I absolutely loved this book! The narrative voice, the writing style, and the tools that Nina Swamidoss McConigley uses in her storytelling added a depth and variety that kept me reading (I *loved* the Cosmo-esque quizzes at the beginning of the chapters).

The tone and temperature of the story change swiftly at times, but the rhythm below the words beats steadily--as soon as I started this book I was sucked in and very literally had to pull myself away.

As our narrator, Georgie, walks us through the events that aligned so that she and her sister, Agatha Krishna (AK) found themselves plotting murder before they'd even experienced puberty, the Creel family, the Wyoming setting, and the 1980s timeframe leap right off the page. Georgie's voice is clear, lyrical, and rings with the matter-of-fact candor that young girls wield so effectively, and she unfolds her full explanation with a similar boldness. Her narrative is concurrently underscored by a sense of unease and uncertainty that at times made me feel that I sat beside her as she shared her experiences.

If you've never read or engaged with the diasporan experience of American immigrants, this would be a great book to start with. McConigley expertly weaves her story with the distinct perspectives of the first generation sisters compared to their immigrant relatives, and demonstrates just how effectively power is leveraged as the two sisters come of age and find their footing in their Wyoming community.

I discuss the further themes of the novel under the spoiler tag below (no major plot spoilers--I use the tag for Content and Trigger Warnings), but I would highly recommend this novel. If you enjoy authors such as Kazuo Ishiguro (Never Let Me Go, Klara and the Sun, etc.,) or Celeste Ng (Little Fires Everywhere), you will find similar enjoyment with this novel as you engage with McConigley's characters as they find their footing amidst uncertainty.

Trigger warnings include further discussion of themes (under spoiler tag):
<spoiler>Please note that there are themes and discussions of the sexual abuse of children by a relative, as well as physical abuse of a child. The theme of murder is consistently discussed within the novel as well, and though there are no graphic depictions of the abuse or murder, there is discussion of trauma processing and recovery which may be triggering to some readers who are sensitive to such discussions.

Georgie and AK face the multifaceted difficulties of being young, female, and survivors of abuse at the hands of someone who was meant to support and protect them. There are also discussions of racial discrimination and these themes each play a part in the power leveraged against Georgie and AK throughout the novel.

If you or someone you know is struggling with domestic violence, abuse, or discrimination, there are people who can help. The wheel of Power and Control on the National Domestic Violence Hotline can help you understand your options, and is available here: https://www.thehotline.org/identify-abuse/power-and-control/

Please mind the tags and read at your own discretion.</spoiler>

If this sounds like the read for you, the full book is released on January 20, 2026!

Thank you, Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor Publishing for allowing me to read an advanced copy through NetGalley!

I LOVED this book.

In the acknowledgements, the author thanks some folks for publishing peculiar books. And that's what this is, a peculiar book. It's not for everyone. It's chatty-the narrator is speaking directly to you, the reader, and says words repeatedly. It's got quizzes like the ones you used to fill out in YM or Teen Magazine. In addition, there is child sexual assault, so those readers who wish to avoid that topic should not read this book.

This is the story of the narrator and her sister in the 80s in fictionalized Casper, WY. It's narrated by the younger sister in the present day. The girls are half-white, half Indian (SE Asia Indians). The sisters are growing up with the normal tween/teen issues, but the arrival of their mom's brother and his family from India causes the girls to unite, then drives them apart.

I loved the relationship between the sisters. They were named for the mom's favorite authors: Agatha Christie and Georgette Heyer, which is interesting as these are British writers and the mom is Indian. The references to 80s/90s culture were spot on. The side characters were fascinating, especially the ranch girl at camp.

For full disclosure, I know the author. But, I hope you can still take my review seriously. If I didn't like this book, I would have pretended I never read it. So, go in expecting something different and enjoy this very cool book.

Although it's admittedly been a minute since I finished this book, there are aspects that still stick in my head after all of this time has passed. Georgie's voice as a narrator is memorable, and the McConigley describes the story's setting in a way that feels real and lived-in. The 90s nostalgia tends to hit a bit too early to feel nostalgic to my own upbringing (I'm a 2000s baby), but the feeling still lands due to the effectiveness of how the tween main characters are written. Going along with that, I enjoyed the structure, in particular, the teen-magazine-style quizzes that related to various events in the story. It reinforces the setting while providing a little bit of additional insight to Georgie's thought process. Overall, I enjoyed this book, but definitely look into content warnings; this story deals with some heavy material that isn't really disclosed from the get-go.

Thank you to Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor for the e-ARC!

Honestly not really what I was expecting. It was loosely described as (maybe) a murder mystery, but it wasn't really. There wasn't really much mystery to it. Yes, there was a surprise ending, but there wasn't really any other mystery. There was more about the family history and lots of filler, than there was about the murder. It was a bit repetitive, honestly. Aside from that, it was well written, but just not for me.

Well-written, but just not my style. Young girls are abused and try to protect themselves and it has long-lasting effects.

⭐ DNF @ 42% (I gave it the ol’ colonial college try) ⭐
Thank you Net Galley for the ARC!

Look, I picked up How to Commit a Post-Colonial Murder expecting sharp satire, clever mystery, and maybe a little post-empire chaos. What I got instead was a plot so tangled I needed a UN peacekeeping force to navigate it. I kept waiting for the story to click… and instead, I just clicked “mark as DNF.”

The title promised murder, mayhem, and maybe a cheeky dismantling of oppressive systems. What I got was confusion, multiple timelines(?), quiz pop-ups that felt like I was being graded by a ghost professor, and enough name changes to make me question my own identity.

The characters felt like they were all trying to write their own dissertations mid-dialogue. I was lost, confused, possibly colonized, and 100% ready to tap out.

That said, the writing itself? Beautiful. The vibe? Immaculate. The storyline? Somewhere on page 300, probably having tea without me.

In conclusion: I didn’t commit the post-colonial murder. I just quietly ghosted the book instead.

I found this story to be tediously clever, packed full of ‘look at me!’ sentences that, sure, had the rhythm and the syntax of literary goodness, but were nearly empty of meaning.

Nina McConigley’s debut novel, “How to Commit a Postcolonial Murder” packs a powerful punch.

Georgie is our earnest narrator, looking us straight in the eyes to explain what has happened and why. She is bright and caring, an emerging adolescent. She is cognizant of what makes a good story, sometimes drawing a coherent line, more often not.

Georgie is the product of marriage between an highly educated Indian mother and a white, American father, living in a beautiful, but desolate and struggling town in rural Wyoming. Life is a struggle for most everyone, not least of whom a brown-skinned girl. Georgie’s support system leaves much to be desired. Her mother is underemployed and under stimulated. Her father is most always away from home, trying to scrape out a living digging up oil and minerals in the harsh landscape of Western Wyoming. Her sister is two years older and not always everything that you would desire in a Big Sister. Her aunt, uncle and cousin arrive from India needing a hand up for a while that turns out to be the better part of forever.

Most importantly, Georgie is forced to grow up way too fast, learning about life, race, poverty, class, intimacy, cruelty, separation and abandonment at a far too early and vulnerable age.

McConigley’s “How to Commit a Postcolonial Murder” is not an easy read. There are raw themes that some, even many, will find uncomfortable. It is intentionally awkward, disjointed, disorienting. It is easy to read, but often difficult to digest. It requires patience and contemplation. It pays off handsomely in the end.

Thank you to Pantheon and NetGalley for the eARC.

I wanted to like this book but it didn’t work for me. The pacing was definitely an issue and while I don’t need books to be plot driven, the pacing left me wanting something to happen. I liked the teen magazine quizzes as they clearly become more specific to the situation as the story moves forward - and therefore more absurd as they would never actually be in a teen magazine. But unfortunately, overall, the narrative didn’t engage me tonally. I appreciate the author’s work and was sorry not to like it more. Thank you to NetGalley for the e-ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

What a great debut novel.

As a child of the eighties and nineties, this book really transported me back to childhood and early adolescence: Nozesma, Sea Breeze, teen magazine quizzes, DARE, forest fire prevention, ouija boards…

The blending of Indian culture and Wyoming landscapes and American childhood kept the story fresh and interesting.

The darker undercurrents and what these sisters suffered are heartbreaking.

At times the metaphors were laid on a bit too thickly, but overall I really enjoyed this book and I will definitely read more by this author.


Thanks to NetGalley for e-ARC!

A coming of age debut novel that follows two sisters in early 90s Wyoming, the children of an Indian immigrant mother and a white father, who are carrying a painful secret. This novel tackles a lot in its slim 224 pages, and it’s a testament to McConigley’s talent how poignantly she renders these two teenagers despite the malaise hanging over their family when their uncle, aunt and cousin from India move in with them. Biting and wry, our protagonist Georgie’s voice is the redeeming quality of this otherwise bleak tale, and the nostalgia harkened by references of early 90s stalwarts like Ouija boards, magazine quizzes, and MASH, make for an endearing and appealing story for elder millennials. The nostalgic pieces of the book’s structure (like the magazine quizzes relevant to the plot peppered throughout the book) also helped offset some of the darkness experienced by this post colonial family. I liked this book a lot, and appreciate the ambition with which McConigley approached difficult subject matter.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Pantheon for the ARC!

