Where do we come from? Where have we come from? Diana Abu-Jaber’s latest novel, “Origin,” combines such philosophical issues with a murder mystery in upstate New York. Known for her witty books on Arab-American themes, “Crescent,” “Arabian Jazz,” and “The Language of Baklava,” Abu-Jaber has written a novel that is heavy on atmosphere, has a reclusive heroine, and will satisfy most fans of police procedural.

Lena Dawson is a fingerprint expert in Syracuse, N.Y., who has the knack for ferreting out crimes. She is hypersensitive about odors, and she made her reputation when through disparate clues she diagnosed how a young boy was killed.

When a baby dies later, supposedly from SIDS, Lena is restless when she enters the baby’s room. She knows that the crib is contaminated, but not how. No one in her crime unit believes her, but gradually links are made, distracting clues are discarded, and her own background is entangled in the solving of the crime.

Then it turns out that there has been more than one baby in the Syracuse area that has died in a similar fashion. Lena will not let go of the crimes, even though her ex-husband, a policeman, gets in the way, and she is threatened with expulsion from the crime lab.

Dawson is an orphan, one who has dreams of having an ape as a mother in a jungle. Abu-Jaber plays a bit with the idea of our supposed ape ancestry, and Lena lives out that dream. The ape mother is the only comforting mother figure she has ever had.

Her adopted mother, Pia, is fearful of the dreams and has tried to sever Lena completely from any past before her adoption. Pia is not the warmest of mothers and the lack of figurative and real warmth for Lena permeates the novel.

A mother of one of the dead crib babies provides a contrast to Pia. Mrs. Cogan is hysterical and then fanatical in her pursuit to find who or what killed her son. Relentlessly she forces Lena and the Syracuse police department to take up the cold case again.

Lena’s origin has something to do with the crib deaths, but it is not obvious. How could they possibly be connected? With the help of a detective who is more than a friend and an understanding boss and his wife, Lena pursues the question relentlessly, at her own peril. She could be the next victim and almost is.

Syracuse is cold in the winter. Abu-Jaber has a great deal of fun writing about the cold and its effects on Lena and others in the book. The streets are treacherous from weather and people as Lena walks to and from work. The coldness extends to her former husband, Charlie, who is jealous of the attention Lena is getting from Detective Duseky, another member of the police force.

Lena has to navigate between opposing factions within her crime unit, some of whom are jealous of her success in solving crimes. She is accused of being away from work, slack, and not a team member, all of which are true at one time or another during this case. When eating lunch with her co-workers there is animosity, gossip and false innuendo.

Lena also lives in a cold, dank apartment in an antiquated building. She is surrounded by uncaring tenants except for Mr. Memdouah, who is most likely schizophrenic. His split existence mirrors Lena’s, and his absolutist concern over chemical poisoning in the environment echoes the solution to the baby killings.

It is only when Lena is rescued from snowbound woods, having been led on by a false lead by Mr. Memdouah, that her life and the crimes begin to resolve. Lena realizes that her own orphan background may have the clues that will unravel the reasons behind the murders of several babies, not just the one.

Lena discovers that she has had several mothers and at least two of these lead to the solution of the murders. Her orphan origin was integral in the solution. Abu-Jaber lets Lena end well. Lena’s conflicts with Pia and her husband, Henry, are resolved. Keller Duseky provides the warmth in Lena’s life that Charlie could never provide.

If you want to learn more about “Origin” and its author, Diana Abu-Jaber, she will be here on the Oregon Coast May 3 as part of the “Title Wave” program of the Coos County libraries. Abu-Jaber will speak at two meetings that Saturday, 2 p.m. at the Coos Bay Public Library and 7 p.m. at the Bandon Public Library.

The Title Wave program is an attempt to get as many people as possible to read the same book and then meet the author to discuss it and other works of the author. There is a great deal more information about Abu-Jaber and her books at the Coos County Library Service District Web site, http://www.cooslibraries.org/screens/tw_2008.html.

Ralph Mohr taught English and Latin at Marshfield High School for 31 years. He welcomes comments and suggestions regarding the column at rmohr1565@charter.net.