had walked the perimeter of the Ka’ba.

Akram Malik never raised his voice at home. But then, he never had to. His word was law to his wife, and it was supposed to be law to his children as well. His son, as a teenager, called him “old fart” behind his back. To his father, Muhanand was silent and obedient. He had spent his adolescence bidding his time, and knowing that as long as he put his obligation to the family first, the family business and fortune would be his in the end. Akram had had her daughter Sahlah in arranged marry to Quraeshi, a man from Pakistan.

Sahlah was enganged Theo Saw, an Englishman who also member of town council run her grandmother Agatha Saw’s business. Sahlah knew her family never allow her marry an Englisman like Theo. It was only Rachel Winfiled, who knew Sahlah was carrying Theo’s baby. But his family culture had forced her to marry stranger man like Querashi, a man had been in university in Pakistan.

The Malik’s house one of the gander residences in the neighborhood, with wide lawns, gardens where Sahlah and her friend Rachel Winfield had shared childhood secrets. The residence obtained Akram Malik, his wife Wardah, his two children: Muhanand and Sahlah, a daughter in-law- Yumn, and his two young One might conclude that its inhabitants were among the wealthiest people in Balford, one would never guess that those some same inhabitants took their origin in Asia, a land of mujahidin, mosques, and figh.

Barbara Havers arrived in Balford– the victim had been eight days away marrying Sahlah Malik. It was his future brother-in-law and local political activist Muhannad Malik had spear-headed the local cry for a CID investigation. Havers was Detective Sergeant in New Scotland Yard. Her neighbor, Taymullah Azhar, Pakistani with eight years old daughter Haddyah coincidenly stayed at the same hotel. Azhar came for his cousin, Muhanand Malik.  Taymullah Azhar, a professor had been cast out of his family meant that he was dead to everyone.

It had been a visit like many others visitors they had together over the years: talk, laughter, music, and tea but this time interrupted by Yumm’s busting. Yumm had given an order and she expected it to be obeyed. Rachel Winfield noticed how Sahlah changed when her sister in law spoke. The joyous girl she was became a submissive servant: obedient, docile.

Theo Shaw offered his computer to Akram Malik. Sahlah had been allowed to work with Theo Shaw because her father knew him from the Gentlemen’s Cooperative and because accepting Theo Shaw’s offer of his computer expertise was yet another way that Akram Malik could demonstrate solidarity with English community. The fact that Akram had perceived Theo as decent was what made his interaction with Sahlah acceptable. He was from a good family and an old town family. Sahlah’s rescue upon the death of Haytham Quraeshi was one of them. It hadn’t been wise of Sahlah to keep the news of her pregnancy from Theo. But the only way that any of this could happen was if Rachel warned Theo that police might try to tie him to Haytham’s murder.

Another suspect was DeVitt. He said he had spoken to Quraeshi a dozen times. He first met him at the First Avenue house. Akram Malik had a rush renovation about two months before. Devitt said he left the hotel the same time several nights each week.

Balford Criminal Investigations Department; Detective Chief Inspector Emily Barlow and Detective Constable Honigman had managed to grab onto his leg as well as arm.  F. Kumhar was afraid and panic to grab his papers, but Barlow explained that they came for Quraeshi. Haythan Quraeshi wrote him a cheque for four hundred pounds and his name was on more than one telephone message for him at the Burnt House Hotel. Fahd Kumhar didn’t understand English at all. He could not speak English too. Emily Barlow hired an interpreter, a professor, to translate Kumhar’s confession. He was new in England, he met Quraeshi at the street- hitchhikers; Quraeshi offered him a ride. It was true that Mr. Quraeshi had given him money as a zakat (alms for the needy). He was wayfarer.

Young Trevor Ruddonk now worked on pier. He lied to Barbara earlier that his stock low. He worked on the pier. He denied chop that bloke and he was nowhere near the Nez the night victim’s killed. His girlfriend Rachel Winfield didn’t collaborate his story. Ruddonk boy and his mother went to car boot sales at the weekends. They bought what they could and fixed it up, then flogged it for higher price in other place.

Police Crime Commissioner Helmut Kreuuzhage had told Barbara from Hamburg earlier: Quraeshi had suspected someone of an illegal both Hamburg and the nearby English harbor. Haytham had been quite insistent that something illegal was taking place between Germany and England. Muhanand Malik was going to cover his tracks and he had been doing for more ten years. Maliks’s factory was set up to be the perfect stopping pointing any number of enterprising: from counterfeiting to terrorism. Muhanand was sales director at Malik’s Mustard. The sales director oversees the shipping department.

Trevor Ruddonk had given the sack. Theo Saw had been entangled Sahlah. Ian Amstrong had his job when Querashi died, Muhannad Malik, who had the most to lose if Quraeshi told anyone what he knew. Yumn admitted she was with her husband night Quraeshi’s murdered. Her mother in law Wardah Malik insited his son went to Colchester. Muhanand always dined there once a moth with a friend from university. He phoned from work her mother before he left. Sahlah also insisted her brother wasn’t at home.

Yumn knew what lay behind Wardah’s demands upon her: from cooking to cleaning to slaving in the garden.  Wardah sought to punish her for doing so easily that which she herself had been nearly incapable of doing at all. It was sixteen years of effort resulting in only two children. Given the same amount of time, Yumn knew that she would be giving Muhannad more than a dozen babies and most of them males. So When Wardah Malik looked upon her son’s wife, she saw her superior. And only by enslavement was she able to ensure that Yumn knew and remained in her place. 

