Contemporary Authors

• A Rising Man - June 28, 2016 Harvill Secker, London

• Abir Mukherjee - https://www.abirmukherjee.com/

  ABOUT

  Abir Mukherjee grew up in the West of Scotland. At the age of fifteen, his best friend made him read Gorky Park and he's been a fan of crime fiction ever since. The child of immigrants from India, A Rising Man, his debut novel, was inspired by a desire to learn more about this crucial period in Anglo-Indian history that seems to have been almost forgotten. It won the Harvill Secker/Daily Telegraph crime writing competition and is the first in a new series starring Captain Sam Wyndham and 'Surrender-Not' Banerjee. Abir lives in London with his wife and two sons.

• The Asian Writer - http://theasianwriter.co.uk/2016/06/abir-mukherjee/

  QUOTE:
  I thought why not?
  Having never submitted anything before, I didn’t expect to win, so it was a complete surprise when, a few months later, I was contacted by Alison Hennessey, the organizer of the competition, and told that my book was going to be published. The problem was at that point I didn’t have a book, just half a first draft of fifty thousand words that didn’t always fit together. Thankfully Alison and the whole team at Harvill Secker took me under their wing and helped me turn those fifty thousand words into a fully-fledged novel.

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  Abir Mukherjee
  June 21, 2016Farhana Shaikh

  As a qualified accountant you came into writing later in life. Tell us more about how and why you decided to become a writer?

  My journey from accountant to writer began back in the autumn of 2013. I was thirty-nine at the time, hurtling towards forty and I had the hope that maybe there might be more to life than accounting.

  I’d always wanted to write a book but never had the confidence. Then one morning I saw an interview with Lee Child where he talked about how, at the age of forty, he started writing, and I thought why not? I’d never read any of his books till then, but I went out that day and bought a copy of his first book, Killing Floor, and devoured it within forty-eight hours. I was amazed at how simply written and well plotted it was. I’d recently had an idea for a story centered on a British detective who travels to India after the First World War, and reading Killing Floor gave me the motivation to put pen to paper.

  Nevertheless, I’d have probably given up after about ten thousand words if it weren’t for a piece of good fortune. I’d been doing some research online and came across details of the Telegraph-Harvill Secker Crime Writing Competition, looking for new and unpublished crime writers. The entry requirements were simple: the first five thousand words of a novel, together with a two-page synopsis of the rest of the book. There was only one stipulation – that the entry contained some international element. I tidied up the first chapter, wrote the synopsis and sent them away.

  Having never submitted anything before, I didn’t expect to win, so it was a complete surprise when, a few months later, I was contacted by Alison Hennessey, the organizer of the competition, and told that my book was going to be published. The problem was at that point I didn’t have a book, just half a first draft of fifty thousand words that didn’t always fit together. Thankfully Alison and the whole team at Harvill Secker took me under their wing and helped me turn those fifty thousand words into a fully-fledged novel.

  When do you find the time to write?

  To be honest, it’s not easy finding the time. I still work full time and have a wife and two young children, which means writing has to take a back seat to work pressures and family time. Luckily, my wife, Sonal, is very understanding, and helps me to make the time. Generally I end up writing at weekends or late at night, though I tend to be thinking of plots and stories almost all of the time.

  What impact did winning the Telegraph Harvill Secker crime writing competition have on your writing?

  It had a huge impact. I was a complete novice to the world of writing. All of a sudden I had a book deal and more importantly an editor, an agent and a whole team of people at Harvill Secker guiding me. To be honest, what with the pressures of work and family life, I’m not sure I would have had the confidence or the determination to keep writing without the support that came with winning the competition.

  A Rising Man is your debut novel, tell us a little about the inspiration behind the story?

  The story follows Sam Wyndham, an English detective who comes to Calcutta after the Great War in search of a new start. He’s immediately thrown into his first case, the murder of a British burra sahib who’s been found with his throat cut in an alley. Sam, aided by his Indian assistant Sergeant Banerjee, investigate and soon find that things are a bit more complicated than they expect.

  Really though, the book is about the different cultures in India during the period and the impact of colonialism on both the rulers and the ruled. In particular I wanted to understand what happens when a democratic nation subjugates another, both in terms of the impact on the subjugated peoples, but just as importantly, on the psyche of the people doing the oppressing. I think the moral and psychological pressures placed on those tasked with administering the colonial system were immense and it’s something that’s been relatively unexamined.

  I’ve always been interested in the period of British Rule in India. I think that period in history has contributed so much to modern India and to modern Britain, but it’s a period that’s been largely forgotten or mischaracterized, either romanticized or brushed under the carpet.

  I’ve always been rather surprised by this and wanted to look at it from the point of view of an outsider who’s new to it all. One of the things that has always fascinated me is that, in an era when totalitarian regimes were rampant in Europe, regularly murdering anyone who showed any dissent, in India, this largely peaceful freedom struggle was playing out between Indians and their British overlords. At the time, there was no parallel to this anywhere in the world, and I think it says a lot about the people of both nations, that such a struggle could be played out in a comparatively civilised way.

  We’re in 1920’s Calcutta. What research did you do around the period to ensure historical accuracy? Were there instances where you were happy to forego these in favour of fiction?

  Historical accuracy was very important to me in terms of the sort of messages I wanted to get across, and that meant quite a lot of research.

  My parents are both from Calcutta so there was a lot of asking of questions of old family members and friends. I also made a few trips to the city and that helped me get a sense of the place. During one visit, I was lucky enough to be given access to the Calcutta Police Museum where a lot of the police documents from the period are on exhibit. That was fascinating, as the Kolkata Police today has a rather ambivalent view of its own history during that time.

  At the same time though, a lot of research was done sitting at home and trawling the internet. It’s amazing what you can find out these days by just Googling!

  There was however one particular area where I had to forego historical accuracy. The novel is set during the week of the Jallianwalah Bagh massacre and in reality, the news of the massacre was suppressed and took several weeks to filter through to Calcutta and other Indian cities. For the purposes of the plot, I couldn’t wait for that to happen so I altered things so that news of the atrocity reaches Bengal the morning after.

  Your main character is an English detective in Calcutta. I was grateful for the humour this allowed for. Was it important for you to include lighter moments in a crime novel?

  I think so. My main character, Sam, has just survived the Great War. He’s been traumatised by it and by the loss of his wife. He’s come to India and he sees that many of the things that he thought he was fighting for such as liberty and self determination are actively withheld from Indians. His way of dealing with the hypocrisy and absurdity of it all is to employ a rather wry, gallows humour.

  As I read I felt like I was transported to a different place and time but I also loved the explanations which helped to guide me. Who do you write for? Is it the generation that have grown up without really knowing their ‘homeland’ or is it another audience entirely?

  That’s a very good question. On one level, I’m writing for anyone who likes a good crime thriller, but on another, I’m writing to highlight aspects of our history that have been forgotten or mischaracterized. To that end I’m writing for everyone who is interested in that shared history between Britain and India. Of course, first and foremost that includes British-Asians like myself, but also, I’d hope it would be interesting to white British people and people further afield.

  You’ve mentioned before that you have a love and fascination for Calcultta. What is it about Calcutta that inspires you to set your work there?

  In the period that the book is set, Calcutta was still the premier city in Asia and was as glamorous and exotic a location as anywhere in the world. At the same time, it was a city undergoing immense change and was the centre of the freedom movement, a hotbed of agitation against British rule. It seemed the natural choice for the series I wanted to write.

  How did you find the publishing journey and working with an editor to revise your manuscript?

  I found the publishing journey to be a fascinating experience. I’d never really written fiction before so the whole thing was a very steep learning curve. Fortunately my editor was fantastic, and guided me through the whole process, from first draft to final, published book. It was a process that lasted about two years, but from day one, I took the decision that I would follow all the advice I received, whether I agreed with it or not, simply because I was new to the whole thing and my editor was one of the best in the business. It’s was definitely the correct decision and as the process went on and I learned more, I found myself agreeing with pretty much everything she’d suggested.

  Will Captain Sam Wyndham be returning for another installment and if so, how far along are you with writing the next book?

