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4.04 AVERAGE
4.04 AVERAGE
medium-paced
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
informative
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Violence
Moderate: Addiction, Body horror, Colonisation
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
I am thoroughly enjoying this series and glad to know the fourth is already published. This may be my favourite so far. Just one thing (Spoiler if you HAVE NOT read the first two, if you have no spoiler and not much of one anyway) ** I am getting very tired of the whole opium thing. ** The plot is good, tight and believable. I like the fact that there is about a year between each book and so it is easy to see how India's history is inexorably moving forward.
Another excellent addition to the detective duo of Captain Sam Wyndham and Sergeant Surrender-Not Bannerjee. This story explores Sam’s anguish as he’s in the grip of his post-WWI opium addiction and the way the war is still a big part of people’s lives three years since the armistice. He and Surrender-Not grow to be closer friends, not just a police office and his native underling.
The author knows all sorts of horrific trivia about India. In the last book, A Necessary Evil, we learn that elephants were used for hundreds of years to execute prisoners who’d committed especially heinous crimes, sometimes toying with the prisoner first, killing him slowly through torture. In this book we learn that England’s Porton Down, the military department in charge of secret weapons, did indeed test mustard gas on Indian troops (though in the 1930s, not the 1920s).
The author knows all sorts of horrific trivia about India. In the last book, A Necessary Evil, we learn that elephants were used for hundreds of years to execute prisoners who’d committed especially heinous crimes, sometimes toying with the prisoner first, killing him slowly through torture. In this book we learn that England’s Porton Down, the military department in charge of secret weapons, did indeed test mustard gas on Indian troops (though in the 1930s, not the 1920s).
Each installment of Abir Mukherjee's Sam Wyndham series is a little better than the previous book, which is saying something, because the first book of the series, A Rising Man, is an incredibly well-written historical mystery. While many series tend to lose steam with the addition of new books, this series keeps getting better! Smoke and Ashes was a great addition to the series and I continue to love the character development of both Sam Wyndham and Surrender Not. I can't wait for the next book!
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced