A wonderful coming-of-age historical fiction novel! I loved spending time with these lovable, well drawn characters. I felt like I wanted to take the main character under my wing as she navigated her early twenties. The narrator brought all of these characters to life!

I am always excited to read what Alka Joshi writes, especially after reading and loving The Henna Artist series. In Six Days in Bombay, we follow nurse Sona and the friendship she strikes up with patient Mira over the course of a week. When Mira passes away though, Sona is the one who looks likely to take the blame. Before the hospital can act, Sona finds a note Mira left for her, along with paintings which she wants delivered to important people in her life, across the world. Jumping at the chance to escape the investigation, Sona takes up the challenge of fulfilling her friend's final wish, while also discovering some things about herself along the way.

I had the pleasure of listening to this one on audiobook and it was absolutely divine. The storytelling was, as usual for this author, exceptional. I was in Sona's world from the first page and felt every emotion she did. I also enjoyed traveling the world with her and meeting Mira's old friends. This was another fantastic book by Alka Joshi which I am glad I was able to read.

The story opens about a decade before India gains independence from the British, in a hospital in Bombay (the city that will become Mumbai). The central character, a nurse in that hospital, Sona, befriends a couple of her patients, an elderly doctor and a worldly female artist, Mira. For more than half the story we see Sona's quiet, sheltered existence. But when Mira dies, and fingers are pointed at the young nurse, Sona is pushed out, her quiet existence is shattered, and she is left with the task of distributing 3 painting to Mira's friends through Interwar Europe. Sona leaves India as a heath aid to the recently recovered retired doctor, traveling as far as Turkey with him then journeying on to Prague, Paris, Florence, and eventually London. The story becomes one of not just discovering the many facets of the woman that she befriended but a journey of self discovery. I don't want to draw too much of a comparison but there is a commonality with eat, pray, love and several other books where a character must leave themselves behind and travel to find themselves. This tale proved to be an enjoyable escape through time and around the world and I look forward to more stories from this author.
I enjoyed this book in the audiobook format and must commend the excellent narrator for imparting the perfect tone and emotions into her performance.
I received advanced access to this audiobook thru NetGalley (for which I want to thank NetGalley and the publisher, Harlequin Audio) for an honest review. The opinion expressed here is my own.