Crime, Mysteries & Thrillers discussion

Welcome to our discussion of A Rising Man, by Abir Mukherjee, which is part of our Spring/Summer Collection Group Reads. Your discussion leader is Lisa.
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Summary

Captain Sam Wyndham, former Scotland Yard detective, is a new arrival to Calcutta. Desperately seeking a fresh start after his experiences during the Great War, Wyndham has been recruited to head up a new post in the police force. But with barely a moment to acclimatise to his new life or to deal with the ghosts which still haunt him, Wyndham is caught up in a murder investigation that will take him into the dark underbelly of the British Raj.

A senior British official has been murdered, and a note left in his mouth warns the British to quit India: or else. With rising political dissent and the stability of the Raj under threat, Wyndham and his two new colleagues–arrogant Inspector Digby, who can barely conceal his contempt for the natives and British-educated, but Indian-born Sargeant Banerjee, one of the few Indians to be recruited into the new CID–embark on an investigation that will take them from the luxurious parlours of wealthy British traders to the seedy opium dens of the city.

The start of an atmospheric and enticing new historical crime series.

I read the first three in the series, the first one was the best. The best crime series set in India that I have read.

My Review https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Good to hear, Aditya! I'm picking this up from my library tomorrow. Excited to read it.

Reading a doorstopper (over 550 pgs). Will join you as soon as I finish. Happy reading all 🐥

Lisa wrote: "Good to hear, Aditya! I'm picking this up from my library tomorrow. Excited to read it."

Hope you enjoy it.

I've just started it. It's interesting that the pun on the Indian name Surrender- not will be aka Surendra nath. And its just the pomposity of the Brits.

The writing is impeccable.

Just a heads up

During the British period, Calcutta or Kolkatta, as it is called now, was clearly divided into the White Town and Black Town. White Town was where the Bruts resided, and Black Town, as the name implies, is where the locals lived. This is why finding a dead white man there was unusual.

I posted a review on this book and am posting it here also:

"A Rising Man was a good book though I tend to run into dead ends when I read stories by British authors due to references that are common to them, but I am unfamiliar with. That is my shortcoming and no fault of the author.

I do prefer stories where the downtrodden and abused get some justice to make the ending a bit happier, and this one did not offer that happy ending for me.

Overall, this was a good story that was well written. I felt it was worth the time to read."

Leena wrote: "Just a heads up

During the British period, Calcutta or Kolkatta, as it is called now, was clearly divided into the White Town and Black Town. White Town was where the Bruts resided, and Black Town..."

Thank you, Leena!

Hi! I've just begun listening and am already interested ...

Im 100 pages into the book and am really loving it. I love the way he's woven in the history of both India and England. His writing is a visual delight.

It's interesting how integral Sherlock Holmes character and his addiction is to.all crime.writers and crime readers.

Leena wrote: "It's interesting how integral Sherlock Holmes character and his addiction is to.all crime.writers and crime readers."

Yes! I was thinking that Sam was a bit of a Holmes/Watson hybrid, at least in backstory - the military history and then the opium addiction. Really enjoying this so far, loving the historical and location elements. I'm woefully uneducated in geography and history, and I appreciate learning about them through my beloved pastime of reading.

"Even the forces of law and order were subordinate to the hard fact of race."

Sadly, nothing seems to have changed in the past century.

I really enjoyed book 1 in the series I read it several months ago. Today I started book 2 A Necessary Evil. Love the location, history and writing.

Leena wrote: ""Even the forces of law and order were subordinate to the hard fact of race."

Sadly, nothing seems to have changed in the past century."

Yes, I continue to be shocked by the way that Indians are treated in their own country by the British in this book. And then I consider how silly I am to be shocked by this.

Lisa wrote: "Leena wrote: ""Even the forces of law and order were subordinate to the hard fact of race."

Sadly, nothing seems to have changed in the past century."

Yes, I continue to be shocked by the way tha..."

It's the kind of thing that leaves me with a disturbed feeling inside even when the story is a good one.

D.E. wrote: "Lisa wrote: "Leena wrote: ""Even the forces of law and order were subordinate to the hard fact of race."

Sadly, nothing seems to have changed in the past century."

Yes, I continue to be shocked b..."

Yes, exactly!

I felt a little disappointed in Sam regarding his attitude toward (view spoiler)[ Sen when he first arrested him. He did protect him during the arrest, but he seemed to adopt some of the prejudices and behaviors that he appeared to resist thus far, despite being steeped in them. But I suppose that it's a good and realistic portrayal - he's influenced by what he's living among, and it wouldn't to be as believable to depict him as entirely immune from the start. I really loved the interrogation scene, where Sen makes a lot of sense, and you can feel Sam starting to question more than he ever has. You can feel some of those things he's still holding onto starting to crack. Really well done. (hide spoiler)]

Lisa wrote: "D.E. wrote: "Lisa wrote: "Leena wrote: ""Even the forces of law and order were subordinate to the hard fact of race."

Sadly, nothing seems to have changed in the past century."

Yes, I continue to..."

