A NECESSARY EVIL. What a title for a book. The author, Abir Mukherjee’s second historical crime book, details the actions of Captain Sam Wyndham and Sergeant Surrender-not Banerjee and follows on from ‘The Rising Man’.
Sam is still battling with his First World War experiences in France and trying to cope without succumbing to the magic of O. There are beautiful women around and that temptation is close by and, also a distraction, as well. It’s another battle for Sam whereas Surrender-not does not get a chance! The feminists will love the insight into the life of the concubines and the inclusivity of the zenana.
Set in India and under British rule both these books deal with the forces that existed to keep this continent in order! British aristocracy and the class system that involved, sits rudely alongside the local social classes and how their pecking order worked, or not. Prejudice is woven into the story and is a reminder of how it was perpetuated.
We start off in Calcutta and travel to the rural setting and the fabulously wealthy Kingdom of Sambalpore. The poverty and the riches sit side by side, but the question is always there; Who controls what and whom?
It's a conundrum of conflicting evidence that Sam Wyndham and his well educated native sergeant have to solve. And to deal, as well, with British bureaucracy, royal intrigue and conflict. Obviously there is danger and people die, but how does that happen? The answers are not obvious and there are some surprising turns before we get to the truth. The end, I feel, fits in with modern thinking, although I had my suspicions, and that Sam’s search for justice may not have been as important as he first thought.
I enjoyed it. Sometimes ‘one has to have a leap of faith’ as he moves the story on swiftly, but I liked his style. I love Anglo-Indian history and the way this author portrays it. It is also a reminder of what is present today in our lives - prejudice.
(The review of The Rising Man i blogged on 17th July 2018)
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