Ghahwagi, Karim - Black Hand, The

Malta experiences a bizarre series of murders. Dismembered bodies amidst feathers, a lot of feathers.
Inspector Osman is assigned. A Libyan, he works under the auspices of the Port Authority, yet actually he falls under the Secret Police.
The murders are not only inexplicable, but they are delicate and have connections with the swelling migrant community.

Osman enters the refugee camps, where he is told a lengthy fable of a wealthy merchant and his daughter, whose singing sent those who heard her into raptures.
Apparently, the fairytale is the core of this novella.

We return to Inspector Osman, where his case concludes abruptly. Not that readers deserve solutions, let alone explanations, yet more exposition might have improved this dramatically. Perhaps 10-15 pages.
One gets a sense that Ghahwagi simply quit. Put down his pen, ceased typing, went for a walk.
The result is a half finished draft. Unsatisfactory and badly done.
Where is the publisher’s guidance? Try harder, please.