  Most definitely! Part of my objective has always been to look at the whole period between 1919 and Indian independence through the eyes of Sam and his Indian assistant Sergeant Banerjee. I’m hard at work on book two, which is partly set in one of the Indian princely states and this should be out next May.

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• Penguin - https://www.penguin.co.uk/authors/abir-mukherjee/1076271/

  Biography
  Abir Mukherjee grew up in the west of Scotland. At the age of fifteen, his best friend made him read Gorky Park and he’s been a fan of crime fiction ever since. The child of immigrants from India, A Rising Man, his debut novel, was inspired by a desire to learn more about a crucial period in Anglo-Indian history that seems to have been almost forgotten. It won the Harvill Secker/Daily Telegraph crime writing competition and became the first in a series starring Captain Sam Wyndham and ‘Surrender-not’ Banerjee. Abir lives in London with his wife and two sons.

• Mrs. Peabody Investigates - https://mrspeabodyinvestigates.wordpress.com/2016/05/05/author-interview-with-abir-mukherjee-about-his-calcutta-crime-novel-a-rising-man/

  QUOTE:
  My parents came to Britain as immigrants from India in the sixties, and my life has always been shaped by both cultures. As such I’ve always been interested in the period of British Rule in India. I think that period in history has contributed so much to modern India and to modern Britain, but it’s a period that’s been largely forgotten or mischaracterised, either romanticised or brushed under the carpet.
  QUOTE:
  I’ve always been rather surprised by this and wanted to look at it from the point of view of an outsider who’s new to it all.
  Mrs. Peabody Investigates
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  Author interview with Abir Mukherjee about Calcutta crime novel A Rising Man
  Posted on May 5, 2016 by Mrs P.
  Wishing a very happy publication day to Abir Mukherjee! Abir is the winner of the 2014 ‘Telegraph Harvill Secker Crime Writing’ competition. A Rising Man, his highly accomplished debut crime novel, is set in Calcutta in 1919 and marks the start of the ‘Captain Wyndham’ series. He joins me below for a fascinating interview about the novel, his historical research, and the writers who inspire him.

  A RISING MAN

  Opening lines: ‘At least he was well dressed. Black tie, tux, the works. If you’re going to get yourself killed, you may as well look your best.’

  Cover text: 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, Wyndham is caught up in a murder investigation that will take him into the dark underbelly of the British Raj.

  Abir Mukherjee c. Nick Tucker MAIN PHOTO
  Abir Mukherjee (photo by Nick Tucker)

  Mrs. Peabody: Abir, thanks very much for joining me. A Rising Man is set in the India of 1919, just after the end of the First World War. Why did you choose that particular historical moment for the start of your series?

  Abir: My parents came to Britain as immigrants from India in the sixties, and my life has always been shaped by both cultures. As such I’ve always been interested in the period of British Rule in India. I think that period in history has contributed so much to modern India and to modern Britain, but it’s a period that’s been largely forgotten or mischaracterised, either romanticised or brushed under the carpet.

  I’ve always been rather surprised by this and wanted to look at it from the point of view of an outsider who’s new to it all. One of the things that’s always fascinated me is that, in an era when totalitarian regimes were rampant in Europe, regularly murdering anyone who showed any dissent, in India, this largely peaceful freedom struggle was playing out between Indians and their British overlords. At the time, there was no parallel to this anywhere in the world, and I think it says a lot about the people of both nations that such a struggle could be played out in an comparatively civilised way.

  Huntley and Palmer Raj
  A thoroughly British depiction of the Indian Raj

  Abir: I also wanted to explore the effect of empire on both the rulers and the ruled. In particular I wanted to understand what happens when a democratic nation subjugates another, both in terms of the impact on the subjugated peoples, but just as importantly, on the psyche of the people doing the oppressing. I think the moral and psychological pressures placed on those tasked with administering the colonial system were immense and in something that’s been relatively unexamined.

  I wanted to write a series exploring the relationships between these two different, but in many ways very similar cultures, but from the viewpoint of someone new to it all and 1919 just felt like the right place to start. To me, it was the start of the modern age. The Great War had just ended, it had destroyed a lot of the old certainties and left a lot of people disillusioned and no longer willing to simply accept what they were told by their betters. Sam, the protagonist, is a product of that time and I think he is one of the first modern men.

  Calcutta map
  Kolkata/Calcutta lies in the east of India on the Bay of Bengal

  Mrs. Peabody: How did you go about recreating the Calcutta of the time? What kind of research did you carry out?

  Abir: In the period that the book is set, Calcutta was still the premier city in Asia and was as glamorous and exotic a location as anywhere in the world. At the same time, it was a city undergoing immense change and was the centre of the freedom movement, a hotbed of agitation against British rule. It seemed the natural choice for the series I wanted to write. Of course, it helped that my parents are both from Calcutta and I’d spent a quite a bit of time there over the years. I even speak the language, though with a Scottish accent.

  In terms of recreating the Calcutta of the period, it’s amazing how much of that history is still around in the Calcutta (or Kolkata) of today. Calcuttans have a great sense of the history of their city, possibly because the city was at its zenith during that period, and so many people were more than willing to answer the many questions I had.

  During one visit, I was lucky enough to be granted access to the Calcutta Police Museum where a lot of the police documents from the period are on exhibit. That was fascinating as the Kolkata Police today has a rather ambivalent view of its own history during that time. In terms of research though, most of that was done sitting at home in front of the computer and trawling the internet.

  Calcutta 1 httpsplaycreatelearn.wordpress.com20130221calcutta-old-photographs
  Women in Calcutta in the 1920s. https://playcreatelearn.wordpress.com/2013/02/21/calcutta-old-photographs/

  Mrs. Peabody: Tell us a bit about your leading investigator, Captain Sam Wyndham, and the perspective he offers us of India.

  Abir: Sam’s a rather strange fish. He’s an ex-Scotland Yard detective who’s basically spent his whole life struggling against the tide. Life’s not exactly been kind to him. He gets packed off to boarding school at a young age and some of his best years were spent sitting in a trench in France getting shot at by Germans. He survives the war, though only to find that his wife has died in the influenza epidemic of 1918. Scarred by his wartime experiences and burdened by survivor’s guilt, he comes to India mainly because he has no better alternative.

  At the point in his life where he arrives in Calcutta, he’s a pretty jaded soul with a bit of an alcohol and chemical dependency, though he’d tell you he used them for medicinal purposes. He’s been disillusioned by the war and I think he’s more open to seeing India with his own eyes than swallowing everything he’s told. He’s happy to point out hypocrisy where he sees it, whether it be from the whites or the natives.

  Calcutta 2
  Calcutta on the banks of the Ganges (1920s) https://playcreatelearn.wordpress.com/2013/02/21/calcutta-old-photographs/

  Mrs Peabody: The novel does a wonderful job of dissecting the political, racial and social tensions of life under the British Raj. Do you think that crime fiction offers particular opportunities in this respect?

  Abir: Definitely.

  I think most authors have something to say beyond the telling of a good story and I think crime fiction is a wonderful vehicle for exploring deeper societal issues, because it allows you to look at all of society from the top to the bottom.

  As Ian Rankin said in an interview earlier this year, “the crime novel is a good way of raising this stuff because … a detective has an access all areas pass to the entire city, to its riches and deprivations.”

  In terms of India in 1919, as a white policeman, Sam has is exposed to all sections of Calcutta society, from the politicians and businessmen right down to the rickshaw-wallahs and brothel keepers. He’s part of the whole fabric, but at the same time separate from it and able to see it objectively.

  Kolkata flower market
  Kolkata flower market. Image Courtesy of Parasarathi Mukherjee, Walks in Kolkata

  Mrs Peabody: Which authors/works have inspired you as a writer?

  Abir: There are so many.

  There are the books which have left the greatest impression on me and which I’ve read quite a few times. At the top of that list would come George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four. I’ve always been drawn to dystopian views of the future and this is, in my opinion, the finest dystopian novel. I’ve read this book more times than I can remember and it’s a joy every time. The characterization of Winston and Julia’s relationship, set against the backdrop of this all-powerful totalitarian society is just fantastic.

