Abir Mukherjee (1) (1974–)

I really like books that explore a historical time period in an exotic place. This first book in a series set in India during the time period where the British raj is starting to worry about their ability to continue to hold power is an excellent example.

Captain Sam Wyndham was in Scotland Yard before World War I started. Although he wasn't sure he believed in war, he signed up and spent several years in the trenches. Just before he went off to do his duty he married the lovely Sarah, a show more woman he met on the bus he regularly took to work. He spent the last part of the war in military intelligence but he still managed to get injured. When he was finally well enough he learned that Sarah had died of influenza. He also had become addicted to morphine. So, when his former commanding officer offered him a position with the police force in Calcutta, there was nothing preventing him from going. His first case involved the murder of a white gentleman just outside a brothel in an unsavoury part of time. Judging by the note stuffed in his mouth, he was the victim of terrorists. Hardly has Wyndham and his trusty sidekick, Never-Surrender Banerjee, started investigating that crime than they are called to the scene of another murder on a train north of Calcutta. Could the same band of terrorists be responsible for both crimes? Wyndham thinks so but he wants to be able to arrest the perpetrators before the military get their hands on them because there might not be anyone to question if they get there first. Wyndham is attracted to the first victim's Anglo-Indian secretary and manages to have a few dates with her but he wonders if she might be hiding evidence or spilling the beans to the press. Eventually Wyndham and Banerjee solve the cases but not in the way anyone expects.

There are lots of details about life in Calcutta which made me glad I was reading about them and not living them. I think I'll have to find more of this series. (Just what I need, another series to suck me in!) show less

Reading this felt like WORK. It took me forever because I'd put it down after a few pages and go off to find something, anything else to do. Clean the grout in my shower? Well, if it's that or read this, grout suddenly sounds fascinating!

The plot is the exact opposite of gripping. Sam goes all in on an obvious red herring early in the book, so I spent the first 50% mentally begging him to do his job and actually interview people or seek out information or do anything at ALL besides what he's show more doing, which is chasing the wrong suspect with absolute tunnel vision. After he figures out -- belatedly and painfully -- that he's doing that, he still does not actually detect anything. He just kind of wanders around the city aimlessly. He also spends 85% of the book fully unaware of the two people who are obviously working against him and giving information on him, even though they absolutely have to be and that should be obvious, so I spent most of the second half shrieking, "STOP GIVING INFORMATION TO OBVIOUS SPIES." The net effect of all of that is to make Sam look both incompetent and frankly foolish.

Even beyond that, Sam's a terrible main character. There's no there there. He doesn't really have a personality or interests beyond opiates and being wrong. I think the author may have been trying for the classic noir archetype of "the man with nothing to lose," but honestly Sam is too unfocused to fit that.

Also, for me, it was incredibly difficult to read Sam calling Banerjee "boy" all the time. I realize this may be a cultural issue; I don't know what connotations "boy" has to Indian or British people. But as an American, every time a white man called a man of color "boy," I flinched bodily away from the page. Banerjee is the only character I actually liked, and the only one who appeared to have any functioning neurons. I hated reading about how he was treated. I hate that the narrative calls him Surrender-not, a name an asshole chose to call him, when his first name is actually Surendranath, which is just as easy to pronounce. (Of course Sam calls him Surrender-not. When he's not calling him boy. UGH.)

And this last complaint is not the author's fault, but could someone have maybe proofread this ebook? The copy I got was riddled with OCR errors, which made reading it even more tiresome.

There was just nothing to redeem this book or hold my interest in it. I had such high hopes for it, but I will not be continuing the series. show less

George Abercrombie, a fading movie star, is living in Mumbai with his wife, Sweety Sahota, a rising star of Bollywood. George dislikes Mumbai but his career has stalled and he makes his money from endorsements. After a bender, he wakes to find his wife murdered and himself the prime suspect. However also in the frame is his manservant Amit and his former PA Gemma who is involved in an affair with a prominent politician. With the help of the a fixer, each has to prove their innocence.
There is show more a real confidence and swagger about this book that works so well. At once a thriller which demonstrates pace and excitement and a love letter to Mumbai and its people. Hidden beneath this are lots of extremely humorous parodies - the star advertising coffee machines and alcohol, the bumbling US president - in addition little in-jokes with the names of characters and funny asides. Put it all together and it's just really good fun! show less

We get Banerjee’s point of view in this book, and I cannot think of a time when I have been this excited for a thriller! Sam has elaborate opinions on anything and everything, and I couldn’t wait to read what Suren thinks about everything.

I should say, this is not Sam’s story. It is mine.In truth, I would much rather he told you, but he cannot, at least not everything, because he was not there. Of course that is unlikely to stop him sharing his two annas’ worth, but that is Sam for show more you.

This was also the most exciting opening to any of the books in the series. Sam’s narration tells about the aftermath of something that happened while Suren’s shows what led up to it. Trying to tie the two together and getting some answers was a fine piece of plotting, and when everything went down around 25% in, the suspense got even better.

Suren, the upper-class Oxford-accented young man with glasses and short stature is on the run because of a crime he did not commit. His awkward attempts at being a fugitive was a nice contrast against Sam’s jaded war veteran character. It was also quite funny at times. He’s clever at improvising, but isn’t made for train wagon chases or driving his own cars. Suren should be at the club (he’s what? 25?) but he would be saying words like ‘perchance’ and ‘thrice.’
It was fascinating to see the colonial stratified world through the eyes of someone who passes for a servant. It is demeaning and dehumanizing, but Suren mainly uses this invisibility to his advantage instead of displaying how awful it is. I kind of wish there was more of that, given that these books do not spare the stinging details of colonial life, but we’ve had 4.5 books of Sam and only 0.5 from Suren. The guy has better things to do.

I also liked that Annie Grant is pretty done with Sam now. She’s skeptic and he knows it, he tries to win her over but is still a jealous man. She begrudgingly helps him sometimes, and there is some lingering friendship. Their dynamic as half-amicable exes works far better than their cliche attempt at being genuine love interests.

I know now that there is a sixth book, but I was very happy with how this one ended. It felt like a proper circular ending for everyone involved and for the setting. Suren is no longer the wide-eyed awkward Cambridge bookworm and Sam is no longer the addicted hypocrite. In a way, they have finally managed to level their differences and become as close as the setting will allow. show less