3.5 stars rounded up for an entertaining romantic mystery set in 1890s India. Our dashing hero, Captain Jim Agnihotri, son of an English father and Indian mother, reads Sherlock Holmes mysteries during a 2 year hospital stay because of injuries in battle. He reads newspapers also. An article about what the paper calls "the crime of century' catches his eye. Two women have fallen to their death from a tower. The husband of 1 woman, and brother to the other, writes a letter to the paper, insisting that his wife and sister did not commit suicide.
Jim decides to investigate. He goes to the newspaper editor and asks to be hired to investigate. He is hired at 30 rupees a week. He then goes to Adi Framji's house to interview the widower about the death of his wife and sister. Adi questions Jim about why he wants to do this and how long it will take. He is pleased with Jim's answers and offers to hire Jim at 40 rupees a week to investigate for him, instead of the newspaper.
According to the blurb, this book is based on a true story. The book, not due to be published until Nov 10, has won an award for a debut mystery novel.
Jim does discover the truth behind their deaths and more. There is a forbidden romance and an enlightening look at the British Raj at the height of its power in India. Jim is classed as a native officer and Captain is as high as he will go. He is given a medical discharge. The British are cast as the good guys and the Indians fighting for independence are truly evil villains. All in all, British India seen through rose colored glasses.
I learned something new: Parsees are medieval refugees to India from Pars, Persia(Iran). The Parsees number about 100.000 and forbid marriage to non Parsees.
Three quotes:
Jim on British hierarchy: "Indian hierarchy dogging me again. At the top, admired. obeyed and watched, always watched, were British officers. Next came 'the civil' administrators, Englishmen regardless of education or connections. Then non-coms, followed by native officers of high caste. All high castes, Brahmins,-the priestly class--and Shatriya warriors preceded Sikhs and Gurkhas. Parsees might figure with non-coms, educated, wealthy and influential. At the bottom, ignored at best, often just despised, were the low castes: traders,and tribesman thought to be crude, ignorant carpet peddlers like the Pathans, like me. High castes could escape crimes perpetrated upon lower castes."
"Indians did not rise above Subedar-Major, equivalent to the rank of Captain, since young Englishmen could not be expected to follow a native."
Jim's romantic thoughts: "Having her near was to drink after weeks in the desert. Those delicate fingers, now clenched at her side in fields of pale blue. Her arms, slender and so perfectly shaped, her softly heaving bosom."
If you like a romantic mystery with little violence, no profanity or sex, and a dashing hero, then this book is for you.
Thank you St. Martin's Press for sending me this eARC through NetGalley.

From Capt. Jim awakening in the hospital with only foggy memories of battle until the climax on the docks I was down into Murder in Old Bombay and couldn't stop reading. I loved the characters and by the end really felt the love of this family that has been torn apart by tragedy. The writing style is quick paced and beautifully descriptive as Jim traverses India in search of answers. I whodunit until almost the very last page. I think even non-mystery readers will enjoy this book immensely.

This is a historical mystery thriller set in 1892 India, at the height of the British Raj. The sudden death of two young Parsee women initially billed as a double suicide causes a young Indian soldier to investigate the deaths on behalf of the women's family. James Agnihotri is a captain in the British cavalry who was injured in the line of duty. While convalescing in hospital he reads in a newspaper a letter to the editor from the husband of one of the women and is drawn by the man's grief at the suicide verdict. Captain Jim is hired by the family, a prominent Parsee one, to investigate the deaths. It is a monumental undertaking which has Jim travelling to the city of Lahore in northern India, the hill town of Simla and the principality of Rajpoot before concluding in Bombay. No map is included in the book which could aid.
The story is told against background of the British Raj and the growing demand for self-rule. The disconnect between the British rulers and the Indian people features prominently in the story-telling. Captain Jim comes up against the strict separations in Indian society at the time: between the British and Indians as well as the various castes and cultures amongst the Indians.
I can easily recommend this book as an exceptionally good read. It's an excellent suspenseful whodunit with elements of adventure and romance albeit with a bittersweet conclusion. The stage is set for an interesting sequel.
I requested and received a complementary advanced reading copy eBook from Minotaur Books, via Netgalley. The comments about it are my own. I appreciate the opportunity to review the book.

