Enthralling historical crime novel
Bewertet mit 5 Sternen
Calcutta, India, 1919. Captain Sam Wyndham lost everything in the first world war. When he gets offered a position as detective at the Calcutta police department, he decides to make a new start in India.
Right in his first week, a senior British officer is killed. He is found next to a brothel with a note in his mouth, warning the British to leave India once and for all. Wyndham and his side-kick, "Surrender-not", an Indian police officer, work together to solve the case.
I found Mukherjee's writing style very interesting and like his dry humor. His descriptions make you feel like you are right there in Calcutta with Wyndham, feeling the heat and seeing the beautiful temples. The book teaches a lot of history about the period of British rule in India, which I found fascinating. I liked how Mukherjee makes the reader look at both sides. An Englishman new to India, and also the Indian perspective through Surrender-not and Sen, another character.
One downside were the many Indian words used without an explanation - I had to look up quite a few in the begining.
The story develops nicely, the plot is not foreseeable which makes it very interesting. Definitely a book I would recommend. I am excited to read the second part soon.