How to Commit a Post-Colonial Murder is a coming-of-age story about Georgie Ayyar and her sister Agatha Krishna taking place in Wyoming in 1986, and what happens when their aunt, uncle, and cousin move in with them from India

Told from Georgie’s point of view, the writing is biting and hyper-observant, with a very detailed style. It reminded me of another 80s-set book, My Best Friend’s Exorcism. The narration leans heavily into stream-of-consciousness, which makes it hard to follow and connect the dots at times—but for the most part, it worked for me. When it clicks, it’s clever and appealing, like Interior Chinatown.

The main character occasionally breaks the fourth wall, speaking directly to the reader, which adds to the book’s intentionally scattered, unpredictable feel. There’s also a strong theme of sisterhood running throughout.

One thing to note: the book tackles a surprisingly heavy topic. I went in without knowing what it was about, so it took me by surprise. Hopefully, readers won’t be put off by that shift in tone.

This book might not appeal to everyone—but I really enjoyed it. It requires a little more work to fit the pieces together, but the payoff is worth it. Thank you Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

This book was both brutal and beautiful. The story itself was painful, and yet its telling was a smart blend of sharp jabs, cultural commentary, and stream of conscious storytelling that transported me to a distinct place, culture, time period, and time of life. I’m glad that I spent these pages in this character’s mind.

Note: I’m thankful to have received an ARC on NetGalley from the publisher and author.

The idea of this book was intriguing, and I was very interested to understand why the sisters killed their uncle. However, the way the story unfolded did not work for me. I didn’t feel any emotional connection with the characters. Unfortunately, this was one book I couldn’t finish.

This book took me by surprise. After reading the blurb I was curious as to how the story would be told and it was chaotic, messy, hard, and honest.

<spoiler></spoiler>I will say there is heavy triggers esp SA of children. <spoiler></spoiler> so please take care of yourself while reading.

When our two sisters decide that their uncle must die-we get the before and the after, with a mix of what was happening in the middle. It’s like a big stream of consciousness with lots of references to the 80’s and 90’s. I esp loved the reference to the game MASH. Man, I played that with my friends growing up, so that was fun.

Amongst all the horrendous things happening with our sisters, there are moments of laugh out loud moments, but then a sharp turn into what their experience growing up Indian-American(which of course is riddled with racism, harmful stereotypes etc)

The longer I read the more I loved it.

Thank you NetGalley and Pantheon for the ARC!

A really good but quick read. Love the writing - good level of detail and description while stuck in her head. The inclusion of multiple choice was really cool for the theme of regret and how our decisions make impacts and how we wish we could give different answers sometimes or make different choices. Would definitely read this author again!!

Thanks to NetGalley and Pantheon for the e-arc.

Honestly, I really feel the e-book format makes this book suffer; can totally see this stylistically formatted as a teenagers journal or diary. (There are many magazine style personality quizzes, one sketch/diagram!) I don’t mind it seeming directionless but I do feel it lacks a feeling of completion. There are many callbacks to trendy things back in late eighties early nineties (waterbeds, summer camps/vacation bible school, ouija board craze and saying “bloody mary” in a mirror 😅) so I felt a bit connected to Georgie’s storytelling.

It’s doing something interesting in the chapters that are direct to reader but I just think it just has more ambition than the author could execute with a degree of finesse…. {Concerning that there is no trigger warning for some content in this book so that kinda also took me aback.}

Okay, I literally don't know what this was. It was a pretty quick DNF for me.
I am still really thankful to the publisher, author, and Netgalley for granting me advanced access.

I enjoyed this read! The central conflict is a heavy topic but it’s also watered down by scenes with family, small town happenings, camp excursions, and references to big events of the 80s. I didn’t really think the quizzes added anything to this book but they were still fun additions to the story, along with the MASH illustration. I also found the pace to be a bit slow for my taste.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an advance copy of this amazing debut!

How to Commit a Postcolonial Murder is a debut heartfelt novel about a pair of sisters with a secret. Not only is this novel nostalgic but also very informative about culture, the 1980s, and post-colonialism. I was intrigued by the depth in which the author set the scene down to the last details such as the royal wedding, the space launch, and the type of facial products Agatha Krishna puts on during her skin routine. I felt like I stepped into a time machine when reading this one. I especially loved the added flair of the teen magazine quizzes and the games they played (MASH, Light as Feather, Ouija board).

Not only does this novel do a great job of transporting the reader back in time but also highlights the complexities of family, sibling relationships, and coming of age. I'm exciting to see what the author does next.