A richly atmospheric novel of colonial India which is great fun to read. The author's command of the period is pitch-perfect and the mystery is compelling. This is the start of a great suspense career.

Oh, I liked this!
I wasn’t sure I would, as India, its castes, and customs are not familiar to me. That’s sometimes an issue, but not this time. Yes, it’s part of the story, but so well integrated I didn’t really notice that I was learning something.
Love, war and the injuries inflicted by both. Memories, real and imagined and how they change lives.

This is a good one and I recommend it.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing this ebook for my honest opinion.

The premise of this book is about a man named Captain James “Jim” Agnihotri who is medically discharged from the military. He is half British and Indian so he is unique since it takes place in India and its caste system. He likes Sherlock Holmes and tries to use the character’s deduction strategies to help solve a murder. Captain Jim is hired by a well to do family that is high on the caste system and tries to help his employer find out if his wife and cousin committed suicide as the newspaper’s describe it by the police. There is a little bit of romance involved in the story, too.

This book was easy to read and I did wonder at times how things were going to go. The ending was a bit fast, but overall I really enjoyed this book. It was a bit slow at times but picks up. I personally enjoy mysteries and thought it was a unique storyline. This is a clean romantic mystery. I give this book a solid four stars and look forward to reading other books by Nev March.

Thank you Minotaur Books for this uncorrected digital galley through NetGalley.. Author Nev March has written a wonderful novel set in an exotic locale, filled with mystery, adventure, and a bit of romance. The writing is very good and beautifully descriptive .I felt like I had stepped back in time to Victorian Bombay via well-described settings, descriptions, and dialog all of which felt well-researched and accurate. I loved Sherlock Holmes so this was a nice "different" version. Amazing that the book is based on a true story!

I received this from Netgalley.com.

"Captain Jim Agnihotri channels his idol, Sherlock Holmes. The case that catches his attention is being called the crime of the century."

A police procedural set in 1892, Bombay and based on a true story. The descriptions of the people and their environment shows a fascinating portrait of India.

3☆

Set in 1892 India, this is the story of Captain James Agnihotri as he investigates the death of a young wife of a Parsee family. The Captain is a fan of Sherlock Holmes. The story is set in Colonial India, where the caste system is complicated and very much plays a part in all. This is a brilliant and complicated story that will engage your imagination. A page turner indeed.

I had such high hopes. A historical murder mystery in 19th century India that is getting a lot of raves from other reviews. Did I read a different book? Because this is so poorly written that I wasn't sure if I wanted to give it two or three stars.

The setting is interesting and every time Captain Jim dons a disguise and India is seen, that is when the book is at it's best. Unfortunately, this doesn't happen enough.

My biggest problem is his romantic interest, Diana. There were too many times when I was told about how much Jim was in love with Diana. I honestly didn't know why unless he was desperate that a younger women would love a biracial man. They didn't know each other.

There was so much telling and not enough showing. There wasn't much suspense. I'm annoyed that the only time something bad happened, it was by killing my favorite character.

This review is based on an advanced copy provided by Netgalley for an honest review.

I love mysteries that combine history and a sense of place, and this filled the bill admirably: India in the 1890s. The multiple mysteries, both of that of the death of the two women as well as the mysteries associated with the narrator's life, unfolded in a leisurely fashion, with many tantalizing cultural descriptions, as well as plot twists and turns. So even though the book had plenty of action, it was not necessarily a quick read; it was one I found immensely enjoyable. I do hope there are sequels.
Review based on an ARC received through NetGalley

