The Hour of the Oryx (The Moon of Masarrah Series) Paperback – March 12, 2020

Great series! My son really loved it and was excited to read it. He has all three and said it was a great read. He loved the suspense and writing style.

I eagerly anticipated Ms. Zaman's third entry in the Moon of Masarrah series, having devoured her previous two stories with gusto, but illness and the pandemic kept me from getting around to it as quickly as Iwould have liked. So glad I finally caght up with it. "The Hour of the Oryx" is as deliciously satisfying as Ms. Zaman's previous novels. Her intrepid quartet of teen sleuths are as refreshing as ever and there are some wonderful ancillary characters (Mahmood and the monkey are sublime!). The tale itself seemed to call up echoes of both Agatha Christie's foray into academic mayhem, "Cat Among the Pigeons" and Mary Stewart's breezy mystery-adventure, "The Moon-Spinners", yet in Ms. Zaman's own signature style. Straightforward and filled with charm. The author has done it again. Kept this reader turning pages with her brisk tempo, never getting bogged down in detail but moving the action along at the exciting pace which has become her trademark. Already downloaded the fourth installment in the series, "Beneath the Crimson Circle" and can't wait to get at it.

In Farah Zaman’s newest YA preteen mystery-adventure, The Hour of The Oryx, the author wastes no time dropping the reader splat into a new and intriguing world.The story begins with a group of teenagers touring an orphanage called Dar-as-Sakinah, a dwelling used to shelter orphaned children from around the world who were left homeless, frightened, and alone. Many of these children were rescued from war-torn, blighted, or poverty-stricken lands. But the orphanage is also a place brimming with haunted lakes, whispers of roaming jinn, and a recent, unsolved sudden death.It doesn’t take long before the curious four teens [Zaid, Zahra, Layla, and Adam] find themselves knee-deep in their next exciting mystery when their guide, an orphan herself, reveals to them her sadness concerning her uncle’s unsolved murder––a man slain over a book called, “The Hour of the Oryx.”With the authorities no closer to discovering the killer’s whereabouts, the teens set out on a quest––not only to find out who killed the uncle, but what part “The Hour of the Oryx” played in his untimely death.Back in the day, teenagers solving mysteries had always been a particular favorite genre of mine. I remember how much I loved reading Nancy Drew and The Hardy Boys as a young girl, only to, later on, lose myself within the pages of more intricate and convoluted mysteries, like those of Sherlock Holmes, Hercule Pierrot, and Miss Marple. These kinds of stories offer young people not only adventure but a sense of self-worth. They illustrate, albeit in entertaining ways, how those who can ‘think and discern’ can ‘do and discover’ despite whatever odds are stacked against them. In these days of mounting uncertainty, no more perfect a message can be sent to young people as they get ready to set out into an often-unknown world filled with unexpected challenges and trials.I also appreciated how Zaman interjected accounts of those less fortunate throughout her story. Another important reminder, highlighting children, many refugees from different lands, who faced what must have felt like insurmountable hardships, then forced from their homes. Zaman has shown, without preaching or sermon, that while these unfortunate children may have been housed in a picturesque building surrounded by beauty, their past and all they have experienced was still never far away. An unremitting reminder that “not all that glitters is gold.”The author also raised another important topic: bullying––something I'm sure many young readers have sadly had to experience and grapple with. She showed how bullying, while not typical aggression, is undoubtedly a distinctive pattern of harmful behavior used to humiliate the more vulnerable. It was refreshing to see the MCs in this story step in defense of the smaller and weaker, blocking those who repeatedly attempted to cause harm to others. Great messaging!The Hour of The Oryx, the third in Zaman’s series, is a delightful, well-written, entertaining, and wholesome read. [Book 1: The Moon of Masarrah, A Novel (Moon of Masarrah Series) and Book 2: The Sign of the Scorpion (The Moon of Masarrah Series)] Novels such as these would certainly make a splendid gift for any preteen lover of adventure-mysteries.

I received a digital copy of “The Hour of the Oryx” in exchange for an honest review.This was a fun YA book to read, featuring a quartet of teenage detectives from the United States who have arrived at an international orphanage in a Middle Eastern country. Parents of two of the teens are a doctor and nurse and are volunteering at the orphanage.The teens run into a mystery as soon as they arrive. The uncle of one of the orphans was killed at his home. As the niece held him, his last words were “The Hour of the Oryx”— the title of a book that was stolen the night of the murder. This sets the teen travelers, along with a local teenage runaway and a couple of the orphans, on a quest to find out who murdered the uncle, why, and what the stolen book has to do with it all. They also solve a few other mysteries that have been hanging around the orphanage for a generation.All the characters are Muslim; it’s fun to see the similarities they have with youth in other parts of the world and what makes them different as Muslims (e.g., they do a lot of hugging and cheek kissing). Cultural and religious customs are shown, but none of it is overwhelming or confusing for someone outside the culture (the book includes a Glossary at the end to help readers understand some of the Arabic words). This is life in a Muslim world—albeit an exciting life filled with fun and mysteries.Zaman’s characters have depth and are a joy to meet. The four teenagers—Adam, Layla, Zaid, and Zahra (friends of Adam and Layla)—are smart, kind, generous, and inquisitive. But they are still teens. They sneak out of the house, keep secrets from adults, and sometimes act before thinking. I absolutely love them.One part that I really didn’t like was the beginning. The prologue is first person, present tense. The rest of the book is third person, past tense. It felt jarring at the beginning, but as I got further into the story it didn’t seem to matter.The book is the third in a series. I’ve added the other two books— The Moon of Masarrah (which won the 2019 Daybreak Press Young Adult Award) and The Sign of the Scorpion—on my to-read list. I recommend this book to all who enjoy YA stories, from the young to the old.