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3.77 AVERAGE
3.77 AVERAGE
3.75. Slow start but picks up. Will likely read second in series.
challenging
informative
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Very well written, just not sure about the pacing. It never really felt like the tension and stakes were increasing until the very end so I struggled to finish it. The ending has an excessively long James Bond-style villain explanation of everything that's a bit much as well, a pet peeve of mine when that much explanation is needed.
Made an interesting diversion from my usual contemporary reads and I'll definitely try the next.
Made an interesting diversion from my usual contemporary reads and I'll definitely try the next.
Enjoyable mystery with historical, cultural, and international highlights. A good start on an interesting main character and setting.
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I picked this up as it was in the "popular" fiction section of my library and it looked interesting. I'm not really a big fan of the mystery genre as a stand alone, so was cheerful to find this which is coupled with historical fiction. I was really impressed with the author's writing, both in terms of prose and the thought and research that was clearly put into the writing. More than anything, I appreciate how utterly human and complex he makes each character, even the ones you don't end up liking much. This is an absolutely excellent first novel and one I'm quite glad I picked up.
adventurous
informative
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
This is a fairly solid debut novel. The setting is great: India under the Raj in 1919. Characters tend to be somewhat stereotypical. Overall, I enjoyed this even though it feels a bit like Dashiell Hammett in India, except that this Sam doesn't quite equal Spade. I'll probably read the next book in the series, but I'm not exactly chomping at the bit to get to it.
adventurous
dark
informative
medium-paced
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes