Peril at the Exposition by Nev March is the second in a new series about Indian Captain Jim Agnihotri and his new bride, Diana Framji, a daughter from the illustrious Parsi family he befriended in the first book, Murder In Old Bombay. I eagerly looked forward to this release, as I so thoroughly enjoyed the first book, but I have to say, I miss Old Bombay.

In this book the couple has moved to Boston where Jim has been offered a job in the Dupree Detective Agency. He is sent on a job pertaining to the soon to premiere Chicago World Fair, a stellar event at that time. Jim disappears while on the job, and Diana uses her newly formed detecting skills, taught to her by her husband, to try to locate Jim.

I have to say I really missed the immersion into the Indian setting in the first book. I am much less interested in Chicago gangsters than I was with the colorful villians in the first book. This is just a personal preference, and it is not to say that the writing is still good, which it is. March is a talented weaver of stories, I just enjoyed this outing less than the last. I think it would almost be easier if I hadn't read the first book, to enjoy this one for what it is. I would give it a 3.5 for a good story.

Captain Jim Agnihotri and Diana Framji have left the strict rules of Bombay and moved to Boston. Theirs is an unusual marriage. Jim is a detective at the Dupree Agency and a fan of Sherlock Holmes. He’s teaching Diana the fine art of deduction.

Jim is called to Chicago on a case that involves the World’s Fair. A man named Thomas Grewe has been murdered. Diana expects he’ll write at least once a week to let her know he’s doing well.

When weeks go by without a word, Diana finally goes to the Dupree Agency to inquire. Both Duprees, father and son, block her attempts to find out more. It dawns on her, they don’t know where Jim is. Furious, she demands they tell her about the case. Tobias, a man of color who works for them, will accompany her, and she will be paid to find out what’s happened.

Without knowing where to look, she leaves for the city of Chicago.

Enlisting the help of a street urchin who tried, and failed, to snatch her purse, she puts out the word she’s looking for Jim and reads as much as she can find about the Fair and the proposed demonstrations of new-fangled electricity. When a murder occurs, it’s just the beginning.

This is the second book in the series. Diana is an enterprising woman, learning the ways of Americans, so different from Bombay and all its rules. She’s determined as well, willing to do whatever it takes to get what she wants, which is to get her husband back, safe and sound. They make quite a pair. With anarchists, bombs, thousands in Chicago for jobs that were filled long ago, it will take a miracle for it to end well.

I look forward to seeing what Diana and Jim are up to next. It will be hard to top this adventure.

Nev March follows Peril at the Exposition at the 1893 Chicago World's Fair. Newly married couple Captain Jim Agnihotri and Diana Framji have left Bombay for Boston and Jim has taken up a career as a detective who is sent to Chicago to follow up leads of bombings at the World's Fair. When he goes missing Diana follows him to Chicago and gets involved in tracking the same criminals and keeping up appearances as a well off lady with the Chicago upper crust. This couple is active in dangerous intrigues at many different social levels in Chicago. Read to find out if they succeed.

1893. When Captain Jim Agnihotri goes missing during an undercover investigation at the Chicago Exposition, his newlywed wife, Diana Framji, sets off to find her husband, who is working for a detective agency. As a recent immigrant to the U.S. and the daughter of a wealthy Parsee family in India, she has much to learn about the culture and customs of her new home, but despite her inexperience she has impressive credentials: courage, determination, intelligence, and initiative. But whom can she trust in this strange new world? She finds Jim, but as they draw closer to the conspirators who plot to set off an explosive device at the exposition, their personal peril steadily increases.

This novel is a sequel to Murder in Old Bombay, and like its predecessor introduces the reader to a society undergoing rapid change at the end of the 19th century. What is particularly distinctive is the sympathy both protagonists share for all levels of society. Toiling in dangerous conditions, lacking job security, exploited and underpaid, ordinary workers are driven to desperate measures, on the one hand; on the other, businessmen struggle to survive cutthroat competition, concealing their anxieties behind a façade of bravado. Yet despite the rampant cruelty, prejudice, and self-interest, Jim and Diana discern the vast potential of their new world. They discover kindness and loyalty, justice and hope for a better future for all. Amidst so many distractions, the mystery plot becomes confusing, but as events move towards the climax, the pace picks up.

Definitely recommended, particularly for its insights into conditions in America at the turn of the century.

HNR, Issue 101 (August 2022)
https://historicalnovelsociety.org/reviews/peril-at-the-exposition-captain-jim-and-lady-diana-mysteries-2/

A Boston based mystery and mayhem story that brings to life a battle to survive. After moving to a new city to be able to create a new life for herself she finds many struggles

I unfortunately didn't love this book as much as I was hoping I would, considering how much I enjoyed the first book. It was well written and I liked the historical aspects, but I just had a hard time getting into it. It felt like there were too many characters and plot points coming from every direction. I actually had trouble keeping up with them all.
I did like the developments in Jim and Diana's relationship and will probably continue with the series to see where they go from here.