  Lahiri

  Abir: Other works that have left an impression include Jhumpa Lahiri’s The Namesake, a story about the travails of a Bengali couple who immigrate from Calcutta to Boston and raise a family. My wife first introduced me to this book and I was just bowled over by it. The writing is sublime and I could relate to it in a way I haven’t with many other books.

  Then there are others which are pretty special, like Vikram Seth’s An Equal Music, a tale of love lost set in the world of string quartets, Kafka’s The Trial – the only book I’ve read that made me feel claustrophobic, and Hemingway’s For Whom the Bell Tolls with its amazing use of language.

  In terms of crime and thrillers, there are a number of authors whose work I look out for and will buy as soon as it hits the shelf. Top of this list has to be Ian Rankin – I’m a huge Rebus fan, but also love the standalone novels too. Then there’s Philip Kerr, Martin Cruz Smith and Robert Harris, all three of whom produce novels shot through with wit and an intelligence, something which I love.

  Finally, and in a special category, there’s William McIlvanney, whose Glasgow Detective, Laidlaw is a fantastic creation. I think McIlvanney was a true genius. I wish I’d had the chance to meet him.

  Mrs P: Many thanks, Abir!

  A Rising Man by Abir Mukherjee is published by Harvill Secker on 5 May 2016 (priced £12.99). And here’s an interesting Telegraph article in which Abir gives some tips on writing.

  A Rising Man blog tour poster

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  6 THOUGHTS ON “AUTHOR INTERVIEW WITH ABIR MUKHERJEE ABOUT CALCUTTA CRIME NOVEL A RISING MAN”
  Kathy. P on May 6, 2016 at 06:54 said:
  Morning Mrs P 😀. A Rising Man sounds an incredibly good book to get my nose stuck into, and the fact that it’s a crime story and set in Calcutta at the beginning of the last century, when the Raj was still in full swing so to speak, really peaks my interest. I can’t think off hand, of any books of this genre set in India, so will be putting this on my TBR 👓pile.

  Reply ↓

  Mrs P.
  on May 6, 2016 at 09:27 said:
  Morning, Kathy P! It’s a really interesting historical period, isn’t it? I’m really glad you like the look of the novel. I think it pulls off that difficult trick of being entertaining and historically insightful at the same time – hope you enjoy as much as I did.

  I remember watching the ‘Jewel in the Crown’ series on UK TV as a teenager (and then reading the marvellous Raj Quartet by Paul Scott), and have been interested in the period ever since then. Visited India not long after in the 1990s and was fascinated to see the Raj living on (stayed with someone who lived a 1940s life, complete with tea and cucumber sandwiches on the lawn every afternoon).

  Reply ↓
  Cavershamragu on May 9, 2016 at 07:47 said:
  Great interview Mrs P – sounds like a really good book too!

  Reply ↓

  Mrs P.
  on May 9, 2016 at 09:46 said:
  Thanks – some very thoughtful answers there from Abir. I do recommend the book (as you’ll have gathered!) – a very entertaining and absorbing read.

  Reply ↓
  Ramesh on May 9, 2016 at 13:20 said:
  Congrats Abir for this book. As a friend I am very proud of you. ..

  Reply ↓
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• Crime Fiction Lover - https://crimefictionlover.com/2015/11/ntn-abir-mukherjee-interviewed/

  QUOTE:
  I think it’s a fascinating place and time, unique in many respects and one that’s been overlooked, especially in terms of crime fiction. I think that period in history has contributed so much to modern India and Britain, and it was a time that saw the best and the worst of both peoples. But it’s a period that’s either brushed under the carpet or romanticised. I wanted to explore it from a middle ground and from the perspective of a man who is new to it all.

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  Crime Fiction LoverFeaturesNTN: Abir Mukherjee interviewed
  NTN: ABIR MUKHERJEE INTERVIEWED
  November 11, 2015 Written by crimefictionlover Published in Features 0 Permalink
  abirmukherjee400NTN_2015_100Last February, we reported on how the previously unpublished writer Abir Mukherjee had won a crime writing competition run by The Daily Telegraph and Harvill Secker. His book, A Rising Man, has been completed and Harvill Secker will be publishing it in May next year. Becoming a crime author is a big career shift for Abir, who is an accountant by day, specialising in corporate finance. Raised in Scotland, he now lives in London. He’d always wanted to write a crime novel and finally drummed up the confidence to do so after a bit of a mid-life crisis. It was that or buying a motorbike, he tells us. We invited him over to talk about his competition win and the road to publication for A Rising Man…

  How did victory at the Telegraph’s crime writing competition come about?
  I started writing A Rising Man in September 2013, and a few weeks later I came across details of the competition, looking for new and unpublished crime writers. By that point I’d already written about 10,000 words and it seemed what I was writing fitted the competition’s entry criteria. I tidied up the first few chapters, wrote the synopsis and sent off my entry. I’d never tried writing a novel before and winning came as a huge shock. It took a while to sink in, but it also gave me the confidence to think I might be able to make a real go of writing.

  What is A Rising Man all about?
  The book is set in Calcutta in 1919, a time of great political upheaval in British India. It’s about the arrival of an ex-Scotland Yard detective, Captain Sam Wyndham, who’s come to India after surviving the Great War. Within a fortnight of arriving in the city, he’s faced with his first case – a high ranking British official found with his throat slit and note stuffed in his mouth warning the British to quit India.

  In addition to solving this apparent assassination, the Wyndham and his officers have to investigate the death of a railway guard, murdered during an attack on a train where nothing was stolen.

  What made you choose this setting?
  I think it’s a fascinating place and time, unique in many respects and one that’s been overlooked, especially in terms of crime fiction. I think that period in history has contributed so much to modern India and Britain, and it was a time that saw the best and the worst of both peoples. But it’s a period that’s either brushed under the carpet or romanticised. I wanted to explore it from a middle ground and from the perspective of a man who is new to it all.

  In the period that the book is set, Calcutta was still the premier city in Asia and was as glamorous and exotic a location as anywhere in the world. At the same time, it was a city undergoing immense change and was the centre of the freedom movement, a hotbed of agitation against British rule.

  Tell us about how you researched it.
  My parents are both from Calcutta so there was a lot of asking of questions of old family members and friends. I also made a few trips to the city and that helped me get a sense of the place. During one visit, I was lucky enough to be given access to the Calcutta Police Museum where a lot of the police documents from the period are on exhibit. That was fascinating, as the Kolkata Police today has a rather ambivalent view of its own history during that time. In terms of research though, most of that was done sitting at home and trawling the internet.

  A letter from Indian revolutionaries to their victims...
  A letter from Indian revolutionaries to their victims…

  What was the most interesting thing you discovered in your research that went into the book?
  There was so much, it’s hard to pick just one thing. I suppose it was the mentality of the revolutionaries who were espousing armed insurrection against the British. Some of them seemed to view it in almost chivalrous terms, even going to the lengths of sending letters to people they’d robbed to raise funds, informing them that they viewed the money they’d stolen as a loan, which would earn interest at five per cent per annum and would be repaid when India was free.

  And what was the most interesting thing you discovered in your research that didn’t go into the book?
  Fingerprints! The world’s first fingerprint bureau was established by the Calcutta Police in 1897. That’s almost five years before Scotland Yard set up its Fingerprint Branch. The two men who developed the system of fingerprint classification, the Henry System, which is still used in most English speaking countries, were two Indians, Azizul Haque and Hem Chandra Bose. One was a Muslim, the other was a Hindu. The man who got the credit of course, was their boss, Edward Henry, who was later knighted and went on to be one of the greatest commissioners of Scotland Yard.

  Who or what inspired your character Sam Wyndham and what is he like?
  Sam’s a war veteran and ex-Scotland Yard detective. Life has made him a cynic – he’s scarred by his wartime experience and burdened by survivor’s guilt. He comes to Calcutta looking for a fresh start away from England.

  I’m not sure what the inspiration for him was. I think he’s an outsider, someone who’s not truly at home anywhere, and I think part of that comes from my own background, being the son of immigrants to the UK. At the same time, I’m a big fan of detectives such as Ian Rankin’s Rebus, Philip Kerr’s Bernie Gunther and Martin Cruz Smith’s Arkady Renko, and I think fictional detectives to some degree need to be fish out of water. They see things differently from other people.

