This is the fourth in a series but the first that I have picked up. I rarely do such a thing because I like to have a solid foundation with the emotional investment required when it comes to the situations in a narrative. This time around, I made an exception because I saw a comment or two of helpful previous readers who indicated that it is not a problem to begin at this point, and I trusted the recommendation. It took me too long to get to the book, but I enjoyed the read when I finally got around to it!
The series is about a British Police detective in pre-independence India. By the time we meet him in this one, he has settled into his official role but struggles with addiction. The plotline was split into a parallel narrative in 1905, and it is only towards the end that I was satisfyingly informed of the connection between the two timelines. The emotional quotient of the book also felt authentic. Our lead protagonist was a white man who was not aggressively racist but saw only as much as was evident to him; this attitude changes slightly towards the end, and that too was well done. The background of the freedom struggle and the tough role of an Indian working with the British at such a time was also vividly discussed.
There are two mysteries in this story, and the solution of the first, as well as the beginning of the second, happen almost simultaneously. Although I enjoyed the location and descriptions of an anti-addiction ashram in Assam of 1922 (I once lived in the area, almost exactly 70 years from when the story is based when I was a small child and do not have many concrete memories but I was illogically pleased to be visiting the place in the book), I was a little impatient for the 'real' story to begin from all the hints that were being dropped. It is not an upbeat book with all the heavier discussions taking place, but it does not overshadow the actual story.
I would highly recommend this to historical fiction/mystery readers looking for a unique destination to visit.
I received an ARC thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, but the review is entirely based on my own reading experience.

After reading A Rising Man, the first in this series, and knew that this would be a series I would be eagerly awaiting each instalment of. Abir Mukherjee has not disappointed and this latest episode reflects his growing sophistication as a writer. unpredictably plotted, with complex characterisation and an immaculate sense of time and place the reader is swept up from the first page. His astute presentation of British rule from a modern perception and sensibility makes this an engaging combination of thriller and history.. Wyndham and Banerjee are fast becoming a classic crime duo.highly recommended.

This whodunit skilfully covers two separate events 17 years apart (1905 and 1922) and includes a range of characters from Whitechapel in the east end of London and an Ashram near Assam. The author Abir Mukherjee moves back and forth in place and time effortlessly and keeps the reader hooked. The link in the stories is Sam Wyndham, an opium addict and ex-policeman who has linked the London murder to his current situation in India. There is plenty of red-herrings, dead-ends and a group of ne’re do well ex-pats with a back-drop of constitutional change in India.

Set partly in Victorian England, partly in Gandhi-era India, it is a classic closed chamber mystery. The two temporal planes alternate throughout the first part of the book, recounting events and providing clues and, above all, building the frame of reference of the personality of Sam Wyndham, the English detective who is one of the protagonists of the series.
The book is very well written and the portrait of Victorian society first, and of Anglo-English society later, is greatly appreciable, with particular regard to the racist and supremacist attitude in some way intrinsic to many members of the English people.
Particularly pleasing is the fact that, although it is the fourth book in a series, the novel is self-conclusive.

I don't know why it took me so long to pick up this book! Now I've read it - the fourth in the series featuring Captain Sam Wyndham and his Sergeant, Surrender-Not Banerjee - I've fallen in love with the series and shall immediately be making up for lost time with the other books. Although it would have been good to read these in order, I didn't feel that I was disadvantaged by reading this one first - it works as a standalone, I think.

At the start of this book, Captain Sam Wyndham of the Calcutta Police is in a state - he is an opium addict who is taking himself off to an ashram in rural India in order to break his addiction through a frankly barbaric vomiting cure. It's 1922 and the story mostly covers Wyndham's experiences at the retreat and then afterwards in a neighbouring town where he gets embroiled in investigating a crime. However, the story is also partially set in 1905 in Whitechapel in the East End of London where a young Sam Wyndham, a new Metropolitan police officer, is involved in solving a crime that has echoes and repercussions for him later in India.

I really loved the Indian setting of this book - it seemed at once exotic and interesting, but there was also a sense of the simmering resentments around the British Raj which added a frisson of danger to the proceedings. It was interesting to see the white privilege in action in the way that Wyndham was treated very differently to Banerjee in the expat community, even though Banerjee was meant to be the main investigating officer at one point. The characters are well drawn and I cannot wait to get into the other books to find out more about Banerjee in particular as he does not feature heavily here. There's clever plotting, peril and vibrant description - what more could you want?! My only quibble was that I solved the murder and worked out the method well ahead of poor Captain Wyndham, but when the novel is so beautifully written as this then that really doesn't matter.

Overall, this is an excellent historical crime novel with real depth and interest. I would recommend it wholeheartedly to anyone who enjoys this genre or who wants more insight into the British Raj in India - it certainly is an eye-opener on this front!