Disappointed. That's a good word to use for the way I felt about it. It was a deep sadness that I don't like to feel. The author did a good job of eliciting that emotion if that was his goal.

Abir Mukherjee depiction is more authentic. Wyndham has come in with his prejudices, and it's evident in little things like him mentioning "heathen scriputres." Having said that, he's a very unbiased man. He provides Surender-not equal opportunities to not only voice his opinion but also an important part in helping him with the case.

There's a distinct Indian ness about the book, and I really appreciate that. This is so apparent in the English spoken by the Indians. Vikram scene.

Fyi:

Mufti : derived from Hindi word muft meaning free
Paan waala : corner store selljnf betel leaves with lime and betelnut on it. There are many variations and each district/area pride themselves with original preparations of the paan. Its eaten after meals to aid digestion.
Waala loosely means person.

THE ELECTRIC FAN creaked slowly round on the ceiling and made not a jot of difference to the temperature in the room. It had been several days since I’d realised its presence was more decorative than functional, but I’d switched it on anyway, more in hope than expectation.

lol : this is still the same rant.

Finished yesterday. I loved this book. I’ve been traveling this week, spotty internet connection, more to come this weekend once I’m back home 😊

Leena wrote: "There's a distinct Indian ness about the book, and I really appreciate that. This is so apparent in the English spoken by the Indians. Vikram scene."

Yes, I appreciated the native language words that peppered the dialogue. This added texture and gave the reader some connection to place and people. Leena, I believe you said that you’ve read a few more in the series - are they also good?

Hey Lisa, I think that's Aditya, who's read more of this series.
This is my first time reading Abir Mukherjee too. Surprisingly, I've read 2 detective series set in pre
independance / just independent India simultaneously. This one is a far better description of India and Indians and the interrelationships between Indians and the British. Since then, I've made a list of mystery / crime books set during the Indian Independence. it will be worth comparing them across.

The power struggle between the army and the police seems surreal. Power struggles and power upmanships don't seem to have aged at all and nor is it exclusive to a certain region/caste or religion. :)

So true, Leena. I also found the topic of good vs bad police work to be well-explored here. The way that Sam internally walked through how much easier it would be to just follow the line that Sen was guilty of everything was so honest and provided some insight on that thought process. You hear so much about poor detective work, where it’s just easy to stick with one suspect, and that idea is just bewildering to me. There was some good text here on the way that the flaws in individuals and political systems enforce and perpetuate that issue in our justice system.

Lisa wrote: "Yes, I appreciated the native language words that peppered the dialogue. This added texture and gave the reader some connection to place and people. Leena, I believe you said that you’ve read a few more in the series - are they also good?"

I have read the first three and this was my favorite. Maybe once the originality faded the flaws became more evident. The second one shifted to a different setting than Kolkata and felt weaker while the third one returned to Kolkata but felt cliched with its serial killer plot. In both the books I wanted to read a lot more about the background stuff, Wyndham became the least interesting part of the story. Copying from my review

I don't have any particular affinity towards history yet the subplots about political power plays between morally compromised players on both sides is infinitely more interesting than a generic crime narrative. Mukherjee writes himself into a hole by involving his protagonists into the lives of real world characters. Either he should use history as background or be ambitious enough to write a more sprawling narrative. His middle of the road approach puts the more interesting stuff on the back burner diminishing interest for the story he actually wants to tell. Think what will happen if James Ellroy's LA Quartet was only about the serial killer plotlines instead of dealing with themes of pervasive police corruption. Well it would be a forgotten beach read instead of a must read crime classic. That is the trouble here. Mukherjee's lack of ambition is a major impediment. This is the kind of book that I would gladly read if I had enough time to read 300 books a year. But I can only read about 30 so I think I will be dropping the series for now. Entertaining but shallow.

Aditya wrote: "Lisa wrote: "Yes, I appreciated the native language words that peppered the dialogue. This added texture and gave the reader some connection to place and people. Leena, I believe you said that you’..."

I think you summed up my feelings about this book when you said, "Entertaining but shallow." Those were the words I was searching for to describe how I felt about this book.

Aditya wrote: "Lisa wrote: "Yes, I appreciated the native language words that peppered the dialogue. This added texture and gave the reader some connection to place and people. Leena, I believe you said that you’..."

Great comments, Aditya, thank you!

It's one of the many reasons I never read a series through. I'm convinced I'm going to be disappointed, and that crashes my euphoria of having read a great book.

Aditya, I need to ask this: why is Kolkatta so contrary? only in Kolkatta does the police wear white and their taxis are yellow . Everywhere else, the police wear khaki and the taxis are black and yellow.In fact they are called kali peeli.

Leena wrote: "Aditya, I need to ask this: why is Kolkatta so contrary? only in Kolkatta does the police wear white and their taxis are yellow . Everywhere else, the police wear khaki and the taxis are black and ..."

I googled the answers. The cops wear white because of the humid weather, lighter colored clothes goes better better. The cabs used to come in both both yellow and black and yellow variety and black and yellow was slowly phased out.

Currently over half way done and enjoying it!