A review by prestonj662
Smoke and Ashes by Abir Mukherjee

4.0

Sam Wyndham number three. The narratives and plots are getting better as the series goes on. At times it felt like a Raymond Chandler story - the wit, the commentary about the other actors in the tale set within Wyndham’s thoughts. I learn a lot about Indian history brought through this series - set in 1921 context - with Gandhi’s call for strikes and the exodus of some of the British and its associated growing anti-English sentiment amongst the indigenous population. The burgeoning independence movement still has several more decades to achieve its aims. In the meantime criminals need to be brought to justice regardless of the ethnic origin of their victims. The complementary pairing of English educated Surender-not Bengali national - the Sergeant and Captain Sam Wyndham jaded from WW1 - white Scotsman is a formidable offering and Smoke and Ashes sees the twosome becoming more and more respectful of each other and their respective talents in the Imperial Police Force.

Highly recommended as is the Red Hot Chilli Peppers podcast of which Abir Mukharjee the author is the co-host.