gervase_fen | Disordered Daggers : A Necessary Evil by Abir Mukherjee (2017) (Reply)

India, 1920. Captain Sam Wyndham of the Imperial Police Force and his a-d-c Sergeant ‘Surrender not’ Banerjee find themselves on the trail of assassins, a trail that takes them from Calcutta to the remote kingdom of Sambalpore. Can Wyndham uncover the truth – and if he does, can he do anything about it in a territory where he has no jurisdiction?

This is the excellent sequel to the equally excellent “A Rising Man”, which confirms Abir Mukherjee’s mastery of locale, plot, and narrative. The research is lightly worn and the set-piece descriptions – a tiger hunt, departure from Howrah railway station, religious festivals, execution by elephant– are vivid. Wyndham’s opium addiction and his evolving relationship with the independent Miss Grant gives our hero an appealing fallibility. Longlisted in the three Dagger categories it is eligible for, and I would be surprised if it doesn’t get shortlisted for all three in July.