Book Review: Death in the East by Abir Mukherjee

Book: Death in the East

Author: Abir Mukherjee

Pages: 421

Read on: Kindle

Read in: 4-5 hours

Plot Summary: 

Calcutta police detective Captain Sam Wyndham and his quick-witted Indian Sergeant, Surrender-not Banerjee, are back for another rip-roaring adventure set in 1920s India.

1905, London. As a young constable, Sam Wyndham is on his usual East London beat when he comes across an old flame, Bessie Drummond, attacked in the streets. The next day, when Bessie is found brutally beaten in her own room, locked from the inside, Wyndham promises to get to the bottom of her murder. But the case will cost the young constable more than he ever imagined.

1922, India. Leaving Calcutta, Captain Sam Wyndham heads for the hills of Assam, to the ashram of a sainted monk where he hopes to conquer his opium addiction. But when he arrives, he sees a ghost from his life in London – a man thought to be long dead, a man Wyndham hoped he would never see again. 

Wyndham knows he must call his friend and colleague Sergeant Banerjee for help. He is certain this figure from his past isn’t here by coincidence. He is here for revenge.

General Thoughts: 

This is the 4th book in the Sam Wyndham series and I've read and loved all three prior books, so, obviously, I was going to read this one as well and was waiting with much anticipation for it to be available on Kindle India! You can read the review of the first book- A Rising Man- here and that of A Necessary Evil here. I haven't reviewed the third book, but it was also really good. So, anyway, these books are set in Kolkata in the early 1920s and they are very atmospheric and well researched as well as quite gripping. 

Things I Liked: 

1. The premise of this book had me really excited because, first, we get to see a younger Sam and learn about his past- before the Great War and before the death of his wife. Second, this is the first book in the series where the action moves from Kolkata to a tiny hamlet in Assam and we're presented with two murder investigations- one from 1905 London and the other a present day locked room murder- which makes this book a real page-turner. 

2. I enjoyed both the murder mysteries in this book- the murder of Bessie Drummond in London's East End in 1905 as well the murder that happened in Assam in 1922. We get to see Sam Wyndham as a rookie beat cop, full of optimism and so different from how we've seen him in Kolkata in the past three books. The events of 1905 also help us understand Sam a lot better and seeing him fight his opium addiction at the ashram was also very gratifying because as a reader you want Sam to conquer this addiction and get better because he a good guy whose gone through a lot of sh*t in his life! 

3. The 1905 case touched upon issues that are relevant even today- acceptance of immigrants in British society. In 1905, London's East End was full of immigrants from Russia (Polish Jews) and China, who were looked down upon by the rest of the city. We get to see Sam fighting prejudice and anti-Semitism to try and catch Bessie's real murderer while his bosses were mostly apathetic and uninterested. The way he solves the case and finds the real killer is interesting and nicely done. 

4. The events of 1922 are also very interesting. The small British community in the hamlet of Jatinga in Assam are all interesting characters. There is, of course, the mystery man from Sam's past as well as some other government officials- doctors, businessmen, engineers etc.- who live in this tiny town. So, there are not a lot of suspects when someone (don't want to spoil the book by naming the victim) is found murdered in their locked bedroom and the modus operandi of the murder is eerily similar to that of one of the murders from 1905. The resolution of this murder is also nicely done. 

5. I really liked seeing a more assertive and strong Surendranath Banerjee in this book. He has really grown from being a young Sergeant, who was very respectful of and intimidated by the British to someone who is effortlessly able to put rude Brits in place and, for the first time in this series, feel some kind of pride for his Indian and Bengali heritage. He even asks Sam to make an effort to pronounce his name correctly and not call him "Surrender-not", but Suren or Surendranath! Bravo! 

Things I Didn't Like: 

1. The killer in the 1922 murder was kinda obvious, but because the book has so much going on, I forgive the author for making this easy to guess. The modus operandi of the murder is brilliant, though! 

Rating: 4.5/ 5