I don't read a lot of historic crime fiction, but was seduced into reading this series by hearing Abir talk so eloquently at various events and also because he's a fellow Scot. Now, I'm an avid fan of Wyndham and Bannerjee. I love the sense of heat and oppression and passion and flaws that run through Mukherjee's books and he does this again in Death in the East. The sense of place is almost tangible and for me that backdrop of India really adds to the narrative. I love series that slowly reveal bits about the main characters over the course of a few books and that was one aspect of Death in The East that I particularly enjoyed. The two timelines gave sneaky peeks into what has helped to make Wyndham into the character he is today (or rather in 1920s India). Bannerjee also becomes more visible in this novel. We learn more about his character and his background and in Death in the East he seems to come into his own - becomes more confident , much more established. I have to say I enjoy the dynamics beteween these two detectives and think their relationship lends authenticity to the history of the British Raj in India. Loved, it loved it, loved it .... Oh, did I tell you I loved it?

This is the first book I have read from this author, but I will now read them all. Well-written and well-plotted with some fabulous atmospheric settings., together with a terrific combination of crimes and history. Recommended.

Didn't realise this wasn't a stand alone! Have decided to read the other two first as i've heard they are great!

This is the fourth book in Mukherjee’s Sam Wyndham series set in India in the early years of the Twentieth century. Captain Wyndham is a officer in the Calcutta police but is currently on his way to a remote retreat in an effort to beat his addiction to opium. Part way through the (rather horrid) treatment he is able to meet the local (white) community and comes across a man from his own past who he believed to be dead: and knows to be a dangerous and brutal killer. Summoning his colleague, Sergeant Banerjee, the two have to fight to prove Wyndham’s suspicions, to overcome the community’s prejudices against the involvement of a native policemen and to prevent any kind of drug-related relapse.

This, and the others in the series, are great historical crime novels seen from an angle unfamiliar to most audiences. There are also tantalising glimpses of the simmering politics which will soon bring about the end of the Raj in India and, rather delightfully, plenty of humour. Although, having heard Abir Mukherjee, in conversation with A A Dhand at Bradford Literature Festival, this should come as no surprise at all….

One of those series that I'll buy without even reading the blurb. Sam and Surrender-not are such a great pairing, and love how the relationship has developed as more books get added. Abir has such a way of bringing the sense fo place and time to life, you're right there in amongst it in colonial times. Can't wait to see where teh next book takes them.

My thoughts about this explosive fourth part of the Captain Sam Wyndhan and Surrendra Not Banerjee is truly mind blowing Author Abir Mukherjee has shown the Origin story of Captain Sam Wyndhan in a different way a truly brilliant and fearless detective Death In The East an outstanding thirller that deals with Love Revenge and Sacrifice And also about Jews immigrants it is a story that will truly take you on a Rollocoster Ride Abir Mukherjee has taken the series on another level an outstanding thirller of the year and the pairing of Captain Sam Wyndhan and Surrender Not Banerjee is excellent.⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐💥💥💥💥💥

I hadn't read any of this series so didn't really know what to expect. The main character is Wyndam, a policeman working in Calcutta and fighting his demons in the form of opium addiction. Signing himself into a rehab centre, his past returns to haunt him.
I really enjoyed this historical crime novel. Wyndam is an engaging character and the plot moves along nicely.
My thanks to Netgalley for this copy.

Murder mystery set in ASSAM and EAST LONDON

This is the fourth in the Sam Wyndham series and can be read as a stand alone.

1922. It is now time that Sam Wyndham goes to an ashram to shake his addiction to opium. it is certainly a gruelling and deeply unpleasant process but really he has no choice. His continued habit would soon affect his sleuthing. Narcotic abuse is a capricious master and he has to commit to a regime of vomiting, sweats and potions until he emerges from this hellish period, as a hopefully cleansed and reformed man.

This is a dual timeline novel and much of the early part of the novel is also set in 1905 in the East of London. The death of a woman – with whom Wyndham had been romantically involved – proves to be a more complex affair than at first mooted. Suspicion settles on a Jewish man but of course things are not as they seem.

The two stories run alongside each other and murder in India tests Wyndham’s investigative skills.
As always with Abir Mukherjee’s novels, there is delightful detail that really transports the reader back in time and place. Many people will be aghast at the casual racism of the era but that was, I am sure, how it was. The feel of London with its fog and street creeping people, and India, with its heat and colour, come to vibrant life in the hands of the author.

Part of the book is set in Jatinga, Assam and the novel opens as birds fly to their deaths. Over the last 100 years, thousands of birds have flown to their death over a small strip of land in Jatinga, India. In a town of only 2,500 people, this bizarre Bermuda Triangle of fowl death remains largely unexplained, despite studies by India’s most prestigious ornithologists. Read more about this very odd phenomenon on this link. Learning about curious events like this are all part of the wonders of literary wanderlust. Enjoy.

