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A review by kerriem3
A Rising Man by Abir Mukherjee
4.0
This book is set in Post WWI Calcutta with British Imperialism in India starting to fail. I know very little about this part of history, but think the book portrays this period well without sugar-coating the rampant racism but giving an insight into all of the people on both sides of the issue.
The mystery starts brilliantly - a British politician VIP murdered behind a brothel in a bad neighborhood and tons of suspects. However, it felt a bit like the mystery took a back seat to the political / racial turmoil. I also felt that while the who-dun-it part was a good surprise, the reason (why-they-dun-it) seemed fairly obvious to me about a third of the way in.
A Rising Man really shines with its main characters. The newly arrived Captain and his subordinate "Surrender Not" have great chemistry as well as realistic full personalities. It also creates a great window into the sights and sounds of Calcutta. It feels real. I'm looking forward to the next in the series.
The mystery starts brilliantly - a British politician VIP murdered behind a brothel in a bad neighborhood and tons of suspects. However, it felt a bit like the mystery took a back seat to the political / racial turmoil. I also felt that while the who-dun-it part was a good surprise, the reason (why-they-dun-it) seemed fairly obvious to me about a third of the way in.
A Rising Man really shines with its main characters. The newly arrived Captain and his subordinate "Surrender Not" have great chemistry as well as realistic full personalities. It also creates a great window into the sights and sounds of Calcutta. It feels real. I'm looking forward to the next in the series.