  ARisingManEarlyCover300What key themes did you want to explore and is there a social message to look for in the book alongside the mystery aspects?
  I wanted to explore the effect of empire on both the rulers and the ruled, in particular, what happens when a democratic nation subjugates another, both in terms of the impact on the subjugated peoples, but just as importantly, on the psyche of the people doing the oppressing. As part of my research, I read George Orwell’s Burmese Days and his essay Shooting an Elephant which was based on his time as a policeman in Burma. Both give an insight into the moral and psychological pressures placed on those tasked with administering the colonial system. I think it’s an area that’s been relatively unexamined over the last 70-odd years.

  What’s it been like seeing your manuscript worked on by a big publisher?
  It’s been an amazing experience and a real education. My editor, Alison Hennessey, is fantastic and I’ve learned so much from her, including how to say more with fewer words. Overall, the book is a lot tighter having gone through the editorial process. In terms of key changes, the introduction of a particular sub plot, which adds to the complexity of the book, was Alison’s suggestion.

  Would you have published on your own if you hadn’t won?
  That’s a good question. I’d written about half of the first draft by the time I found out I’d won, though the rate of progress had slowed a lot. It’s hard to make time for writing in amongst the day job and family time.

  I think I’d have persevered and finished the first draft and then probably tried to find an agent. I was extremely fortunate in that one of the judges, Sam Copeland of RCW, offered to represent me. Sam’s advice has been invaluable. As someone who’s come from a background of numbers rather than words, I think I’d need someone to tell me whether what I was writing was any good. As such, I don’t think I’d have had the confidence to go down the self-publishing route.

  Publication is some way off but what’s next for you in terms of crime fiction?
  Publication is set for May next year, but I’m keeping busy. I’m hoping to write a whole series of Sam Wyndham books, covering the period from 1919 to Indian independence. Harvill Secker has been fantastic and offered me a further two-book deal. I’m part-way through the first draft of the second novel.

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QUOTE:
outstanding debut and series launch combines a cleverly constructed whodunit with an
unusual locale--Calcutta in 1919--portrayed with convincing detail.

1/2/2017 General OneFile - Saved Articles
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Print Marked Items
A Rising Man
Publishers Weekly.
264.9 (Feb. 27, 2017): p79.
COPYRIGHT 2017 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Full Text: 
* A Rising Man
Abir Mukherjee. Pegasus Crime (Norton, dist.), $25.95 (400p) ISBN 978-1-68177-416-9
British author Mukherjee's outstanding debut and series launch combines a cleverly constructed whodunit with an
unusual locale--Calcutta in 1919--portrayed with convincing detail. Capt. Sam Wyndham, a former Scotland Yard
detective, has arrived in the Indian city wounded in spirit from the loss of his wife to the influenza epidemic and
addicted to morphine after surviving the trenches of the Western Front. His experience lands him a position with the
British Imperial Police Force in Bengal, and he soon receives a sensitive murder inquiry. Alexander MacAuley, a top
aide to the lieutenant governor, has been found in an alley with his throat slit, some fingers cut off, and a bloodstained
scrap of paper placed in his mouth on which is written: "English blood will run in the streets." That warning indicates
that Indian terrorists opposed to continuation of the Raj were responsible, but Wyndham finds the truth more
complicated. The nuanced relationship between Wyndham and his Indian assistant, a sergeant known as Surrender-not
Banerjee because the English can't pronounce his first name correctly, adds even more depth. Agent: Sam Copeland,
Rogers, Coleridge & White (U.K.). (May)
Source Citation   (MLA 8th
Edition)
"A Rising Man." Publishers Weekly, 27 Feb. 2017, p. 79. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?
p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA485671180&it=r&asid=33c66d24080fddf6c4637088441850c9.
Accessed 2 Nov. 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A485671180

QUOTE:
stirring, entertaining first mystery bursts with lively, colorful historical details about colonial Calcutta.
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Mystery
Lesa Holstine and Ann Chambers Theis
Library Journal.
142.6 (Apr. 1, 2017): p63.
COPYRIGHT 2017 Library Journals, LLC. A wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution
permitted.
http://www.libraryjournal.com/
Full Text: 
THE SPRING awards season is underway for many of the key crime fiction honors, with nominations recently released
for the Mystery Writers of America's Edgar Allan Poe Awards, Malice Domestic's Agatha Awards, Left Coast Crime's
Lefty Awards, and the UK-based Crime Writers' Association's Dagger Awards. A number of the authors reviewed this
month have been nominees or award winners. Tom Bouman's Fateful Mornings is a worthy follow-up to his Edgarwinning
Dry Bones in the Valley. James Ziskin's previous "Ellie Stone" mystery, Heart if Stone, has just been
nominated for an Edgar, and here he returns with a new series adventure, Cast the First Stone. A cozy debut by Peggy
O'Neal Peden, Your Killin' Heart, won the Malice Domestic First Traditional Mystery Competition, and Volker
Kutscher's noirish Weimar-era series, which makes its English-language debut with Babylon Benin, was recognized
with a major German crime fiction prize in 2011.
Of special note are several debuts with prize-winning potential. Abir Mukherjee's historical, A Rising Man, is an
entertaining mystery set in Calcutta after World War I. And Annie Hogsett's Too Lucky To Live channels Dashiell
Hammett's classic crime-solving duo, Nick and Nora Charles.---ACT
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]
CHECK THESE OUT
Bouman, Tom. Fateful Mornings: A Henry Farrell Novel. Norton. Jun. 2017. 320p. ISBN 9780393249644. $25.95;
ebk. ISBN 9780393249651. M
When troubled local carpenter Kevin O'Keefe reports that his girlfriend Penny is missing and that he may have shot
someone, Officer Henry Farrell is pulled into an extensive investigation involving a multistate vice ring and a shadowy,
murderous hit man. Over many fateful mornings long-held secrets are unraveled, and political, cultural, and
environmental realities continue to impact the Rust Belt town of Wild Thyme, PA. Meanwhile, widowed Henry's longended
affair with married Shelly Bray threatens to derail his personal and professional life as he begins a relationship
with Miss Julie Meagher. VERDICT In this follow-up to the Edgar Award-winning Dry Bones in the Valley, character
and sense of place remain paramount. Bouman's evocative language draws readers into Henry's world, appealing to
fans of rural noir/grit lit and Julia Keller, Wiley Cash, and John W. Billheimer, [See Prepub Alert, 11/14/16.]--ACT
Friis, Agnete. What My Body Remembers. Soho Crime. May 2017. 304p. tr. from Danish by Lindy Falk van Rooyen.
ISBN 9781616956028. $25.95 ; ebk. ISBN 9781616956035. M
Ella Nygaard, 27, has suffered from memory loss for 20 years since her father was convicted of murdering her mother
and she became a ward of the state. After a lifetime of poor choices and an incapacitating PTSD episode, she discovers
her 11-year-old son, Alex, has been placed in a foster home. When Ella kidnaps Alex and takes shelter in her
grandmother's abandoned house in an isolated coastal town in northern Denmark, she slowly begins to remember what
actually happened when her mother died. With the help of Thomas, a childhood friend, and off-beat new acquaintance
Barbara, Ella learns to fight her old demons. Interspersing chapters detail the backstory of Ella's parents, which reveal
the damaging effects of virulent religion and a devastating love triangle that may harm Ella and Alex in the present.
VERDICT Making her solo debut, the coauthor of the "Nina Borg" (The Boy in the Suitcase; series not surprisingly
has written a dark, fast-paced, and compelling mystery that will fascinate aficionados of Nordic noir.--ACT
Griffiths, Elly. The Chalk Pit: ARuth Galloway Mystery. Houghton Harcourt. May 2017. 368p. ISBN 9780544750319.
$27; ebk. ISBN 9780544750524. M

