Murder in Old Bombay: A Mystery

1892 Bombay Two sisters, Bacha and her sister by marriage Pilloo, have jumped from a university clock tower in daylight and three men were charged with murder and later acquitted, with the evidence stating it was suicide. The family is convinced that it was not and the husband Adi Framji is approached by Captain Jim Agnihotri who is then hired for a six month period to investigate. The story is from his point of view. An interesting and entertaining complex Victorian mystery and adventure story, with its varied and likeable characters.

historical-setting, historical-research, historical-places-events, historical-novel, India, discrimination, class-consciousness, military, journalist, exmilitary, private-investigators, family, family-dynamics, friendship, action-adventure***** He didn't even know that he'd lost a year of his life until well into the thing. Invalided out of the army in India (1892) he had often been shunned as a half-caste as well as an orphan with no father except the commanding officers and no family but his comrades-in-arms and in the regimental boxing ring. He was recommended to a newspaper owner and sent to cover the story of two related young women who supposedly jumped to their death in a very public place. The young widower and his influential father don't believe the ruling of the court and hire Captain Jim to investigate. And so the action begins! Lots of action. There's a romance as well but it is all but doomed. And then there's the ragtag children who attached themselves to him when he was upcountry and happened upon a skirmish with the Afghanis. There's too much else to get into, but it is a fascinating read! I am really pretty ignorant about the varied cultures and languages of India but I did learn a lot! I requested and received a free ebook copy from St. Martin's Press/Minotaur Books via NetGalley. Thank you!!!

I received a free electronic copy of this excellent historical novel from Netgalley, Nev March, and St. Martin's Press - Minotaur Books. Thank you all for sharing your hard work with me. I have read this novel of my own volition, and this review reflects my honest opinion of this work. This is a tightly wound mystery in picturesque 1890's Bombay, peopled with protagonists that will become friends. I loved the clear picture of Bombay (now known as Mumbai) and the overview of British law and order in India during this time period. . Our story is first-person from the viewpoint of Captain Jim Agnihotri, a half-caste soldier just retired, disabled, from the British Army, Fourteenth Light Cavalry Regiment, following a catastrophic battle at Port Karachi where most of his regiment was wiped out. His injuries were near-lethal, injuries that had him hospitalized for a year with broken bones, a serious brain injury, and PTSD, most of that hospitalized year lost from his memory due to trauma and pain and drugs for pain. Well enough to leave hospital care, at last, he decided to train himself in the shadow of Sherlock Holmes in the private investigation business. And his first case, the death of two young, vibrant, wealthy woman, is going to be a doozie. If he can just control the flash-backs to the battle of Karachi and avoid the battles in play between British troops and rebel armies wanting independence from British Rule, he should be able to work through the facts of this case and find the truth at its root. Or so we hope.