<<NOTE TO PUBLISHERS AND TO NETGALLEY>>
THIS NETGALLEY DOWNLOAD WAS VERY POORLY FORMATTED AND HINDERED A PLEASURABLE READING EXPERIENCE. I HAVE BLOGGED ABOUT IT ON THIS LINK: https://www.tripfiction.com/titles-netgalley/

This is the first of this series that I have read despite having the other three books on my bookshelf, I will be certainly picking them up and reading them after having read this book.

Told in a dual timeline between 1905 London East End when Sam was a young police constable, and the death of Bessie Drummond, and 1922 Calcutta. Sam Wyndham is on a train journey to get help for his opiate addiction, but he has just had a shock. He gets off the train at Assam despite the importance of his train journey. He has seen a face of a person who is supposed to be dead. How could the person be here if he is dead? Is it his drug addled brain? He has to deal with his addiction.

In the small colonial community in Cachar Hills- things get a little bit messy. A body is found. A crime must be solved and injustices from the past and the present must be rectified. Junior officer Surendranath pronounced by the racist British as Surrender-not, heads up the investigation, much to the disgust of some.

This is a brilliantly written novel adding history and mystery, with some humour. I loved that it was set in India, the descriptions of places adds to the joy of reading about different cultures, as well as making you feel like you are there, painting the images in your mind. At the time it was a UK Colony, there are some racist remarks and references, which aren’t so nice, but I am sure for the time this would be pretty accurate.

I look forward to reading more of Sam Wyndhams adventures.

I would like to thank #netgalley and #RandomHouseUK for an ebook in exchange for an honest, fair and unbiased review.

This book was absolutely sensational and I just could not put it down until the final pages. It is only the second that I've read by the author I missed reading his second and third titles but I intend reading the others as soon as possible. I was very impressed by the high quality of the authors research and his plotting which could not be faulted.
Sam Wyndham is a weary and cynical man with a background in the police and Special Branch back in England, and having seen the futile deaths of so many whilst serving in the trenches of World War I. Compounding his trauma is the loss of his wife, Sarah, from a flu epidemic

During the period Sam has been in India he has developed an addiction to drugs and in 1922, he has been recommended to go to Assam to the Ashram of a sainted monk who is expected to rid him of his dangerous opium habit.

The story also refers back to his early days in 1905 as a police constable in the east end of London and a murder case he was involved with then. Bessie Drummond,an old girlfriend, is attacked in the streets. The next day, when Bessie is found brutally beaten in her own room, locked from the inside, Wyndham promises to get to the bottom of her murder. But the case will cost the young constable more than he ever imagined.
The author very vividly paints a picture of how the protagonist and other similar addicts have to go through a terrible physical trauma to rid themselves of their various addictions..
But when he arrived in the Ashram, he sees a ghost from his life in London – a man thought to be long dead, a man Wyndham hoped he would never see again.

Wyndham knows he must call his friend and colleague Sergeant Banerjee for help. He is certain this figure from his past isn’t here by coincidence. He is here for revenge . The book rushes onto its dramatic conclusion. Strongly recommended. . .

Calcutta police detective Captain Sam Wyndham and his quick-witted Indian Sergeant, Surrender-not Banerjee, are the main characters in a boys own rip-roaring adventure set in 1920’s India. This is an amazing murder mystery that I couldn’t put down. The plot is extremely intricate and the story line kept me captivated to the end. I couldn’t put this book down and read it on my flight from Cyprus to the UK.
Recommended.

I really wanted to enjoy this book as having read the brief synopsis I thought it would be right up my street.
Can't in all honesty say that this read grabbed me and held my attention.
I rarely however start a book and don't finish it and this was no exception, so perservered to the end.
Have certainly read worse, but undoubtedly have read better.
A middle of the road 3/5 from me.

An enjoyable read.

Historical murder mystery set between London and colonial India in early 20th century.

Excellent research and attention to detail for the setting and historical context. Interesting characters and well written.

The murder mystery plot was fairly easy to work out well ahead of the characters which I generally dislike, however the quality of the context and writing made up for this.

I haven't read anything by this author before, but am now interested to read further, would recommend.

This is the first book I have read by this author. I found the story fascinating. The story switches between present day - 1922 in India and early 1905 when Sam Wyndham was a new police officer. The way the two stories are blended is cleverly done. I enjoyed the way the book was written, I liked the characters found them well constructed and became engaged by them. I thought the plot itself to be well done. A thoroughly enjoyable read.

I've loved every one in the Sam Wyndham series by Abir Mukherjee and this latest is no exception: in fact, it's the best so far. Fascinating insight into the history of the period but done through the medium of mystery. A fantastically inventive plot, great characters. Couldn't put it down. More please!