In late nineteenth-century India, Captain James Agnihotri is the son of an unknown Englishman and a mother who was then cast out from her family and died when he was young. Although he was raised in an orphanage, he managed to overcome obstacles to become an officer in the British army, but his career was cut short by injuries in Karachi that also left him with PTSD. As the book opens , Jim lies in his hospital bed with only the newspapers and a Sherlock Holmes novel for diversion and becomes fascinated with the tragic story of two young women from an affluent Parsee family who fell to their deaths from the clock tower at the local university. He vows to emulate his hero Sherlock Holmes and learn what caused the deaths.
Murder in Old Bombay gives the reader three types of pleasure in one novel and does them all well. First of all, as a mystery, the plot is really exciting and contained some clever surprises that I did not see coming (not all of them involving the deaths). Crime novels often lose a bit of steam in the middle, but the pace in this one never slowed. The adherence to Sherlock Holmes is there but not overdone; Holmes enthusiasts can enjoy things like Jim’s disguises copying disguises Sherlock himself used, but readers who are not acquainted with Holmes will not feel at a disadvantage. The book won and well deserved the Mystery Writers of America Award for Best First Crime Novel.
The writing does not feel like a debut novel, though. The characters are well done; in addition to Jim himself, I especially appreciated the depiction of the grieving young widower, Adi.
It also works as a historical novel, set primarily in 1892. March does a wonderful job of conveying the atmosphere of classes and castes and the effects of British rule. As in most good historical novels, I learned a lot about the period, including fun details like the fact that the Indians made beer known as Toddy from the sap of palm trees. The writing also brings to life the natural setting, like when Jim is “awakened by parakeets sparring in the lavender dawn.”
In addition to being a first-rate historical mystery, Murder in Old Bombay is also a fine romance, as Jim falls for Diana, the sister of one of the dead women. They both know, though, that with his birth circumstances and her Parsee heritage they are not meant for each other.
An added touch that I appreciated, given the unfamiliar country and society, was a Glossary to help me recall the meaning of “babu”, “shalwar”, “vaid” and other terms in the book.
I see no indication that this book will be the first in a series, but I certainly hope to see more books by Nev March.
My thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advance review copy of Murder in Old Bombay.

India—1892 Anglo-Indian, Captain James Agnihotri is convalescing in an Army hospital in Poona, is recovering from injuries received while fighting on the Northern Frontier. He fills his time with reading the mysteries of Sherlock Holmes as well as newspapers. One case in the Chronicle captures his attention. Two young women, Bacha and Pilloo Framji, died after falling from the Rajabai Clock Tower at the University. There was evidence of murder, but the three men accused and tried are acquitted. Jim believes there was something left uncovered, but it is the impassioned letter-to-the-editor by Adi, Bacha’s widower, that for some reason he can’t explain, tugs at him, and convinces him that he must investigate.

Murder in Old Bombay is a great read. March has written a mystery that is beautifully complex, with characters that are intelligent and engaging. The storyline of Captain Jim emulating his literary hero, Sherlock Holmes is an interesting one, in which we follow him observing, questioning, gathering clues, and donning disguises in pursuit of the truth regarding the deaths of the Bacha and Pilloo. But, this is also a mystery about Agnihotri himself. No spoilers here, but the life of Captain Jim Agnihotri is one of complexities, and he is a man in search of himself in many ways. March weaves these subplots into the story very skillfully. They never overwhelm, or leave the mystery to take second place, and they most certainly add greatly to the story as a whole.

March does a very good job in evoking a sense of late 19th century India. To tell her story, March draws on the history of India—with the British Raj and the customs of Indian cultures and society playing prominent roles. It is laying of groundwork that takes up much of the first portion of the book, making things lag just a bit. It wasn’t until Agnihotri set’s off on a journey as part of his investigation that I became truly caught up in the story.

A very entertaining read which I very much recommend.

Thanks to St. Martin’s Press/Minotaur Books and NetGalley for a digital advanced reader copy of this book. All comments and opinions are my own.

This was a very engaging historical mystery taking place in nineteenth century "Old Bombay." Captain Jim Agnihotri, recovering from a military skirmish in an Indian hospital in Poona, becomes fascinated by a newspaper story. He channels his idol, Sherlock Holmes, to solve a suspicious double suicide of two sisters.

Hired by Adi Framji, the husband of one of the sisters, Jim is welcomed into their family as he uses Holmesian deductions to solve the crime. The novel works on several layers: as a murder mystery; as a story of family - Jim is an orphan and the Framjis generously embrace him as a son; plus Jim rescues several children who become his temporary family; and as a romance with the remaining sister, Diana.