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Griffiths's ninth "Ruth Galloway" mystery (after The Woman in Blue) has the forensic archaeologist examining bones
excavated in one of the labyrinthine chalk-mining tunnels that riddle Norwich, England. Meanwhile, DCI Harry Nelson
searches for a homeless woman rumored to have gone "underground." As the dual investigations merge, hints of secret
societies, ritual killings, and cannibalism surface, as does a string of murders that seem to be connected to a homeless
community possibly living in the tunnels. Once again, the key elements of this award-winning series are at hand:
complex personal relationships among the protagonists that continue to evolve in surprising ways, excellent use of
history and folklore, and lyrically moody imagining of landscape. VERDICT This combination of archaeology and
crime investigation continues to be a good draw for mystery buffs. Series regulars will be intrigued by unexpected
developments that promise further complications for Ruth and Nelson. For more top-notch archaeology-based
mysteries. check out books by Erin Hart. Beverly Connor. and Kate Ellis. [See Prepub Alert, 11 /14/16; library
promotion.]--ACT
* Hogsett, Annie. Too Lucky To Live: A Somebody's Bound To Wind Up Dead Mystery. Poisoned Pen. May 2017.
316p. ISBN 9781464207884. pap. $15.95. M
Lonely, divorced Allie Harper comes to the rescue of a handsome blind man caught in the crosswalk after he's startled
by the honking of a Hummer on a Cleveland street. She drags Thom as Bennington III home, makes dinner, and is
enjoying his company when he learns he's won over 500 million on a lottery ticket. Yet a downcast Tom had bought the
ticket to prove to a young boy that gambling doesn't payoff. Unfortunately, too many people know he won and think
they deserve a share of the money. The couple get to know each other quite well as they go on the run and do
everything they can to stay alive, while the people around them end up dead. VERDICT In this entertaining, sexy
debut, Allie is a sharp Stephanie Plum paired up with a hot partner. She quickly learns how adept a blind man can be in
dealing with trouble. The original voice, humor, and unusual premise will appeal to Janet Evanovich readers.--LH
Kutscher, Volker. Babylon Berlin: A Gereon Rath Mystery. Sandstone. May 2017. 518p. tr. from German by Niall
Sellar. ISBN 9781910124970. pap. $16; ebk. ISBN 9781910124987. M
The first book in the internationally acclaimed, award-winning series introduces policeman Gereon Rath, who has
transferred to the Berlin vice squad after his homicide experience in Cologne ended badly. It is the tempestuous 1920s
in Weimar Germany, and there's plenty of vice to investigate. When Gereon uncovers a connection to the murder of a
man tortured and dumped in the Landweher Canal, he hopes investigating on his own may lead him closer to a vaunted
spot in Homicide and closer to Charlotte (Charly) Ritter, a department stenographer. Gereon's inquiries drag him
through the mire of Berlin's underworld and the chaos of the politics of the period. VERDICT Riveting and
atmospheric, this historical crime novel is a good choice for readers who appreciate Philip Kerr's "Bernie Gunther"
mysteries, Paul Grossman's "Willi Kraus" series, and Rebecca Cantrell's "Hannah Vogel" books.--ACT
Logan, Michael. Hell's Detective. Crooked Lane. Jun. 2017. 288p. ISBN 9781683311713. $25.99; ebk. ISBN
9781683311737. M
Private detective Kat Murphy is in Hell. Lost Angeles. Every night, the residents are visited by a Torment and forced to
relive their sins; in Kat's case, she shot her lover, and then killed herself. Every day, Kat goes to her favorite dive bar to
drink herself into oblivion, which is where Laureen Andrews, the chief administrator of Lost Angeles, finds her.
Someone stole an invaluable box from Laureen, and she offers Kat a bargain. Find th at box, and Kat won 't be visited
by her Torment anymore. This means one more case for Kat that will lead her to the gambling dens, bars, and hangouts
of the sinners of Lost Angeles. The danger and violence only intensifies, as Kat's search could change the fate of the
world. VERDICT Logan's (Apocalypse Cow) vision of hell is violent, gritty, and filled with evil. Incorporated into an
action-packed mystery, this extreme universe should delight fans of Simon R. Green or Jim Butcher's "Dresden Files."-
-LH
COZY CORNER
* Peden, Peggy O'Neal. Your Killin' Heart. Minotaur: St. Martin's. May 2017. 272p. ISBN 9781250122681. $25.99;
ebk. ISBN 9781250122698. M
When Nashville travel agent Campbell Hale learns a friend is heading to the home of a country music icon, she begs to
go along. Jake Miller lived fast, loved hard, and died young. Although Campbell and her lawyer friend are only there to
pick up some paintings from Jake's widow. Campbell sneaks off to explore the house and finds a woman resting in bed.
It's only when Hazel Miller is reported dead that Campbell realizes she may have seen the victim. Of course, the police
will investigate. But Campbell knows people in the music industry and had met a few of the suspects, so she decides to

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do a little sleuthing herself. Her interview techniques may leave something to be desired, but when she's threatened,
she and Oct. Sam Davis realize the killer knows Campbell. Winner of the Malice Domestic Best First Traditional
Mystery Novel Competition, Peden's debut vividly captures the ashville music scene and the city's Southern
atmosphere. Campbell is an charming amateur sleuth, loyal to a fault. VERDICT Fans of Tonya Kappes's books and
readers who enjoy humorous whodunits with a strong sense of place will find this one delightful. [Sec Prepub Alert,
11/14/16.]--LH
Shea, Susan C. love & Death in Burgundy. Minotaur: St. Martin's. (French Village, Bk. 1). May 2017. 288p. ISBN
9781250113009. $24.99; ebk. ISBN 9781250113016. M
Katherine Goff is an insecure American expat living ill Reigny-sur-Canne, a small village in France' Burgundy region.
Desperate to be accepted by her neighbors, she tirelessly inserts herself into local activities. But, it's the death of the
aged chateau owner that stirs up conversation. The official line is that the old man just slipped on the stairs. But as the
investigation goes on, rumors fly: Albert was killed by Nazi assassins, tourists, or vagabonds. While Katherine wants to
quash the gossip, the teen daughter of the town thief not only spies on everyone, she also holds the key to the secrets
behind the old man's death. VERDICT Shea (Mixed Up with Murder) launches a cozy series that richly details life in a
small French village. The outlandish antics of the eccentric locals add to the humor. Suggest to fans of Rhys Bowen's
early "Evan Evans" series for the humor, the characters, and the charming setting.--LH
COLLECTIONS & ANTHOLOGIES
Miraculous Mysteries: Locked-Room Murders and Impossible Crimes. Poisoned Pen. (British Library Crime Classics,
Bk. 7). Jun. 2017. 358p. ed. by Martin Edwards. ISBN 9781464207440. pap. $12.95. M
Series editor Edwards (The Golden Age if Murder) turns to locked-room mysteries for the latest collection of Golden
Age stories. Included in this collection are pieces by recognizable names such as Arthur Conan Doyle, G.K.
Chesterton. Dorothy L. Sayers, and Margery Allingham. The seemingly impossible locked-room murders are solved
often by the authors' best-known characters, who are usually clever and explain their logical conclusions. Edwards
provides a wealth of background information in brief sketches before each story. VERDICT Although a few tales show
their age with their flowery style, readers who appreciate careful plot development, slightly unusual detectives, and
logical denouements will relish this volume. For lovers of Agatha Christie, John Dickson Carr, and other masters of
that period.--LH
ADDITIONAL MYSTERY
* Horowitz, Anthony. Magpie Murders. Harper. Jun. 2017.464p. ISBN 97B0062645227. $27.99; ebk. ISBN
9780062645241. M
Horowitz's fourth adult novel (after Trigger Mortis) presents two mysteries for the price of one, crafting a classic
whodunit within a modern mystery. Susan Ryeland is an editor for a small press whose success rests on the oldfashioned
mystery novels of Alan Conway. Returning from escorting an author on a book tour, she finds Alan's latest
Atticus Pund manuscript, Alagpie Murders, on her desk. Upon reaching the novel's end, she finds that the last chapter
is missing. When she informs her boss, Charles Clover, he tells her that Alan has committed suicide. Susan searches for
the lost chapter, and in the process comes to believe that Alan's death was no suicide. Using clues buried in the
manuscript, she investigates his death. While Susan and the fictional Atticus are very different characters, they use
similar techniques to tease out the clues and hints to bring each mystery to resolution. VERDICT Both stories might
stand alone, but combined, they result in a delightful puzzle. Fans of Agatha Christie and the BBC's Midsomer
Murders and Foyle's War (both written by Horowitz) will relish this double mystery. [See Prepub Alert, 12/1 2/16; "Ed
itors' Spring Picks," LJ 2/15/17.]--Terry Lucas, Shelter Island P.L., NY
By Lesa Holstine & Ann Chambers Theis
Lesa Holstine is Collections and Technical Services Department Manager, Evansville Vanderburgh Public Library
System, Evansville, IN. Ann Chambers Theis is Collection Management Librarian, Henrico County Public Library, VA
DEBUT OF THE MONTH
* Mukherjee, Abir. A Rising Man. Pegasus Crime. May 2017. 400p. ISBN 9781681774169. $25.95; ebk. ISBN
9781681774770. M

