Moghul Buffet

by Cheryl Benard

An American businessman visiting Peshawar, Pakistan, vanishes from his hotel room. The only clue is an enigmatic message in blood scrawled on the Coke machine. A series of murders follows. But in a country where half the population is hidden beneath chadors, tracking a murderer can be difficult.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Pakistan, Mystery Thriller

272 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1998

About the author

Cheryl Benard (born in 1953) is an American-Austrian social scientist with a Ph.D. from the University of Vienna and a B.A. from the American University of Beirut. She is a novelist and an author on topics including popular sociology, refugees, women in nation-building, youth radicalization in the European Diaspora, and humanitarian aid. Before becoming an adjunct researcher with the RAND Corporation and President of ARCH International, she was the research director of a European think tank, the Boltzmann Institute of Politics and before that, she taught Political Science at the University of Vienna.
She married Zalmay Khalilzad, a former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Afghanistan and Iraq.

Reviews

[Hirondelle (not getting notifications) · Rating 4 out of 5]

As far as I can tell, this author only wrote two novels. I loved both of them, so I got hopes she will write some more. Both novels got a satirical feminist very-characteristic point of view, but while Turning on the Girls is a sf satire on a feminist ruled future utopia, Moghul Buffet is a satirical mystery about murders in Peshawar in the late 90s. I got to push this book at some people, it really should be a lot more well known.

[Jactitation · Rating 1 out of 5]

I should have known from the veiled woman on the cover, but oh my god, how many "feminist" books are going to be written on the body of "the Muslim woman"? Oy. (Although it does have an interesting plot construction--more a comedy of errors than a mystery, which works well against the form.)

[Bill · Rating 2 out of 5]

Moghul Buffet was my first experience of the writing of Cheryl Benard. The question I asked myself at the end was, did I like this story / mystery? All I can say about it was that I didn't necessarily dislike it and I didn't give up on it either. There were things that interested me, especially the look at life in a portion of Pakistan, that being Peshawar on the border with Afghanistan. The story was different for sure, but it didn't wow me or leave me feeling anything in particular.

Let's see. American businessman, Mickey Malone, is sent to Islamabad to represent his company. They sell warehouses. Mickey is persuaded to fly to Peshawar by Walid Khan, somewhat to Mickey's discomfort. Khan has a deal for Mickey, he wants to ship arms to Pakistan in the shipments from the US. Mickey is uncomfortable with this. Khan sends a woman, Fatima, to his room to try and encourage him. Mickey basically runs away and then disappears.

Mickey's disappearance causes pressure from the US and results in Inspector Iqbal being sent to Peshawar from Islamabad. Mickey's mother also has his sister, reporter Julia, go to Peshawar to try and find him.

It's suspected that Mickey has been murdered even though his body hasn't been found. His disappearance also coincides with the murders of a number of other men; both Pakistani and Indian. Inspector Iqbal's work is made even more difficult. Throughout this tale, Fatima wanders, forced into a life of prostitution by Walid Khan. She appears to be a link between the various murders, or at the very least a woman (man?) dressed in a similar outfit is seen at the various scenes.

So that's your story. The investigation is an ongoing thread. The story is told from different perspectives, Fatima, Iqbal, Julia, and others. Or, more correctly, the story is told by a disembodied narrator who follows the various characters. It's an interesting story, set in an area of the world that is totally unfamiliar to me. The characters are interesting although I can't say I felt any empathy for any of them. Not that it should be a necessary facet of a good story. Ultimately, the story did keep me reading and the ending was satisfying. Try it out for yourself. (2.5 stars)

[Tony · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an interesting part mystery, part travelogue and part droll gentle voice for women's rights in Pakistan. First-time author Benard has written a cute little whodunit whilst employing an usual voice. There is an omniscient third-person narrator telling the story, often digressing into informing the reader on aspects of Pakistani culture. Many of the characters are types, but well-captured ones, and not ones usually seen in everyday reading, much less a mystery. The whole thing takes place in Peshawar, near the Pakistani border with Afghanistan and Benard does a nice job of capturing the different levels of society there (including a nascent Taliban band). The whodunit part is almost by the way, but the characters are easily lovable and hateable, and the whole thing glides along satisfactorily.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Witty and wise and wonderful fun!

[Melinda Worfolk · Rating 3 out of 5]

As with Benard's other book, I enjoyed this and found it entertaining. However, its politics made me slightly uneasy--if I recall correctly, I found it a bit too patronizing and Western-centric/America-centric in its treatment of the oppressed women in Afghanistan. The author was definitely sympathetic to women's plight under the Taliban, but parts made me wonder about her views of Islam in general. Confusing.

[elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

So much more than a murder mystery. Love all of it: the catty, witty narrator, the insightful politics, the nuanced look at pre-9/11 Pakistan- Afghanistan border, the snappy rants. By the end, you don't even care who done it, except that you care the author did so you can read what else she's written.

[Kathleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

All I knew about Afghanistan before 9-11. Sad? Maybe, but its a wicked little book and right up there on my most recommended list.

[Charles Smith · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not much of a mystery; more of a social commentary on a host of issues impacting Pakistan and Afghanistan (women’s rights, children’s rights, the plight of hosting refugees, fundamentalism, corruption, class conflict, rural vs. urban issues, the role of the United States in internal politics, etc.). Six plots intertwined but they don’t add up to much. Absolutely zero character development making it hard to really be interested in any of the plots, which is telling given how many options there are. Hard to see how Soho Crime picked this one given the lack of a basic mystery plot around which to hang all the socio-political critique.

[Alejandrina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not really a murder mystery, but very sarcastic, interesting story about women in Pakistan/ Afghanistan.Yes, there are murders and there is a plot, but the real juice is in descriptions of how women live under these (for Western eyes, of course) appalling conditions. The book was published in 1998, but I'm afraid it's still accurate, sadly.

[Kathy KS · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this to be more a comedy of manners than an actual mystery. It was interesting to learn more about Pakistan and the culture, especially since this is pre-9/11. Much of it seemed written rather tongue-in-cheek and this added some humor.

[Ellen · Rating 1 out of 5]

😬 I think this was supposed to be funny.

[Cher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rounded up from 3.5

[Kendra · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found myself reading this and feeling the way I feel when I understand a book more deeply upon a re-read. This book was written in 1998, long before I read "The Reluctant Fundamentalist" and before Benazir Bhutto's legacy and Malala Yousefzai became the faces of feminist Pakistan to this American.

I feel mixed feelings about this book because it has some character insight that I would like to know is representative, but which I question because it was written by a westerner. The style of writing of this book injects the author's thoughts and interpretations and reflections within the prose. This may be the author's way of asking for some leeway for not being of the culture that she is writing about.

The "mystery" of this book is not particularly tricky to figure out, but the author does a decent job of revealing motiviations of all of the characters, including cultural considerations that a typical western reader might not be aware of. Again, I can only hope that these are accurate to the setting of the novel.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Micky Malone, a quiet American like so many others trying to follow the rules while doing business in Asia, seems to have been murdered in his Peshawar hotel room, but his body is missing. As more killings occur and notes left at the scene point to a serial killer clothed in a chaddri, the voluminous woman's coverall de rigueur in the province. This is a hard book to describe - as much comedy and social commentary as murder mystery. I liked the resilience and cleverness of at least some of the women in the face of a repressive society,

[Michelle L · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you can imagine a mordantly funny, very dark, contemporary Jane Austen skewering the political, social and sexual mores of late 1990s Pakistan in its volatile Northwestern Frontier section, this is that book. A few well-deserved murders, some inter-cultural confusions (American business comes in for a bit of tickling too), some prescience about the coming decades, a twisty plot... all wickedly presented. The author is a Rand analyst with a terrific flair for putting all that research into a highly enjoyable adventure. Great fun.

[Cathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I did not find the actual crime story very suspenseful or thrilling, although I could not figure out the whodunnit. Instead I really liked the black humour, the ineptitude of most of the characters and the situational comedy.

[Kit · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ultimately a better than decent plot which could easily be adapted to a Masterpiece Mystery, but in the telling, especially in the first third, it succumbs too much to a coarse mixture of orientalism and obvious liberal polemic to be anything but bad art.

[Tina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entertaining story about a clueless American gone missing-- wrapped around the story of an An Afghan girl and her travails. Author has state- department background, not exactly left-leaning- but interesting insights on the day-to-day-life of the young woman who becomes a central character

[ducky · Rating 4 out of 5]

I came across this book randomly at the public library - and so glad I did. A funny murder mystery that takes place in Pakistan, so you get to travel vicariously too!

[Deb · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars.

[Julia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Trying to expand my international mystery horizons...it was fun and an interesting portrayal of Pakistan.

[Ellen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quirky comic mystery of sorts, set in Peshawar, Pakistan.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting mystery placed in Pakistan. Very interesting portrayal of the different lives of women...

[Dee · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really good mystery about a Middle Eastern serial killer, the beginning of the Taliban and a really funny American businessman. I'm surprised the public didn't hear more about this book.

[Nadine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Terrific mystery set in 1990's Pakistan, featuring a string of interesting women, a lot of irony, and outstanding writing.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

a feminist, Muslin women murder mystery in Pakistan border town. Oh, and funny too. It all works and I loved reading this book.

[Theresa Lange · Rating 5 out of 5]

Twisty-turny but good!

[Lu]

Pakistan