A review by karenchase
A Rising Man by Abir Mukherjee

4.0

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.