I voluntarily read and reviewed a copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I found this rather slow and there were too many characters. I did enjoy that this featured Diana in this sequel but enjoyed the India location of the first book more. Not sure I’ll read the next book in this series.

This second book in the Captain Jim/Lady Diana mystery series is a thoroughly enjoyable mystery, set in Chicago during the 1893 World's Fair.

After leaving Bombay, the setting of the first book in the series, the newlyweds settle in Boston. Soon, though, his detective agency sends Jim to investigate a murder in Chicago. When she doesn't hear from Jim for quite awhile, Diana leaves for Chicago to try to find her husband.

Both of them explore the gritty underworld of Chicago. The author does an excellent job at bringing both the Fair and the less than savory parts of 1890's Chicago to life.

I'm definitely tracking down the first book in the series and carrying on with, hopefully, later books. Highly recommended to fans of historical mysteries.

James Agnihotri is a former officer in the British Indian Army who now lives in Boston and works for a detective agency. He has been sent to Chicago to assist a fellow detective investigate the death of a security guard and possible threats to the World Fair (World's Columbian Exposition), which is taking place in Chicago in 1893. Weeks have passed without any word from him, and his wife, Diana, is beginning to worry. Her concern increases when a man comes looking for James and in his possession is a letter sent by James asking for a translation of an enclosed portion of a letter written in German. The contents of the letter discuss an explosive substance, suggesting a possible threat to the fair.

Diana is from a prosperous Parsee family and has a level of education, especially in business and mathematics, that is atypical of women of her social standing as of the late 19th century. She is also quite resourceful and clever, and she arranges to go to Chicago herself to find James and inform him of the possible threat, with the assistance of Tobias, a black man who works for the detective agency. However, she has not been in America very long and is still unfamiliar with or naive regarding numerous aspects of American culture and attitudes, especially racial attitudes, which will lead to some potentially costly mistakes. Yet, that lack of familiarity and her own upbringing in a Parsee family in India provides her with a unique perspective that will prove useful at times, allowing her to recognize things that someone born and raised in the US might overlook.

The 1890s was a time of labor turmoil both in the US and internationally, with anarchist groups playing an important role, and that is one of the prominent aspects of the story. Once the story shifts to Chicago, it alternates between Diana and her associates and their efforts to find James and the actions of James as he attempts to solve the problems that sent him to Chicago. Working independently and together, they will have to discover and then stop the threat to the World's Fair. There is an interesting and eclectic cast of supporting characters, my favorite of which is Abigail/Martin.

I received a copy of the e-book via NetGalley in exchange for a review.

Great followup to Murder in Old Bombay. Another mystery, with commentary on class, race, and social customs, this time with Diana at the center.

This is book 2 in the Captain Jim and Lady Diana series. I loved the first one, which was set in India. This one is set mostly in Chicago, during the time of the World Exposition. Our newlywed couple has moved to America, and Diana winds up helping him solve a huge mystery case. While I still enjoyed the characters, this novel moved just a tad slow for me, and for some reason I had to work to make myself finish it. But I think that's often true of second novels. This series has such great potential -I will still read book 3 when it arrives, to see how things with this couple have progressed. Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's press for the e-arc. 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4.

If there is not a subcategory called historical mysteries there should be. This title would neatly fit into it. The setting is the Columbian exposition of 1892 in Chicago. Just as an aside, if one has not read the nonfiction Devil in the White City by Erik Larson, I would recommend reading that first. It gives a wonderful background for the setting of this novel. This is the second book in the Captain Jim Agnihotri series. I love the two main characters and their relationship. There is just the right ratio of character development, action, and descriptive language. Thanks to NetGalley for a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.

Very slow. Very long. Very overwrought. Too many implausibilities. This was better and more interesting in India.

This is book 2 of the Captain Jim and Lady Diana Series. 1893: Newlyweds Captain Jim Agnihotri and Diana Framji are settling into their new home in Boston, Massachusetts, having fled the strict social rules of British Bombay. Jim is teaching Diana how to be a detective, a very unusual pursuit for a lady. Jim is sent to Chicago during the World's Fair to solve a murder. When he goes missing, Diana must also go to Chicago to find Jim and help solve the murder that sent him there.

This was another great book by Nev March. The traditional mystery sleuthing established in a historical setting is always fun to dive into.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for my copy of Peril at the Exposition by Nev March in exchange for an honest review. It published July 12, 2022.
This is a solid second entry in this series. I love Diana and Jim as a couple, and I think they’re quite realistic as far as fiction goes. I found the setting of this book to be very fun, and I learned a lot about the Chicago world’s fair!
There were a few things that I felt were unnecessary, but overlooking them, it’s still worth the read!