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[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]
Haunted by the death of his wife and experiences in the Great War, Capt. Sam Wyndham, a former Scotland Yard
detective, accepts a job with the imperial police force in 1919 Calcutta. He has no time to acclimate to his new
surroundings before the body of a British official is found near a brothel with a note stuffed in his mouth demanding
that the British leave India. The ramifications of the murder increase the destabilizing pressure from insurgents
demanding greater Indian autonomy. Sam is assisted by the arrogant Inspector Digby, who had been bypassed for a
promotion to Sam's job, and Sgt. Surendranath (Surrender-not) Banerjee, one of the few Indians working in the CID.
Their investigations take them from grimy jails to elegant mansions and attract irritation and interference from the
upper echelons of the British Raj. VERDICT Winner of the Harvill Seeker Daily Telegraph crime writing competition,
this stirring, entertaining first mystery bursts with lively, colorful historical details about colonial Calcutta. The
developing relationship between Wyndham and Banerjee is a delight. A fine start to a new crime series that will attract
readers of M.J. Carter and Tarquin Hall.--ACT
QUOTABLE
"Self-irony suited people on the dole and psychiatric patients alike. Without it, we were not only crazy but devoid of
charm, and then not even the professional caregivers would touch us with a barge pole."--Agnete Friis, What My Body
Remembers
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]
SERIES LINEUP
Brett, Simon. Mrs Pargeter's Public Relations: A Mrs Pargeter Mystery. Creme de la Crime: Severn House. Apr. 2017.
176p. ISBN 97B1780290928. $28.99; ebk. ISBN 9781780108476.M
Mrs. Pargeter's dearly departed husband left her well off. Attending a charity event for a feline welfare organization,
she meets a woman who claims to be the late Lionel Pargeter's sister. When Mr. Pargeter's little black book of
"business" contacts disappears and one of the organization's members is found dead, Mrs. Pargeter must act to preserve
the memory of her supposedly saintly husband. This eighth series entry follows Mrs Pargeter's Principle.--ACT
Copperman, E.J. Edited Out: A Mysterious Detective Mystery. Crooked Lane. May 2017. 336p. IS8N 9781683311300.
$25.99; ebk. ISBN 9781683311317. M
Mystery author Rachel Goldman's fictional character Duffy Madison is a missing-persons consultant. Her latest book is
giving her some trouble since a real-life police consultant is claiming to be Duffy, insisting that she created him
because, like the Duffy of her books, he has no memory before five years earlier. An investigation into his past
identifies a man who, like her character, went to the same high school, had the same initials, and disappeared five years
ago. Duffy is convinced he was murdered. This sequel to Written Off features the same witty, dry humor.--LH
Knowles, Mike. Rock Beats Paper: A Wilson Mystery. ECW. May 2017. 296p. ISBN 9781770411012. $14.95; ebk.
ISBN 9781773050294. M
The thief known only as Wilson is offered a tantalizing target for a heist--a million dollars' worth of jewels. Two
attempts to nab the gems are stymied, and it becomes apparent another talented and hard-nosed thief has also targeted
Wilson's prize. With its ruthless antihero, high-octane action, and spare prose, this fifth series outing (after Never Play
Another Man's Game) is a capable caper novel for fans of Richard Stark's "Parker" mysteries and Garry Disher's
"Wyatt" series.--ACT
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]
Mathews, Francine. Death on Nantucket: A Merry Folger Mystery. Soho Crime. Jun. 2017. 288p. ISBN
97B1616957377. $24.95; ebk. ISBN 9781616957384. M
Nineteen years after the last Merry Folger mystery (1998's Death in a Cold Hard light), Mathews returns to her
Nantucket, MA-based series with a fifth adventure. Detective Folger has a new police chief watching over her shoulder
as she investigates the death of a woman only discovered on the July Fourth holiday weekend when her family returns
to the island. Acomplex mystery involving secrets, a dysfunctional family, and Folger's own insecurities.--LH

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Trinidad Noir: The Classics. Akashic. (Noir). May 2017.248p. ed. by Earl Lovelace & Robert Antoni. ISBN
9781617754357. pap. $14.95. M
Pairing nicely with 2008's Trinidad Nair, this retrospective collection features classic stories from writers who were
part of the literary wave that crested with Trinidadian independence in 1962. Notable authors include Derek Walcott,
V.S. Naipaul, Elizabeth Nunez, Shani Mootoo, and the volume's editors. Holds strong appeal for fans of noirand
literary writing.--ACT
Wechsler, Pamela. The Graves. Minotaur: St. Martin's. (Abby Endicott, Bk. 2). May 2017. 304p. ISBN
9781250077882.$25.99; ebk. IS8N 9781466890220. M
Abby Endicott, chief of the Boston District Attorney's homicide unit, returns to work too soon after recuperating from
the drama in Mission Hill. Investigating her first serial killer case, she discovers that the victims, all college women,
each had a history with a senator's son. Combining well-developed characters and court scenes, this is a solid choice
for readers of Linda Fairstein's legal mysteries.--LH
Ziskin, James W. Cast the First Stone: An Ellie Stone Mystery. Seventh St: Prometheus. Jun. 2017. 290p. ISBN
9781633882812. pap.$15.95; ebk. ISBN 9781633882829. M
Reporter Ellie Stone heads to Hollywood to profile Tony Eberle, a local boy from upstate New York who's appearing in
his first movie. Yet, Tony was fired for not appearing on set the same day the producer of the film is found murdered.
Now he's disappeared, and Ellie is desperate for a story. Although a little naive when it comes to 1962 Hollywood,
Ellie's savvy enough to track down a killer. Hollywood politics, sexual innuendo, a little humor, and a clever sleuth all
combine in this fifth (after Heart of Stone) series adventure from Edgar Award nominee Ziskin.--LH
Source Citation   (MLA 8th
Edition)
Holstine, Lesa, and Ann Chambers Theis. "Mystery." Library Journal, 1 Apr. 2017, p. 63+. General OneFile,
go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?
p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA488260004&it=r&asid=9ce15f706a192921b1571807c5d4f072.
Accessed 2 Nov. 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A488260004

