Reviews

The Lost Man of Bombay by Vaseem Khan

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margaret21's review

4.0

Three deaths, two in 1950s Bombay, one some years before high in the Himalayas. Two murders. Or could it be three? India's first female Police Detective, Inspector Persis Wadi, and Metropolitan Police Detective Archie Blackfinch are on the case. An engaging story with a more-than-flawed heroine and her less-than-clubbable side-kick paints a picture of troubled post-Imperial India, in which conspiracy theories abound. An engaging and enjoyable read.

dogearedandfurry's review

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4.0

I quite enjoyed the plot of this one, and how it spanned the years. Things start to develop between Persis and Archie, though she is still very prickly (to most people) - I’m hoping she mellows a little, as while it’s understandable, it’s also hard to warm to her too much. And I like how things were left with Oberoi, Persis owing him but him having to adjust to what he did… it moves events along without tipping the balance too much one way or another. She owes him, but he can’t lord it over her.

I received a free ARC copy of this via NetGalley and the publishers in return for an unbiased review.

thinkivist's review

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dark informative mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

blubbflubbl's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

debbiemv's review

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adventurous challenging dark informative mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

ellenarcher22's review

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adventurous mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

jhbandcats's review against another edition

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adventurous informative mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

Tl;dr - Read The Widows of Malabar Hill by Sujata Massey instead.

This is the third in the Malabar House series and I doubt I’ll read the fourth. I found the books so frustrating as detailed in my reviews of the first two books. At least I’ve gotten used to the occasional history lesson that never seemed to fit.

I can understand why any Indian would be furious - at the very least resentful - of the way the British Empire stomped all over their country, murdering and stealing in the name of Queen Victoria, et al. But I feel it would make a stronger point if it were described with more subtlety.

The good part:
~Only one cipher this time, and it made sense within the story.

The bad parts:
~Persis is so angry and miserable that she’s unfailingly rude and sometimes just mean. There’s no arc to her personality.
~I’ve been waiting to learn exactly HOW her father gets himself and his wheelchair up and down the stairs from the bookstore to the living quarters above. Still no clue.
~Persis behaves in ways that are beyond rash; they just don’t make sense. She keeps going to places after dark when it wouldn’t matter if she just waited till the next morning
~The identity of the bad guy came out of left field - completely illogical.
~The title of the second book made no sense; the title and cover design of this book made no sense. I know an author isn’t usually given much say in the cover, but they do write the titles, don’t they?

I was hopeful because the author is pals with Abir Mukherjee, author of the Wyndam & Banerjee mysteries which I love. I kept thinking these books were bound to get better because Mukherjee’s advice was bound to rub off on the author. No, I’ve given up hope. If you want an excellent series on a strong, pioneering Parsee woman, read Sujata Massey’s Perveen Mistry mysteries.

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