November 27, 2020
A Rising Man by Abir Mukherjee
Desperate for a fresh start after World War I and the death of his wife in the 1918 flu pandemic, Captain Sam Wyndham accepts a job in Calcutta, India, to head up a new criminal investigation division. He barely arrives before he is assigned his first investigation: the murder of a senior British official (a rising man) whose body was found behind a Calcutta brothel.
The descriptions of India at the time of the British Raj are wonderful and the history of the time is very well-researched. Set near the end of the British Empire in India, the British are desperately trying to hang on and maintain their standard of living, while the Indian populace are pushing for home rule. These conflicts are reflected in the interplay between Captain Wyndham and his two detectives who represent these differing points of view. Captain Wyndham is a damaged character who unfortunately is not very good at being a detective - this is one of the main flaws in the story. This is the first book in a series so hopefully the main character will get better at his job
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