• The Telegraph
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  HOME»CULTURE»BOOKS»CRIME WRITING COMPETITION
  Abir Mukherjee is a worthy winner
  After sifting through hundreds of entries, the judges of the Telegraph Harvill Secker crime writing competition chose a shortlist of six and then one outstanding winner
  Telegraph Harvill Secker crime writing competition winner: Abir Mukherjee
  Telegraph Harvill Secker crime writing competition winner: Abir Mukherjee Photo: Hilary Stock (hilarystock.co.uk)
  By Jon Stock7:00AM GMT 15 Feb 2014
  When the Telegraph Harvill Secker crime writing prize launched last July, we had no idea what sort of response it would receive. The competition offered one of the biggest prizes in crime writing – a £5,000 book deal with Harvill Secker – but the criteria were challenging. Applicants were asked to write the first 5,000 words of a crime novel that had an international element. We also wanted to see a detailed synopsis of the rest of the book. Committing to a whole novel is no small undertaking, but the response was impressive. More than 400 people put pen to paper and sent in their offerings via our dedicated website (telegraph.co.uk/crimecomp). Many had clearly taken advantage of our online video masterclasses, including two by Jo Nesbo.
  After the competition closed at the end of November, the judging process began. 427 entries were whittled down to just six and the panel of judges (senior crime editor Alison Hennessey and publicity director Bethan Jones from Harvill Secker; Richard Reynolds, veteran crime fiction buyer at Heffers Bookshop in Cambridge; literary agent Sam Copeland from Rogers, Coleridge & White; and me, a thriller writer representing the Telegraph) assembled over lunch in Soho to choose our winner. Reassuringly, we all agreed on our top two books but it took longer to decide between them as both were exceptional in very different ways.
  Ultimately, A Rising Man by Abir Mukherjee was our unanimous winner. Its confident, assured opening, set in India in 1919, deals with the aftermath of a brutal murder of a British burra sahib in the backstreets of Calcutta. Was the killing politically motivated by the Quit India movement? Capt Sam Wyndham of the Imperial Police Force, a former Scotland Yard detective scarred by the Great War, is asked to investigate. Described as “a good man upholding a corrupt system”, Wyndham is assisted by the equally conflicted Sgt Bannerjee, who is torn between his belief in British justice and the Empire’s repression of his own people.
  “I was delighted by the high standard shown in the entries we received for the competition, but A Rising Man was a very worthy winner,” says Hennessey. “Abir’s opening chapters are beautifully written, atmospheric and intelligent, with a great setting and a wonderfully wry sense of humour throughout. In Capt Wyndham, we have a main character who will sit happily on the Harvill Secker bookshelves alongside Henning Mankell’s Kurt Wallander and Jo Nesbo’s Harry Hole. I can’t wait to read the whole book, and I’m delighted to be publishing it.”
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  Mukherjee, 40, lives in London with his wife and child, but he was brought up in Glasgow. After graduating from the LSE, he spent 20 years pursuing “a spectacularly dull career in finance”. He began writing A Rising Man in September and signed up for NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) in November, by the end of which he had written 60,000 words.
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  “I was in shock for ten minutes when I heard that I had won,” a delighted Mukherjee says. “Then I told my wife and she’s been in shock ever since. I’m still stunned and very grateful. I have always wanted to write a novel but this is the first time I’ve ever shown any of my writing to anyone other than family and friends.”
  Our highly commended runner-up is Susanna Drury, author of Trust, which begins with one of the most gripping and unsettling openings I have ever read. The other four shortlisted authors are: Guy Bolton (author of The Pictures), Josephine Jarman (Patience), Janet Olearski (Foreigner) and Elle Wild (Strange Things Done).
  Read the opening of A Rising Man

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• Criminal Element
  https://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2017/05/review-a-rising-man-by-abir-mukherjee
  Word count: 1027

  QUOTE:
  Watching these characters navigate the rich world Abir Mukherjee has created in A Rising Man is a satisfying reading experience.
  Review: A Rising Man by Abir Mukherjee
  JENNY MALONEY

  A Rising Man by Abir Mukherjee is the 1st novel in the enticing new historical Sam Wyndham crime series set in colonial-era Calcutta, India, where a newly arrived Scotland Yard detective is confronted with the murder of a British official.

  1919. Scotland Yard detective Sam Wyndham survived the trenches of the Great War but lost his wife Sarah to influenza. He sinks into a depression that he medicates with opium. So, when the opportunity to head to Calcutta, India, presents itself, Wyndham has nothing to lose. He accepts a position on the police force—and immediately lands in the middle of a politically charged murder investigation.

  Alexander MacCauley, an aid to the Lieutenant Governor of Calcutta, is discovered mutilated in a gutter just outside a brothel. And, as if that situation were not scandalous enough, there is a note found in his mouth: “No more warnings. English blood will run in the streets. Quit India!” Now, Wyndham has to find the murderer before outright rebellions breaks out.

  A Rising Man is Abir Mukherjee’s debut novel and a Harvill Secker/Daily Telegraph crime-writing competition winner. The first of a series, this opener focuses on Detective Sam Wyndham. The novel is filled with fascinating historical detail, intriguing crime, and a minefield of political pitfalls the characters must navigate. Mukherjee manages to balance all of these elements.

  The key to this balance is Sam Wyndham. As a newcomer to Calcutta, Wyndham provides a window into this new place and time. Wyndham himself is a fairly traditional investigator—white, educated, escaping a tragic past, and yet focused on the crime in front of him—so in some ways he’s an archetype the reader will immediately recognize. But Mukherjee moves Wyndham beyond the “typical” by creating a sense of verisimilitude in the moment. Mukherjee, with a very good eye/imagination for historical—and sometimes anatomical—detail, makes Wyndham’s life experiences tangible to the reader:

  The body lay twisted, face up and half submerged in an open sewer. Throat cut, limbs at unnatural angles, and a large brown bloodstain on a starched white dress shirt. Some fingers were missing from one mangled hand and an eye had been pecked out of its socket—this final indignity the work of the hulking black crows who even now kept angry vigil from the rooftops above. All in all, not a very dignified end for a burra sahib.

  Still, I’d seen worse.

  Finally, there was the note. A bloodstained scrap of paper, balled up and forced into his mouth like a cork in a bottle. That was an interesting touch, and a new one to me. When you think you’ve seen it all, it’s nice to find that a killer can still surprise you.

  Mukherjee’s India feels very truthful too. The colonial world is well-drawn, with every side represented and conflicting with one another. The historical moment serves as a fascinating complication in Wyndham’s immediate investigation. Not everyone is happy to have the white men policing their country. And the British have no tolerance for civil unrest—disobedience of any kind, civil or otherwise, is unacceptable.

  In fact, the only thing worse than a white man investigating Indians is an Indian working for the British and investigating Indians. Enter Surendranath “Surrender-not” Banerjee. He’s a new sergeant in the department. He’s worked hard to be here, and he’s surrounded by people who underestimate him or belittle him.

  He isn’t allowed into several places because of his race—obviously a difficulty when you’re supposed to be investigating a crime. However, Banerjee isn’t one to be stopped. There are plenty of places he can’t go, but there are plenty of places where he’s the only one who doesn’t stick out like a sore, white thumb—places like nighttime in Black Town, where he has to think quick to hide his white fellow-officers:

  The sight of two sahibs wandering through Bagbazar at this time of night would have generated as much unwanted interest as the car, possibly more. So we moved surreptitiously, taking advantage of the darkness. Or rather Digby and I did. Surrender-not, without the need to mask his appearance, walked comfortably in plain sight a few paces ahead of us, making sure the path was clear. I could have sworn the sergeant was taking some perverse pleasure in being able to walk freely in the street while we Englishmen were forced to skulk in the shadows.

  …

  The bicycles came closer, almost in line with Banerjee. Just before they drew level with him, the sergeant seemed to have an idea. He raised a foot and stamped it down heavily on the tail of one of the dogs. The animal let out a shriek of pain and bolted down the lane as if electrocuted, straight into the path of the oncoming cyclists. He hit one at full pelt, knocking the rider a clean ten feet across his handlebars. The other dogs, roused by their comrade’s howls, immediately rushed forward, surrounding the riders and barking furiously. While Banerjee went to the aid of the stricken fellows, Digby and I took advantage of the ensuing chaos to hurry past unnoticed.

  Watching these characters navigate the rich world Abir Mukherjee has created in A Rising Man is a satisfying reading experience. Wyndham’s hunt for MacCauley’s murderer takes him through the labyrinth of a government recovering from world war, a tangle of greedy businessmen trying to turn a fast buck, and through interwoven groups of resistance fighters—all of which keep the pages turning. Both Sam Wyndham and Surrender-not Banerjee are two creatively developed characters who are more than capable of carrying readers through Calcutta for many books to come.

• Express
  http://www.express.co.uk/entertainment/books/823032/A-Necessary-Evil-Abir-Mukherjee-review
  Word count: 303

  QUOTE:
  writes beautifully, bringing the colourful kingdom of Sambalpore to vivid life and taking the reader on a highly entertaining journey to unearth the dark secrets at its core, with unexpected twists on the way to a satisfying finale.
  A Necessary Evil by Abir Mukherjee review: Entertaining journey to unearth dark secrets

  WHEN the heir to the throne of Sambalpore is assassinated in the presence of Captain Sam Wyndham and Sergeant “Surrender-Not” Banerjee, they vow to catch the killer.

