A Rising Man (Sam Wyndham Series) by Abir Mukherjee

Paperback:  Captain Sam Wyndham, former Scotland Yard detective, is a new arrival to Calcutta. Desperately seeking a fresh start after his experiences during the Great War, Wyndham has been recruited to head up a new post in the police force. But with barely a moment to acclimatise to his new life or to deal with the ghosts which still haunt him, Wyndham is caught up in a murder investigation that will take him into the dark underbelly of the British Raj.

A senior official has been murdered, and a note left in his mouth warns the British to quit India: or else. With rising political dissent and the stability of the Raj under threat, Wyndham and his two new colleagues arrogant Inspector Digby and British-educated, but Indian-born Sergeant Banerjee, one of the few Indians to be recruited into the new CID embark on an investigation that will take them from the luxurious parlours of wealthy British traders to the seedy opium dens of the city.

A Rising Man (2016) is the start of an atmospheric and enticing new historical crime series set in Raj era India.

About the author:  Abir Mukherjee is the Times bestselling author of the Sam Wyndham series of crime novels set in Raj era India.  His debut, A Rising Man, won the CWA Endeavour Dagger for best historical crime novel of 2017 and was shortlisted for the MWA Edgar for best novel.  His second novel, A Necessary Evil, won the Wilbur Smith Award for Adventure Writing and was a Zoe Ball Book Club pick.  His third novel, Smoke and Ashes, was chosen by the Sunday Times as one of the 100 Best Crime & Thriller Novels since 1945.

Abir grew up in the West of Scotland and now lives in London with his wife and two sons.  At the age of fifteen, his best friend made him read Gorky Park and he has been a fan of crime fiction ever since.  A Rising Man, his debut novel, was inspired by a desire to learn more about this crucial period in Anglo-Indian history that seems to have been almost forgotten.  It won the Harvill Secker/Daily Telegraph crime writing competition.

Rating:  5/5