Welcome to Litsy!

Sam Wyndham has moved from England to join the police in Calucutta, wanting to move on from a painful past. But Calcutta is currently a powder keg of colonialism & revolution, just waiting for a match.

Hard to get into, because I didn‘t care about Sam. But once we get to know Banerjee, & Sam really started to question the status quo, things picked up. Ending felt rushed, 1/2 predictable & 1/2 out of left field which left me unsatisfied.🌕🌕🌕🌗🌑

This book was… fine and a borderline so-so. It was easy to read and kept me interested enough to keep coming back. I enjoyed learning more about the tensions between Britain and India post WWI. I kept getting the police force and military personnel confused though and the ending felt very thrown together. Probably won‘t read more of the series. November‘s #diversecozy buddy read

November‘s #diversecozy buddy read is A Rising Man!

Everyone is welcome to join us for this very low key buddy read. If you‘ve already read this first book in the series, feel free to read whichever is next for you. You can also double dip with #foodandlit this month!

Starting this one in the museum's garden. The buses are strange at the moment so managed to arrive an hour early 😅

Not sure what this book is/why I bought it but it was on my shelf and looked well read enough that I don't feel guilty shoving it in my bag

A murder mystery set in post WW1 Calcutta. I‘m glad it‘s written by Mukherjee who is Bengali, as I don‘t think I could read anything that glorifies the colonialism. It‘s a good start to a series with your war battered but moral protagonist Wyndham and his deputy Bannerjee, who I wish we got to know better. The story shakes up Wyndham (a newly arrived ex Scotland Yard police captain) from a naive idea of the British role in India while ⬇️

Captain Sam Wyndham and Sergeant Banerjee are two main characters you will want to follow in this new mystery series. Interesting time in Calcutta in 1919 under British Colonial rule. Many conflicting rules and political unrest are obstacles Captain Sam Wyndham and Sergeant Banerjee avoid as they solve a murder in interesting ways.

This was very refreshing. It's a murder mystery set in pre-independence India. Not only was it an intriguing mystery but also gave a very raw and accurate description of that time.The freedom struggle,racism, infighting, the writer covered all aspects but never moved away from the original story which in itself was very fascinating and original, you could not tell who was behind it all till the very end.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!

CONTEXT: its a conversation b/w 2 Englishmen,book is set in 1919 before India's independence.
Now, one can understand the British POV on this but the British ruled India due to superior military might and sheer ruthlessness. Any "good" that they did was for there own benefit. Although its a fictional book, still this sentiment, which was shared by a many Britishers including there leaders, angers a lot.
Just wanted to rant a little here ???

Have been MIA from this space for sometime now. Making a comeback with a joke!!!!
😂😂🤣🤣🤣

#WondrousWednesday Getting To Know Us Week 2

1. It‘s my Twitter handle, used since 2009; my name plus the name of my cat who passed away that year.

2. Anywhere!

3. Tagged

4. 1 human, 2 cats, plus another human 2 nights a week

@Eggs

My #BookSpin choice this month turned out to be the third in a series, so of course I had to read books 1 and 2 first! A Rising Man is book 1 Mukherjee‘s Sam Wyndham series, and I absolutely loved it. Set in India in April 1919, as well as being a good crime novel, it highlights the strange relationship between the Raj and an India increasingly seeking home rule. Good character and relationship development.

#BookReport - had zero time to post this earlier. Finished 7 books this week, 4 on audio 3 in print. Some were better than others, but all were pretty good.

Currently reading Arsenic and Adobo and listening the the next Agatha Christie for #AgathaChristieBookClubR2

#WeeklyForecast - not sure what will be next. I only have 1 hoopla borrow left, so I have to choose wisely! 😂

#DoubleSpin #Booked2021 - Set in country where UN Peacekeepers are

This historical mystery is set in India after WWI. I‘ve never read a mystery set in India. It was really good but felt a bit long. Sam survives WWI but everyone he knows doesn‘t. He‘s invited to join the police force in India and has to solve a big political murder. Oh and he‘s addicted to Opium. The setting was written well and the British treat Indians so poorly.

