Hello Loves!
Historical fiction is one of our favourite genres to read and an easy way to travel back in time. This year we read a wide variety of books set across various periods of time. Apart from literary historical fiction, another historical sub-genre we indulged in this year were historical thrillers.
A crime caper set in the world from long, long ago.
We are doing this as a separate list because we had enough books to merit a Top 5 list and if you like thrillers but maybe haven't delved into historical fiction, these books might just be the ticket to get you interested and, hopefully, be a gateway to read more books from this genre.
So here are our TOP 5 Historical Thrillers of 2021.
1. The Bombay Prince by Sujata Massey: Perveen Mistry is a woman we've grown to love. It's always a delight to step back in time and visit her in a Bombay very different from the one I live in. Her stories have been a favourite since the first book in the series and with every new book my admiration for this series and the wait for the next book goes up. This book series is both well-written and well-researched. There is great attention to detail and the time period and it's social milieu are captured very well. The Bombay Prince is set in Bombay in 1921 and deals with death of a young Parsi woman in a suspicious manner. Our solicitor and sleuth Perveen is on the case.
We cannot recommend this series and this book enough.
A full, no spoiler, review can be found here.
2. Murder at the Mushaira by Raza Mir: This book sounded fascinating from the go.
Murder.
Mushaira.
Mirza Ghalib.
I was excited to read since I first heard of it. I mean come on, Ghalib solving a murder at the Mughal court and throw in a bit of East India Company shenanigans and Delhi high society back in the day and you have the perfect blend of some delightful things. I am happy to report that this book lived up to the high expectations I had from it. A well-written, well-researched and a historically sound book with solid murder mystery. So good!
Seriously, pick it up.
A full review for this one is up too. You can read it here.
Also, special snaps for how absolutely gorgeous this book looks.
3. Kohinoor Express by Rensil D'Silva: Next we have a slightly different sort of thriller. A heist. A great robbery. A patriotic thriller, if you will. A book full of action, intrigue, mystery and, of course, history. A twist or two and some wishful thinking, hoping real history could have taken this route.
:)
A full review for this is also up on the blog and you can click here to read it.
4. Midnight at Malabar House by Vaseem Khan: India is on the verge of becoming a Republic when a British diplomat is found murdered in his own study in the midst of a bustling New Year's party. Newly appointed, and the first, female cop, Persis Wadia is handed the case, though no one expects her to solve it. How she solves this case and where the mystery ultimately leads to is what makes this book so interesting! Full review can be found here.
5. The Dying Day by Vaseem Khan: The second book in the Persis Wadia series is also very nicely done. This one has a ton of riddles and is written like the Da Vinci Code except that the priceless artifact is the first edition of Dante's The Divine Comedy. The full review can be found here.
Hope you find this list useful! If you enjoy historical thrillers, then these are some pretty good ones based in India!
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