The fifth in the Wyndham and Banerjee detective series by Abir Mukherjee – The Shadows of Men – continues a stunningly engaging and superbly constructed detective tale set in late Raj-Era India. This volume adopts an alternating POV approach as the principal actors, Surendranath Banerjee and Sam Wyndham, each share their perspectives of the events as they happen. This lends a unique new flavour to the series and just builds on what already were riveting reads.
We met Sam and Surendranath in A Rising Man, as Wyndham arrives in Calcutta, a troubled detective recruited to join the Imperial Police by a military acquaintance, Lord Taggart, who heads up the local CID. There he meets Banerjee, a native member of the force who is himself increasingly troubled by his participation in the tool of imperial oppression. As the series progresses, the pair find collaborative success and grow in respect for one another.
The series is set in post-WW1 India as the stirrings of nationalism become increasingly strident. In addition to compelling suspense writing, the author spins a multi-layered tale of historical socio-economic depth that genuinely sets these novels apart and above. They are gripping, educational, suspenseful, wrapped in naked drama, and pure treat to savour.
I jump in to write a quick review of this novel as the particular strength of the series is simply so evident in this chapter. The author pulls another trick and casts a tight, suspenseful story that puts the protagonists directly into the middle of a plot drawing in the extreme nationalist streams of the Hindu and Muslim-dominated groups. Our heroes are on the run this time, with Surendranath accused of murder and caught up in a web of intrigue relying on some old allies and a surprisingly new one. There’s also a lovely new location and characters as our detectives travel to Bombay, and the contrast with Calcutta is explored. Mukerjee’s writing is tight, relentless, and never lets you take a breath. It is skillfully constructed and doesn’t give the game away until the penultimate climax. India is in an atmosphere of tension, of a fuse that has been lit and slowly smouldering towards an explosion. This is so well evocated. You feel for the broken actors – the patina is dirty and authentic, gritty and honest, and draws the reader into a story that craves to be read and savoured. The detective story is embedded in quite direct social commentary that is not restricted to the period in which he writes. These novels are greedily consumed, and then the reader faces the frustrating anticipation of waiting for the next book. It can’t come too soon.
Thanks to Mark, my Goodreads buddy, who so presciently suggested that I would like this series. Social reading at work!
I also shout out to The RedHotChilliWriters podcast co-hosted by Abir Mukerjee (author of this series) and Vaseem Khan (author of the Baby Ganesh Agency series, which I also am well into and also enjoying). I just discovered this mature podcast that features a great chat between the authors – not sure what voices I would have expected, but it is actually great to now have those connected to their writing. I love Mukerjee’s self-characterisation as a Hindon’t. Interestingly my jump into the series was an interview with Antti Toumainen – another author whose works are amongst my favourites (the dark humour ;-).