The novel provides many exciting episodes as Jim, time after time, narrowly escapes dangerous situations thanks to his cleverness in utilizing disguises such as Holmes would use, his military connections, and his training as a boxer. In addition, the author expertly describes the cultural mores of the period which cause much angst for Jim as he is of the wrong caste to marry Diana, who has become the love of his life.

I recommend this entertaining, debut novel which is based on a true story for several reasons. Jim is such a humble, likable character and the author skillfully recreates the sights, sounds, and scents of nineteenth century India. And of course for the clever mystery with its homage to Sherlock Holmes.

This story is set in 1892, a time when the British crown had firmly taken hold of India after the first war of Independence was fought in 1857.. This backdrop proved to be a very important factor during the telling of the tale.

The protagonist, Jim, is a retired Captain in this British army. He is also of the lowest in the social order - half Indian and half British. He is recuperating in a military hospital in Poona after a skirmish at the Northwest frontier of the country. While reading the newspaper , he finds an article about the “Crime of the century”. Two parsee women have been found dead, fallen from the Click Tower. The husband of one of them, Adi, is convinced it is not suicide. Captain Jim is moved by his letter and wants to investigate (having been inspired by his time spent reading Arthur Conan Doyle in hospital). He is hired by the family to do so.
During the progress of the case, the Captain is aided by the sister of the bereaved husband - Diana Framji. The relationship that develops between the two while piecing together the horrible and heroic history of the Framji girls is both modern and romantic.
That said, it is not a romance. It is an intricate murder mystery deserving of the Minotaur Books/Mystery Writers of America First Crime Novel Award it has received. This book was a pleasure to read and I could barely put it down. I specially loved the setting of the story, where the political atmosphere of the country came alive.

Thank you to Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

I rarely indulge in historical mysteries for some reason. Not sure why, as I enjoy both mysteries and historical fiction. And I truly enjoyed this book. Nev March paints a complete picture of India in 1892, providing plenty of background to understand the time and place. I felt I learned a great deal all while enjoying a good mystery.
James Agnihotri is a mixed blood Indian-English retired Army Officer. He’s known as the ‘hero of Karachi’ for reasons we are initially not privy to. What we do know is that he suffers from PTSD because of it. He agrees to investigate the possible double suicide of two young women from a wealthy Indian family. James is a fan of Sherlock Holmes and attempts to channel his hero to solve the puzzle of their deaths.
All the characters are richly developed, especially James. This doesn't read like a debut novel. It’s well polished and finely crafted. It moves at a brisk pace and kept me engaged. It took some turns I never expected. I also liked that, for once, the romance was told from the male point of view.
It was fascinating to realize this was based on a true story. It deserves the award for debut mystery that the Mystery Writers of America’s bestowed on it.
My thanks to netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advance copy of took

Our mystery story starts out with two suspected suicides. Two young women seem to jump from the university's tower in Bombay but all seems quite shady and devious. As Captain Jim Agnihotri reviews the case in his hospital room in Pooma, where he is recovering from wounds suffered on the northern frontier, he puzzles over the case and the pieces he puts together do not make any sense to him. He once again reverts to his fascination with his idol Sherlock Holmes and believes these deaths are more than meets the eye. He wonders what would Holmes think and do as he recovers from his injuries.

Adi, the husband and brother of the victims, approaches the Captain and enlists his help for he too, believes the ladies did not kill themselves. Jim then finds himself embroiled in a case that will test his wits and his reliance on the keen advice found in the books by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle of his idol Sherlock Holmes.

The Framji family, a wealthy family, is anxious to know the truth and Jim is on the trail of many nefarious characters who seem to have the finding of a special letter foremost on their minds and will do whatever is required to obtain it. While becoming closer to the family, Jim meets the beautiful Lady Diana Framji, sister to Adi. Their attraction to one another is strong but Captain Jim is a half breed, half British and half Indian, so he is considered inferior and no match for Lady Diana. She joins Jim in his pursuit of the truth placing herself in danger, but also showing a cunning that endears her even more so to Jim.

