Reviews tagging 'Racism'

A Disappearance in Fiji by Nilima Rao

13 reviews

armstrongangela83's review against another edition

informative mysterious sad slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Rape, Racism, and Colonisation

bookscatcoffee's review against another edition

adventurous informative mysterious sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

I enjoyed this historical procedural murder mystery!  I learned a lot about Fiji and indentured servitude and Indian migration during the racist, white supremacist, British colonization.  I appreciate that the author brought a personal perspective to her research and had a connection through her family to the story.  A bit slow at the start, and I kinda wish the MC’s past came up a bit earlier.  Worth reading!  4 stars

Historical procedural mystery with diverse characters 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual assault, Death of parent, Classism, Murder, Racial slurs, Racism, Colonisation, and Death

uranaishi's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional informative mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Pregnancy, Racism, Sexual violence, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Infidelity, Alcohol, Grief, Gun violence, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Classism, Colonisation, Rape, Sexism, Slavery, and Violence

Minor: Child death, Blood, Bullying, Deportation, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Physical abuse, Misogyny, Domestic abuse, Cannibalism, Police brutality, War, and Kidnapping

chailady's review against another edition

challenging dark informative mysterious sad slow-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? It's complicated

3.75

One of the reasons I read this was because I recently visited Fiji. I love Fiji! The beautiful country and the friendly people made this trip a fantastic experience. I had no idea of their history beyond that Fiji had been a British colony. The past describe in this mystery novel was eye opening. I was horrified by the descriptions of the plantations. This is a debut novel and the writing shows. There were several editing errors and the plot progression was not quite right. The ending left me a bit frustrated. I’m hoping there is a second book and we see the author’s style improve. I did like the main character. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, Colonisation, Racism, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Death, Murder, and Sexual assault

kal_self's review against another edition

mysterious fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, Colonisation, Racism, and Murder

Moderate: Rape

courtz531's review against another edition

The strong unrelenting racist and colorist undertones were traumatic and triggering.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism

meganpbennett's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

5.0

My first 5-star review of the year! A while back, I picked this off a cart full of advanced reader copies, and never found the time to read it. I'm so glad I did. It was a fascinating look at a part of history and culture that I am not even passingly familiar with - colonial Fiji. Like many mysteries with a strong sense of the place, the characters are the reason to read the book. I hope for more adventures with Sergeant Singh. 

Thank you to SOHO Crime for the book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Blood, Infidelity, Murder, Physical abuse, Racism, Slavery, Death, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, Colonisation, Grief, and Deportation

Minor: Cannibalism, Infertility, Pregnancy, and Vomit

crystalisreading's review against another edition

adventurous emotional informative mysterious

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Alcohol, Murder, Colonisation, Classism, and Gun violence

Moderate: Medical content, Infidelity, Sexual violence, Grief, Death, Sexual assault, Cursing, Racial slurs, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Blood, Alcohol, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Violence, Medical trauma, Infertility, and Rape

daniellekat's review against another edition

dark mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.25

This was a rather simple debut mystery novel. There were some interesting historical aspects but the mystery was predictable and the writing was annoyingly repetitive (Did Akal need to introduce himself the exact same way to every new character? And did that sentence need to be written out every time??). This falls into the category of "vacation read" for me, it was easy to read and engaging enough but I never had any real investment in the story or characters. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Slavery, Racial slurs, Colonisation, and Racism

Moderate: Pregnancy, Rape, Murder, Gun violence, Death of parent, and Sexual assault

Minor: Alcohol and Vomit

onegalonelife27's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

This book is one that reminds me of what I love about historical fiction-you can learn about places and times that feel so distant yet see how people are always people, dealing with struggles we can relate to, seeing how far we’ve come and how far we have left to go.

Taking place as the world enters World War I, Akal Singh finds himself-after making a huge professional mistake-in Fiji struggling to redeem himself. Both India and Fiji are still part of the British Empire, with indentured Indians coming to Fiji to work the sugar cane fields, in hopes for a better life once their contract is over. When a indentured woman goes missing, most are ready to dismiss her as a runaway and Akal is assigned to make sure that’s what everyone believes. Yet, the more he learns, the more he realizes the truth of her and other servants’ situation in their new home.


I feel like the big hook of this book is Akal Singh, a man torn by trying to do as he is told, in order to make up for past mistakes, his prejudices and being prejudiced, and his growing desire to do what’s right the more he interacts with the plantation workers. He’s charming and intriguing from the start and I eagerly followed his journey to learn more about him and this island he’s now on.

The pace of the book, to me, starts off a bit slow-spending time building up the world and particularly the politics that Akal finds himself in. Yet once, he finds evidence for his missing woman’s case, it really cranks up the pace-an almost whirlwind as the secrets of the plantation no longer stay buried.

The author ends the story with a note, ending with “I hope you’ve enjoyed the story and learnt a little bit about Fiji and the Fiji and the Fijian Indians in the mean time.” I want to tell her I have and I’m eager to learn more by my own way and in her next book in the series!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Gun violence, Murder, and Colonisation

Moderate: Racism and Rape

Minor: Pregnancy