She was, after all, a woman who had deceived them once and would be willing to deceive them yet again. Yumn had been to see the murderer man, and she’d done this without the knowledge of Malik family. She’d gone in a chador and she managed the trip without anyone from the Malik household being aware that she’d done. She he’d done it when the boys were in bed, when Sahlah was occupied with her jewelry making, when Akram and Wardah were at their prayer. Yumn’s needed to be rid of Quraeshi in order to keep Sahlah in her position of subordination in the household.

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Sekapur Sirih

Belakang ini, isu imigran hal sangat sensitif dan menjadi perdebatan yang panjang di media-media internasional. Pencari suaka maupun para pengungsi berlatarbelakang perang atau alasan ekonomi dari Syria, Asia Selatan, dan Afrika Utara masih memenuhi tajuk utama berita internasional. Upaya memulai kehidupan baru di negara-negara kaya, tepatnya daratan Eropa termasuk Inggris. Dalam karya ini, pembaca diajak menoleh pada masa sekitar dua puluh tahun lalu, di mana komunitas Pakistan sudah berkembang pesat di tanah Inggris. Dan kini memang terbukti walikota kota London 2016 terpilih dari keluarga Pakistan. Dalam novel ini dikisahkan tolak belakang pandangan hidup komunitas Asia dan Barat.

Novel berisikan 713 halaman merupakan terbitan Arrow Inggris Raya pada tahun 1998 dan terbitan pertamanya terbit tahun 1997. Misteri pembunuhan yang terjadi pada kota kecil tepi pantai di Inggris, namun bagi detektif Barbara Havers kasus ini tidak sekedar kasus pembunuhan biasa, sebab amukan demonstrasi komunitas Pakistan telah mengarah kepada isu rasial. Tidak ada yang menyangka kota itu berkembang cepat dan didominasi imigran Pakistan. Penulis Elizabeth George, seorang novelis berkebangsaan Amerika, mengaku tidak mudah mengangkat tema gejolak masyarakat yang bukan negaranya. Buku ini ditulis dengan bahasa bagus, dihantarkan dalam narasi dan dialog yang mudah dimengerti, serta plot kuat. Memang agak sedikit membosankan karena kerap terjadi pengulangan, namun bagi peminat genre misteri thriller maka novel ini masih tepat dimiliki.

Terjemahan dalam Bahasa Indonesia: Deception on His Mind, Karya Elizabeth George

Detektif Barbara Havers  terdaftar sebagai anggota New Scotland Yard, baru saja mendapat kata perpisahan dari sahabatnya Haddyah, gadis  kecil berumur delapan tahun. Ayah Haddyah yakni Taymullah Azhar adalah seorang professor di sebuah universitas yang tinggal berdekatan dengan kediaman Barbara di kota London. Sebuah berita demonstrasi komunitas Asia turun ke jalan dan berujung perusakan fasilitas umum. Seorang imigran asal Pakistan mati terbunuh tapi kepolisian dinilai acuh dan lambat menanganinya.

Barbara telah diminta oleh kawan lamanya Emily Barlow, yang kini menjabat sebagai kepala Polisi CID, Departemen Investigasi Kriminal kota Balfor. Kota kecil di tepian pantai dan juga kota wisata. Lelaki yang terbunuh itu merupakan calon menantu dari pengusaha besar terhormat berdarah Pakistan  Akram Malik di daerah Balford. Quraeshi Haytham lelaki muda yang telah ditunangkan dan delapan hari lagi akan menikahi putrinya Sahlah Malik. Pernikahan yang dijodohkan. Quraeshi pun menjabat sebagai direktur pemasaran di perusahaan Akram bersama putranya satu-satunya Muhanand Malik menjabat sebagai direktur pemasaran.

Tidak disangka atau hanya kebetulan saja, Barbara tinggal di hotel yang sama di mana tetangganya Azhar dan putrinya Haddyah. Rupanya Muhanand telah meminta pertolongan sepupunya Azhar dalam mengawal penyidikan kematian calon iparnya itu. Sederetan nama tersangka pun muncul. Dari lelaki yang menemukan mayat bernama Ian Amstrong, karyawan Akram yang kehilangan posisinya digantikan Quraeshi. Karyawan bernama Trevor Ruddock yang tertangkap basah curang dan menipu perusahaan, Gerry DeVitt pekerja konstruksi gedung Akram, Muhanand yang mungkin saja takut tergeser posisi oleh calon ipar dan rahasia kegiatan ilegalnya tersingkap. Sahlah calon isteri Quraeshi, gadis muda yang kini mengandung anak kekasihnya, sahabatnya Rachel Winfield, kekasih Rachel bernama Theo Saw, cucu orang terkemuka, saudaranya Muhanand yang dicurigai dengan aktivitas ilegalnya, dan lelaki imigran ilegal Fahd Kumhar yang menerima uang besar seperti bukti kopi cek di kantong korban – dia diduga kuat adalah pasangan gay Quraeshi.

Namun tidak diduga pembunuhnya adalah menantu keluarga Malik, Yumn. Wanita muda berusia dua puluh empat tahun yang merasa superior, karena mampu melahirkan dua anak lelaki. Ibu mertuanya sendiri butuh waktu enam belas tahun untuk memiliki dua anak. Yumn tengah mengandung anak ketiganya itu, tidak senang Sahlah menikah. Dia telah mempelajari kebiasaan Quraeshi, dengan mengenakan cadar, dia menjerat leher Quraeshi hingga tewas. Wanita itu menginginkan Sahlah tetap menjadi pembantu pribadinya; mengurusi dirinya dan anak-anaknya. Dia tidak rela Shalah kawin dan meninggalkan rumah itu. Perlakuan mertuanya Wardah yang begitu kejam padanya membalaskan ketidakmampuannya pada sang menantu Yum. Dalam budaya keluarga, adik ipar harus patuh dan menuruti semua perintah Yumn.

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