Here is my April #BookSpin list

I didn‘t post it earlier because for the first time in a while, I wasn‘t sure what books I wanted to read for the month. I‘m hoping to read a majority of my own books this month with the exception of audio and book club books.

“People think the Met is the oldest police force in the world. It‘s not. It‘s true we had the Bow Street runners, but Paris was the first city with a real police force.”
And now I need a historical mystery set in Paris featuring their first police force. Anyone know of any???

I started and abandoned two different books yesterday. Work day is officially over today, although I‘ll probably log back in and work some more later tonight. In the meantime, I‘m going to dive into this one that‘s been on my shelf for ages. Here‘s hoping 3rd book‘s the charm!

Lovely 💐

I liked the setting (time and place) of this book. Will probably continue the series and look for some books about the history of India (if you have recommendations, let me know).

Me: is feeling particularly pandemic-brained, not interested in any of her current reads, and decides to start a mystery in hopes of getting the reading mojo back.
New book: mentions the 1918 Spanish flu 😑

I‘m happy for #diversereads from book club. This seems like “just” a fish-out-of-water procedural with an interesting setting, but there‘s much more, including a lot of implicit commentary about the British colonization of India. I knew very little about the details of that period, and the story was very illuminating. #AuldLangReads

One of the practical benefits of attending an English boarding school is that one receives a first-class education in the surreptitious access and egress from almost any premises.

Just a light afternoon snack...🥑🍺 📖

Finished A Rising Man just in time! July was a great reading month: This month I finished up the prompts for #nonfiction2019 and read a few cozy mysteries for #cozyinthesun and started on the summer prompts for #booked2019 📚
#julywrapup
Its August - time for Women in Translation month!!

I‘m not super in love with this mystery so far, but it‘s got its good points. And I hate DNFing a whodunnit - the resolution can make or break it so entirely.

I‘ve always enjoyed Agatha Christie books, and this had a very similar feel but a very different setting. This book is set in Calcutta, India immediately following WWI which was part of the appeal for me...I‘ve read very few books set in India. The twists and turns of the mystery were artfully written. The issue of racism and colonial life was handled well. There‘s a reason why this has won awards for mystery writing. Definitely recommend! 👍🏻

A well done, rigorously plotted detective story set in Calcutta in 1919. Sam Wyndham, a veteran of both Scotland Yard and the Western Front has accepted a role in the Calcutta Police Force to escape from his former life. Within days of arrival he finds himself investigating a murder of a well-placed fixer in the civil service and finding himself at odds with the Military Intelligence, the Ex Pat Community as civil unrests rises in the country.

I really enjoyed this book. It‘s a promising start to a historical thriller/detective series set in Calcutta during the British Raj. I liked the setting and the characters. There is some subtle humour. An easy, entertaining and interesting read.

I enjoyed this. The first in a crime series with Captain Wyndham & Banerjee, set in Calcutta 1919 - they investigate the murder of a ‘sahib‘ in a seedy part of town. A great sense of place, I felt like I was in Calcutta & fascinating re the mix of cultures & hostility to English imperialism. The pace is a little slow but I‘d expect it to pick up as the series progresses. Fun characters but men-centric. I think Boris Akunin fans would like it.

I bought this after hearing Abir Mukherjee on ‘Two Crime Writers and a Microphone‘ - so far so good! Engaging writing with a sense of humour and evokes Calcutta well. Apt as it‘s 39 degrees here - also Australia playing India in the test match in Adelaide as we speak! 😉☀️

I really enjoyed reading A Rising Man in the rainy grey November weather ( it is set in steamy Calcutta) it‘s a well done mystery and a series which I could imagine continuing with. I really liked that it reminded me of the show Indian Summer on PBS. ( photo is of art I started with grade 4‘s yesterday for Remembrance assembly on Friday )

1. Chips. I‘m a terror near any bag
2. Kate Atkinson ( or maybe Diana Gabaldon so I could finish the Outlander series 🤔)
3. Gene on Bob‘s Burgers
4. I‘m more of a mid day magpie
5. Off I go #friyayintro

