A young teenager named Maya died under mysteriously but the majority of the town accepted the reason to be that of a suicide. Many people believed otherwise despite Maya’s family insisting she was troubled and that’s why she took her own life….

This novel follows, Munna who briefly had a friendship with Maya for a few years before her passing. She always felt in her heart that there was more to the story. Maya begins haunting Maya’s dreams and coincidentally an anonymous letter shows up soon after questioning the death and implying it was in fact a murder.

Munna takes it upon herself to try to solve this murder and the mystery begins to unfold of a tale of “who dunnit” where literally a dozen people could be responsible. What would one person to do to keep the secrets of their family safe all while pinning the blame on someone they’ve spent years of their life despising? This person worked hard to find the ultimate way out of their own circumstances.

I found this to be a very enjoyable read and definitely gave off an old school murder mystery vibe. I also like that it touched on the fact that Munna was a minority in town and that she never thought her opinions about anything mattered, much less those about a possible murder. It in a way is a story of not only finding justice but finding herself in her own unique way at the same time.

Two things drew me to Maya, Dead and Dreaming by Lana Sabarwal: (1) its cover and (2) the mention of Agatha Christie and Jhumpa Lahiri in the description. After reading the synopsis (a mysterious note, a haunting, and a small community being the highlights), picking up this book was easy.

However, much to my dismay, I did not find that this story lived up to its sources of inspiration. While the twists and turns were intriguing enough, figuring out character motivation for even the simplest of actions was difficult. For example, authorities usually attached to such cases do not appear in this story in any meaningful way despite the contents of the letter that sparks the plot. Despite this, it is unclear why these character have to take it upon themselves to investigate on their own.

Furthermore, the handling of sexuality—in regard to both general relationship and queer identities—is off-putting. The dead teen is sexualized in one of the first scenes she appears in, and queerness seemingly is used as a way to cast suspicion. Although the author *may* have intended this as a way to mark the time period, it could have been handled better.

This said, I did enjoy the narrative voice: it was clear why Munna is the pov character, something not all novels are able to convey. I simply wish I understood her motivations better.

In considering that I'm a queer reader and the plot is heavily dependent on the characters' motivations, I personally can't give this book more than two stars.

Thank you Netgalley for providing access to this ARC. All thoughts are my own.

This book has a compelling mystery but also a certain cozy charm with the small-town setting. I really enjoyed Munna as our narrator; her voice immediately came alive for me on the page and I felt invested in what would happen to her.