A Rising Man

Starred review from February 27, 2017
British author Mukherjee’s outstanding debut and series launch combines a cleverly constructed whodunit with an unusual locale—Calcutta in 1919—portrayed with convincing detail. Capt. Sam Wyndham, a former Scotland Yard detective, has arrived in the Indian city wounded in spirit from the loss of his wife to the influenza epidemic and addicted to morphine after surviving the trenches of the Western Front. His experience lands him a position with the British Imperial Police Force in Bengal, and he soon receives a sensitive murder inquiry. Alexander MacAuley, a top aide to the lieutenant governor, has been found in an alley with his throat slit, some fingers cut off, and a bloodstained scrap of paper placed in his mouth on which is written: “English blood will run in the streets.” That warning indicates that Indian terrorists opposed to continuation of the Raj were responsible, but Wyndham finds the truth more complicated. The nuanced relationship between Wyndham and his Indian assistant, a sergeant known as Surrender-not Banerjee because the English can’t pronounce his first name correctly, adds even more depth. Agent: Sam Copeland, Rogers, Coleridge & White (U.K.).

Starred review from April 1, 2017

Haunted by the death of his wife and experiences in the Great War, Capt. Sam Wyndham, a former Scotland Yard detective, accepts a job with the imperial police force in 1919 Calcutta. He has no time to acclimate to his new surroundings before the body of a British official is found near a brothel with a note stuffed in his mouth demanding that the British leave India. The ramifications of the murder increase the destabilizing pressure from insurgents demanding greater Indian autonomy. Sam is assisted by the arrogant Inspector Digby, who had been bypassed for a promotion to Sam's job, and Sgt. Surendranath (Surrender-not) Banerjee, one of the few Indians working in the CID. Their investigations take them from grimy jails to elegant mansions and attract irritation and interference from the upper echelons of the British Raj. VERDICT Winner of the Harvill Secker Daily Telegraph crime writing competition, this stirring, entertaining first mystery bursts with lively, colorful historical details about colonial Calcutta. The developing relationship between Wyndham and Banerjee is a delight. A fine start to a new crime series that will attract readers of M.J. Carter and Tarquin Hall.--ACT

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