Was this a double suicide or were the ladies murdered by the dark forces that seem to swirl around the family and the times they live in? What is so special about this letter and could it be the one thing that gives this case its direction? Will Diana and Jim find out the truth as they find themselves becoming more enamored with one another?

Based on an actual event, the story paints a wonderful revealing background of colonial India with all its environments and visual beauty that it was. Ms March does a fine job with the background as well as the characters which she portrays against the lushness, the beauty, riches and also the sordid parts of India back in the 1890s.

Thank you to Nev March, Minotaur Books, and NetGalley for a copy of this convincing tale due out on November 10, 2020.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

This books was filled with vivid descriptions and rich scenery to supplement the mystery of why a man’s wife and sister died. Enter Jim Agnihotri, a former military soldier who uses the deaths as his escape from his memories of fighting in battle. The investigation leads Jim to the Framji family, including Adi the husband and brother of the deceased and his other sister Diana. The simmering chemistry between Jim and Diana moves the story along as the motive for the deaths are revealed. There are moments when the story felt a bit belabored but it was still a rich tale to read.


Thanks to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for the arc.

I had my doubts about Murder in Old Bombay before I began reading it. Perhaps it would turn out to be one of those novels that romanticize colonialism—but perhaps it would turn out to be a really solid mystery that acknowledges the nature and costs of colonialism. Murder in Old Bombay turned out to be the second of those two, and I'm quite glad I took a chance on it. If you really want to understand the impact of colonialism in 19th Century India, you'll need more than a mystery novel, but Murder in Old Bombay can serve as a stepping off point.

Jim Agnihotri, our detective, is half British, half Indian, recently retired from the British military with both heroism and regrets to his record. On leaving the military he drifts a bit and falls into work investigating the deaths (suicide or murder?) of two women. In the process, readers are given glimpses into the social complexity of the times. Caste matters. But no caste is high enough to put one on equal footing with the British. Occupied India and small, independent states coexist with very differing sets of rules. The wealthy, both honorable and dishonorable, compete with one another. And we readers learn a bit about the history of Indian uprisings against the British.

What I particularly enjoyed about this title was its length and complexity—the mystery isn't easily solved and keeps unfolding. Every time the reader thinks a resolution is coming, another complication or a new direction of inquiry opens up.

This title is well worth reading on multiple levels. It will entertain, engage—and teach readers a thing or two about history. I received a free electronic ARC of this title for review purposes. The opinions are my own.

A mystery, set in 19th century Bombay, was an intriguing idea for a book, and I enjoyed it very much.

The protagonist, a military veteran retired because of disability, is a Sherlock Holmes fan, and has spent his recent time in hospital reading Sherlock Holmes books. He reads a letter to the editor in the newspaper about two women who supposedly committed suicide by jumping off a tower, and is taken by the letter, written by the husband of one of the women, brother of the other woman - it resonates with him, because of the closing of the letter. The writer's feelings of being left alone resonates with his own feelings of being left alone after the military battle in which he was severely wounded, so he decides to investigate the case, in a Holmesian manner.

I enjoyed the characters involved - the protagonist was satisfyingly good, while the villains were bad. Others in the book were less perfectly noble, but had good intentions, even if personal considerations sometimes got in the way. The plot was intriguing, and the book kept my attention, even when some of the plot elements were not as familiar to me because of the time and the location. But, I learned some things, and enjoyed it along the way.

The only real criticism I have of this book is that it got a little convoluted - it felt as if too many different mysteries were being crammed in here and too many new characters. While I liked the children that Jim picked up along the way (presumably to further demonstrate what a good guy he was, as well as to advance one plot point), I really thought that whole plotline was more of a distraction. I might have liked the book even better if it had been more focused, particular in the later parts of the book.

On the whole, a very promising debut. While this mystery is solved in the book (no annoying to-be-continued plot lines), it certainly leaves an opening for further books involving the main characters, and I will definitely keep my eyes open for more books by Nev March!