4.5 stars rounded up

Peril at the Exposition by Nev March is the second delightful mystery featuring Captain James Agnihotri, lately of the British Army in India, circa 1893. His hero is Sherlock Holmes and his deductive method of solving mysteries, which informed James’ activities in the first novel, Murder in Old Bombay.
Now James and Diana, his Zoroastrian bride of 6 months, have emigrated to the U. S. and he works for a private detective agency in Boston. When James is sent to Chicago on a case, and disappears, intrepid Diana sets out to follow his footsteps and find him.
Told in the alternating POVs of Diana and Jim, the story is well-plotted, with colorful characters and enough twists to keep me engaged in the whodunit all the way through.
March is skilled at providing great historical perspective and atmosphere as the sights and sounds of Chicago’s Columbian Exposition come alive, brightly, with a stunning display of electric lights and storied inventors—Edison, Tesla, Ferris.
I appreciated the clever dialogue between Captain Jim and Diana, as well as the gentle social commentary on racial bias and the constraints on women in that era.
This novel is very enjoyable, and recommended to readers looking for smartly written, somewhat cozy, mysteries with nuanced descriptive writing, and well-researched historical mysteries.

Thanks to Minotaur Books/St. Martin's and NetGalley for the ARC. This is my unbiased review.

I had been waiting for Nev March's sequel to Murder in Old Bombay and Peril at the Exposition does not disappoint. March's historical mysteries are so smart and sociologically savvy, and I never fail to walk away from each book having learned something. Here, her extremely likeable main characters Captain Jim Agnihotri and Lady Diana Framji are newly married and living in Boston, where Jim works for a private investigative agency. The mystery begins when two agents are dead or missing in Chicago as the city is preparing for the World's Fair, and Jim is sent to find out what is going on. Diana ultimately follows to find him on her own after she has not heard from Jim and his company does not know where he is. I really like the relationship between Jim and Diana which is refreshingly egalitarian. The book also does an excellent job comparing the caste system in India with the inequalities which exist in American based on race, gender, gender identity, and wealth. Thank you for writing a mystery that allows us to take a fresh look at ourselves and our history under the guise of a very entertaining mystery. I can hardly wait for the next book! 4,5 out of 5 stars. Highly recommended.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this complimentary advanced readers copy. All opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

PERIL AT THE EXPOSITION by Nev March (Murder in Old Bombay) is the second historical mystery (set in 1893) in an intriguing series featuring a young woman from India, Diana Framji, and her husband, Captain Jim Agnihotri. Formerly a soldier in the British army, Jim is now a detective based in Boston. One of his colleagues is murdered on assignment and the firm sends Jim to Chicago, where the Columbian Exposition (World's Fair) is underway, to learn more. After a few weeks have passed with no word, Diana is alerted to danger for Jim so she, too, heads to the Midwest. There, along with an eclectic ensemble of helpers (a cross dresser, a street urchin selling matches, an African American employee of the firm), Diana takes advantage of her society contacts and tries to discover who may be plotting to use explosives and disrupt the fair. March, whose earlier book in the series was an Edgar award finalist, uses the period setting to share details of Chicago history (e.g., the Rookery, Wrigley's chewing gum), of class unrest and worker exploitation (e.g., references to the Haymarket Riot), and of the conflicting attitudes towards adopting electricity more widely (Nikola Tesla even makes a cameo appearance). PERIL AT THE EXPOSITION offers a complex mystery combined with historical and social perspective. A new immigrant herself, Diana reflects on Americans "[who] were curious creatures, stiff and distant when you first meet them, patronizing even. Perhaps they imagined people born elsewhere must either be deaf or stupid. Yet, I'd found them to be generous and forgiving, even kindly when one did not expect it." Enjoy this story – there are sure to be more for this adventurous young couple

I was thrilled to get the ARC for this book since I read the first book, Murder in Old Bombay, and loved it! This book was a bit different from the first, as it takes place in the United States now instead of in Bombay, but it was still amazing. I loved, loved, loved this one just as much, maybe even more than the first one.
In this story, we get to not only see more of what Captain Jim is doing as a detective in Boston, but we get to see what Diana does and get to know her even more, and Diana is amazing. I love her character and she's definitely a good complement and match to Captain Jim.
It starts out with Captain Jim and Diana being home and happy with his returning from a job, but then he has to leave on another top secret detective job and tells Diana he'll be gone for a longer time this time. Then as she's going about doing her normal, figuring out what to do and all by herself while he's gone, while she's cleaning she finds his wedding ring left behind in his dresser drawer and then gets concerned when he doesn't come home after a few weeks. Diana has to go find him to see if he's safe and in the process ends up being a detective and taking a part in the job and operation that Captain Jim is involved in. This story has it all with Diana figuring out how to use her knowledge and skills as a woman to help with the whole operation and with Captain Jim seeing what happens with investigating a murder and unrest happening around when the World Fair is going on in Chicago, which is a fun part in the story with Diana talking to Nikola Tesla. I can't wait to hopefully read more about Captain Jim and Diana and would love to read anything by Nev March. She's an exceptional author.
Thank you so much to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Minotaur Books for letting me read and review this fantastic book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.