  By JON COATES
  07:25, Fri, Jun 30, 2017 | UPDATED: 07:33, Fri, Jun 30, 2017

  Book jacketPH
  A NECESSARY EVIL by Abir Mukherjee Harvill Secker, £12.99

  So Wyndham and Surrender-Not travel to Sambalpore, a kingdom made wealthy by its diamond mines, and find it riven by suppressed conflict.

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  What’s more, Prince Adhir’s passion for modernising Sambalpore – and his choice of mistress – have upset many people, not just the religious extremists blamed for killing him.

  They also find that his younger brother, in line to be the next maharajah, is a feckless playboy, leaving other members of the palace to wield power.

  Under pressure from their bosses to return to Calcutta, Wyndham and Surrender-Not must find the murderer before he finds them.

  Top ten facts about books
  Play Video
  This second novel in the series takes place in 1920, a year after Mukherjee’s cracking debut A Rising Man.

  He writes beautifully, bringing the colourful kingdom of Sambalpore to vivid life and taking the reader on a highly entertaining journey to unearth the dark secrets at its core, with unexpected twists on the way to a satisfying finale.

• Crime FIction Lover
  https://crimefictionlover.com/2017/05/a-necessary-evil/
  Word count: 833

  QUOTE:
  As a first-person narrator, Wyndham is perceptive and charming. At times he plays his clueless Englishman card,
  Wyndham’s cultural blind spots are a clever narrative device for Mukherjee, who uses them to inform us about cultural, political, and religious matters that impinge on the investigation.
  A NECESSARY EVIL
  May 31, 2017 Written by Vicki Weisfeld Published in iBook, Kindle, Print, Reviews 2 comments Permalink
  Necessary Evil, Abir MukherjeeWritten by Abir Mukherjee — Reading this fast-paced police procedural is like a trip back in time to the British Raj, mid-1920. Calcutta-based Imperial Police Force Captain Sam Wyndham and his Sergeant Surendranath Banerjee – whom Wyndham insists on calling Surrender-not – find themselves embroiled in a complicated and politically tricky investigation.

  An old school acquaintance of the Sergeant’s, Crown Prince Adhir Singh Sai of Sambalpore, is visiting Calcutta to attend the formation of a Chamber of Princes, another in His Majesty’s Government’s urgent stratagems to dampen the population’s growing sentiment supporting Home Rule. While Wyndham and Banerjee are riding in a car with the Prince, he tells them he’s received death threats back home in the form of anonymous notes. Practically on cue, a man dressed in the saffron robes of a Hindu priest steps out and shoots him dead. The two policemen investigate and find the attacker, who commits suicide rather than be taken.

  Further steps in the investigation, it seems, will have to take place in Sambalpore, but as one of the larger and more important Princely States, Sambalpore is administered under the auspices of the Maharajah, not the colonial government. The Sergeant’s acquaintanceship with the prince provides an excuse for the pair of them to go to Sambalpore for the funeral and – strictly unofficially, of course – see what they can find out.

  In an author’s note Mukherjee says there was an actual princely state of Sambalpur southwest of Calcutta, with a several thousand-year history. It was notable as a place where both diamonds and coal were prevalent, commodities that figure in the plot. Carbon in its various forms has made the fictional Maharaja of Sambalpore the fifth richest man in India, enabling the lavish lifestyle Wyndham and Surrender-not enjoy as his guests.

  Sambalpore is also a center of the worship of Lord Jagannath, an avatar of Vishnu. The English word juggernaut, which refers to a merciless and unstoppable force, derives from the temple cars used in worshiping Jagannath and metaphorically in this novel, to the forces that ally to secure Sambalpore’s future.

  As a first-person narrator, Wyndham is perceptive and charming. At times he plays his clueless Englishman card, as in the sobriquet for his sergeant. He good-naturedly criticises their peon for not managing to master English, despite years of service, never turning that linguistic mirror on himself. The only issue he seems unable to get past is the idea of an Englishwoman involved with an Indian man. Meanwhile, he’s adopted some local customs quite whole-heartedly, including the rituals and pleasures of opium-smoking.

  Wyndham’s cultural blind spots are a clever narrative device for Mukherjee, who uses them to inform us about cultural, political, and religious matters that impinge on the investigation. An example is the impossibility of the men’s interviewing the Maharaja’s wives or concubines. Here Wyndham is aided by his would-be lady-love Annie Grant, who asks the questions for him.

  Annie is just one of the distinctive and interesting characters Mukherjee has created, and you find yourself rooting for Wyndham’s success, despite his awkwardness in dealing with her. His competition is formidable, though, including Prince Adhir’s younger brother Punit, the soon-to-be Maharaja.

  The first wife of the ailing Maharaja believes Wyndham to be a seeker of truth (like one of Mukerjee’s own favorite fictional detectives, Byomkesh Bakshi, revealed in this interview), and tells him that once he’s found it, he should be satisfied. He isn’t though, hoping in addition for justice and (in the case of Annie and Punit) for the truth to be other than it appears. The Maharini counsels him that justice is a matter for the gods.

  As the plot unfolds, the complexity of Sambalpore palace life, the royal family, and the ambitious civil servants is spread out before you, and it is difficult to see how matters will resolve. Yet, time is short. The English diplomat stationed in Sambalpore, who has a deliciously gossipy wife, is determined to get rid of him and Surrender-not, and if he gets word to the Viceroy, the two policemen will be on the next train north to Calcutta.

  A Necessary Evil follows on from Abir Mukherjee’s debut, A Rising Man. For something more modern set in India, you could also try Vaseem Khan’s The Strange Disappearance of a Bollywood Star.

  Harvill Secker
  Print/Kindle/iBook
  £7.99

• Crime Review
  
  Word count: 552

  QUOTE:
  background is an exciting recreation of India at the time it was set,
  A Necessary Evil
  by Abir Mukherjee
  India 1920: Captain Wyndham and Sergeant Banerjee of the Calcutta police force visit the native state of Sambalpore to investigate the assassination of a Maharajah’s son.
  Review
  Captain Wyndham and ‘Surrender-Not’ (the closest Wyndham can get to his sergeant’s first name) Banerjee are in Calcutta with Prince Adhir of Sambalpore when the Prince is cut down by an assassin. The culprit makes off. Prompt action enables the detectives to find him, and although he dies before he can be questioned, he carries the marks of an adherent of Jagannath, one of the avatars of Vishnu. It is thus believed that the reason for the attack lies in Sambalpore, where Jagannath is much revered.

  The government of the Raj are anxious that there should be no disruption to the ongoing negotiation with the many native states to create a ‘Chamber of Princes’ which it is hoped will assuage a growing clamour for home rule. Wyndham and Banerjee are therefore directed to accompany Adhir’s body back to Sambalpore for the funeral, and to discreetly investigate the reason for the murder. On arrival, they find the Maharajah fully supportive, and set to work.

  Several motives suggest themselves. The Maharajah is old and ailing, and the prospect of Adhir inheriting may have upset those who disliked his untraditional style, and his foreign mistress. His brother Prince Punit may be making a bid for power. There is also the matter of the possible sale of Sambalpore’s diamond mines to a Western company, in which some members of the court look to have a vested interest.

  The efforts of Wyndham and Surrender-Not gradually uncover the way the tiny but independent state operates, but the prime mover behind the assassination remains elusive. Wynham goes tiger-hunting on the back of an elephant, and spends time in closely-supervised visits to the zenana, home to the Mararajah’s wives, concubines and several hundred other women. Eventually the truth is revealed, but whether Wyndham will be able to achieve justice is another matter.

  As the author reveals in a note, the kingdom of Sambalpore did exist, albeit under the control of the East India Company as far back as 1849, and the diamond mines and the reverence for Jagannath were a matter of fact. Just how far the author manages to convey the atmosphere of a nominally independent state in 1920 is for the reader to judge, but the skulduggery and competition for influence is certainly something which appears in non-fiction accounts of such places.

  This is the second in the Sam Wyndham series. The background is an exciting recreation of India at the time it was set, but Wyndham himself sometimes seems a little too excitable. His opium addiction gives him an exotic tinge; cast against your typical stolid ex-Scotland Yard detective he at least has the benefit of novelty.
  Reviewed 24 June 2017 by Chris Roberts
  Chris Roberts is a retired manager of shopping centres in Hong Kong, and now lives in Bristol, primarily reading.
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