Did you ever watch Indian Summer on PBS? Or BBC ? This is totally bringing me back to that except with a mystery thrown in for good measure. It‘s a complete escape from October and now November rain

Heading home today so this was my final holiday read and a really good one. Set in 1919 calcutta a yng war veteran london police detective moves to india where he investigates the murder of a colonial official against the backdrop of the fight for independence and increased tensions in the country. Deserves all the plaudits for a debut, looking at an interesting phase in Indian history. So back to blighty we go.

Quite enjoyed the setting in early India

I didn‘t hate this, but I didn‘t love it either. Maybe will read another in the series??

I very much enjoyed this book, set in Calcutta in 1919. It is the start of a series with Captain Sam Wyndham and his sergeant Surrender-not Banerjee. #book #bookcover #yellowbook #bookmad #bookcrazy

I ordered these books last week and they arrived today! I really shouldn't have as got over 50 books waiting to be read! I just couldn't help myself! #books #bookcovers #bookmad #tbr #bookworm #addictedtoreading

I really, really enjoyed this! It has helped to curb my Cormoran Strike craving for a bit! And I‘m so excited that this is going to be a series. The history lover in me loved the Calcutta, 1919 setting, and Mukherjee did an excellent job showing the effects of British rule in India. Brit Sam Wyndham is a very likable character and it was fun to watch relationship between he and his partner, Sgt. Banerjee grow.
Mukherjee also has an excellent 👇

I stumbled across this in an email a few weeks ago. The setting- Calcutta, 1919. The premise of a murdered British official, with a note warning the British to leave India really intrigued me. I‘ll be starting it tonight!

I did it! I survived Friday! 😊😊 So I stopped at my favorite library branch for a reward. 😉

#teachersoflitsy

Loving this mystery set in Calcutta -

A little side trip away from noir to 1919 Calcutta where Captain Sam Wheaton takes up a posting with the police force; murder and burgeoning independence movement, politics of the Raj, and an Indian sergeant who went to Cambridge make for a interesting read. Nice!

Really enjoying this one...

I had the hardest time trying to get through this book! It may have just been my copy, but a lot of little grammar issues made this too much for me and I ended up skipping straight to the end. Instead of “I said,” it was said; often a forgotten ‘, so instead of I‘ll it read as Ill. I was hoping that it would engrossing enough for me to not notice it as I read on, but, alas, it was not. Also, I pretty much guessed the ending by the chapter 4.

An excellent novel, on so many different ways. Read my Goodreads review at: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25686321-a-rising-man #fiction #abirmukherjee #arisingman #history #politics #crimefiction #historicalfiction #captainwyndham #racism #india #indianindependence #britishraj #prejudice #espionage

I made it through the snow and slush (literally millimetres deep in places) and have clearly earned my reward. I am enjoying this unusual crime novel set of n Calcutta in 1919. #abirmukherjee #arisingman #muswellhill ##cotebrasserie #muswellhillbilly #n10 #coffee #caffeine #caffeineaddict #book #books #bookstagram #currentlyreading #coffeeandbooks #booksandcoffee #wakeupandsmellthecoffee #wakeupandsmellthecoffin #litzy

If you‘re a fan of historical fiction, crime or both, this definitely worth a read!

Having a slow morning with my book and a dark hot choc in my favourite coffee shop before starting work.
Rather like the pattern these tiles make.
Time for #artsy book photograph.

#coffeeshopreads #morning

Slightly out of the norm when it comes to genres, but crime is something that interests me. Love crime TV so hoping I will love crime reads. This one is a murder one set in 1919 India. Written in the first person. Usually get on ok with that style, so we shall see. Anywho, on the train, better get reading. ^_^

#commutingbibliophile #trainreads

A solid mystery, evocative setting of Calcutta between the wars, and two interesting detectives, one an Englishman, one Indian. More titles are planned in this series and there's plenty of room to develop these characters.