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3.77 AVERAGE
3.77 AVERAGE
I loved the book, You could feel that you are in India next to the main character. It is beautiful written thriller.
2.5 stars. The setting of this book was interesting: Calcutta, 1919, but that's about all. It started off ok with a detective newly arrived from Scotland Yard to Calcutta, India. You learn about some of the history of India and the tensions between the Indians and the British who rule them.
I didn't care much for Sam. There was nothing about him that made him special or worthwhile. I can understand Sam's reliance on opium but calling it an addiction seemed far-fetched. His views on Indians and the British were all over the place and seemed to change by the second. I liked Surendranath, aka Surrender-Not as he is called because the British can't be bothered to learn his actual name, and I think the book would have been much more interesting told from his pov instead.
I found the mysteries not that interesting and the conclusion woefully depressing.
I didn't care much for Sam. There was nothing about him that made him special or worthwhile. I can understand Sam's reliance on opium but calling it an addiction seemed far-fetched. His views on Indians and the British were all over the place and seemed to change by the second. I liked Surendranath, aka Surrender-Not as he is called because the British can't be bothered to learn his actual name, and I think the book would have been much more interesting told from his pov instead.
I found the mysteries not that interesting and the conclusion woefully depressing.
3.5 stars. Post WW1 colonial India is depicted through the eyes of a British police officer, so much of the description of the "natives" is through his eyes, which is colonialist but with moments of progressive thought.
The first murder mystery for DI Captain Sam Wyndham in his new post in 1919 Calcutta.
It was very interesting to read this book during my first trip to Britain. While it doesn’t take place there, but in India, it is infused with British colonial culture and tone. Sam Wyndham is a police detective and former military officer, taking refuge in India during the British rule there, just after WWI, escaping heartache and tragedy. Some of his demons follow him, but he manages to find his footing, throwing himself into a complex and perplexing case almost the moment he arrives. The murder mystery contains elements of occupation politics, post-war trauma, racial tensions and interesting details of time and place. It unfolds at a nice pace, with clues being revealed and added to the solution pile neatly. I figured out one piece (which is rare, for me), but didn’t spoiler myself entirely. I think this is the start of a series, so I’ll probably seek out further volumes, despite some niggly little editing errors that stood out for me, but didn’t wreck a strong and entertaining narrative.
Fast, decent intrigue, selfaware without being brooding. has a bunch of very quotable lines.
I loved spending time with this novel. Mukherjee blended different genres perfectly (historical fiction, crime/mystery) to create a well thought out, immersive storytelling experience. There are several non-english terms in the novel. I found that this helped to actualize the space and time of the text but caused the overall read to be slightly less seamless than I prefer.
Great start to a series! Awesome setting, realistic characters, good mystery...kept me 100% hooked for all 400 pages! Looking forward to reading more!
This was a weirdly boring book. I didn’t figure out who the murderer was and didn’t really care either.
The handling of race was weird. At times, it was forward thinking but at times (ex: surrender-not) completely bizarre/backwards.
The handling of race was weird. At times, it was forward thinking but at times (ex: surrender-not) completely bizarre/backwards.
I will return to the series because the time, place, and characters interest me. The opium habit is a distraction and feels contrived. Also not convinced about the characterization of women.