Catching Up on Book Reviews

 

Here I've been, chugging along posting just one book review per week. I know that you know that's just the tip of the iceberg, although I do admit to reading much less when Denis was in the hospital and our niece Karen was here. So... it's time to do a little catching up. 

These will be short reviews. I'll provide links to Amazon in each title in case you want to learn more about any of the books. Let's get started!

The Girl in Cell A by Vaseem Khan

eISBN: 9781399707725

Hodder & Stoughton, Ltd. © 2025

eBook, 515 pages

Standalone Thriller

Rating: D+

Source: Net Galley

My Thoughts: This standalone thriller is a departure for one of my favorite authors. 

Orianna Negi was convicted of murder at the age of seventeen. She's always maintained her innocence, even though she has dissociative amnesia. Released from prison on parole, she returns to Eden Falls to uncover the truth, no matter the cost.

At 515 pages, The Girl in Cell A needed some editing. There were too many twists, too many turns, too many about-faces, and the book's length gave me plenty of time to tire of them all. If I'd warmed up to Orianna, I might've enjoyed the book more, but she left me cold. So did the rich and powerful Wyclerc family. (I think I've reached my saturation point on entitled rich folk.) The only reason why I kept reading was to find out the truth. In that, I was just as stubborn as Orianna. 

 

The Irish Convict by M.J. Lee

ASIN: B0CFFDRJRD

M.J. Lee © 2023

eBook, 287 pages

Genealogical Mystery, #10 Jayne Sinclair

Rating: B+

Source: Purchased from Amazon.

My Thoughts: M.J. Lee's genealogical mysteries consistently impress me. With his main character, Jayne Sinclair, he consistently centers engrossing mysteries around puzzles that can be unearthed when researching family history. 

In The Irish Convict, Jayne is in lockdown in Australia, and she agrees to research a well-known family's history. It should be easy, but it isn't. I love watching this character uncover the truth. Having helped my grandmother and mother in researching our own family history, I also know that she's giving valuable tips to anyone who might want to do the same. As always, I'm looking forward to the next book in the series.

A Council of Dolls by Mona Susan Power

eISBN: 9780063281110

William Morrow © 2023

eBook, 304 pages

Multi-generational Fiction

Rating: B+

Source: Purchased from Amazon.

My Thoughts: A Council of Dolls covers almost two hundred years in the lives of Indigenous women, from the ancestral lands of the Lakota to twentieth-century Chicago. Readers learn of the lives of Sissy (born 1961), Lillian (born 1925), and Cora (born 1888) in part through the stories of the dolls they carried.

From life on their ancestral lands to Indian boarding schools to inner city Chicago, I found this book to be compulsive reading and, at times, emotionally draining. 

The Verifiers by Jane Pek

eISBN: 9780593313800

Vintage Books © 2022

eBook, 336 pages

Amateur Sleuth, #1 Claudia Lin

Rating: C+

Source: Purchased from Amazon.

My Thoughts: Claudia Lin is used to disregarding the expectations of her domineering Chinese mother, and she's certainly used to keeping secrets from everyone in the family. A lifelong mystery reader, Claudia believes she's landed her ideal job with Veracity, a referrals-only online-dating detective agency. When a client vanishes, Claudia breaks protocol to investigate and uncovers personal and corporate deceit.

I liked Claudia well enough; she has a penchant for comparing things to various books that I found enjoyable ("That man is harder to read than Finnegan's Wake"). I also enjoyed the insider's look at online dating services. But... there was something about the book that just didn't make me want to read more. 

City of Destruction by Vaseem Khan

eISBN: 9781399707671

Hodder & Stoughton © 2024

eBook, 359 pages

Historical Mystery, #5 Malabar House

Rating: B+

Source: Purchased from Amazon.

My Thoughts: After gunning down a man trying to assassinate the defense minister at a political rally, Detective Persis Wadia is tasked to hunt down the assassin's co-conspirators. Britain's MI6 immediately shunts her to the sidelines, but she rapidly picks up another case.

I really enjoy Khan's series set after India's Independence and the Partition. City of Destruction shows Persis learning a bit of spycraft as well as the relationship between Great Britain and India at this time. She's finally beginning to learn how to work as part of a team, but I am tiring of her knowingly running into danger without backup. Of course, this behavior can be laid at the feet of her fellow (male) officers, most of whom believe she has no business being there. This is a good, fast-paced read, even though it has a few too many (albeit excellent) similes.

Follow Me to Africa by Penny Haw

eISBN: 9781728295466

Sourcebooks Landmark © 2025

eBook, 304 pages

Historical Fiction, Standalone

Rating: A

Source: Purchased from Amazon.

My Thoughts: This dual-timeline historical novel was a match made in heaven for me. Inspired by the life of paleoanthropologist Dr. Mary Leakey, Follow Me to Africa moves from 1930s London to the Serengeti plains of 1980s Tanzania.

Seventeen-year-old Grace Clark's mother just died, and now she's been sent to help a father she barely knows on an archaeological dig at Olduvai Gorge. Here she meets the indomitable Mary Leakey, a scientist and rebel. With the help of Lisa the cheetah, Mary encourages Grace to think for herself, to choose what she wants to do before someone else does it for her, and she's stuck in a life she doesn't want. The friendship between Mary and Grace, the archaeology, the wildlife... marvelous. (And the Author's Notes and bibliography are must-reads.) I hadn't read a book by Penny Haw before, but now I'll be looking for more.

Am I all caught up now? Ummmm... nope! But I will get there eventually. Promise!

Did I tempt you with any of these books? Have you already read any of them? Which ones? What did you think of them? Inquiring minds would love to know!

Death of a Lesser God by Vaseem Khan

 

First Line: They say some crimes can never be forgiven.

 

In less than two weeks, James Whitby will hang. Sentenced to death for the murder of Fareed Mazumdar, a prominent lawyer and former Quit India activist, Whitby insists he is innocent but holds very little hope that a white man will receive justice in post-colonial India.

 

His father forces a new investigation into the killing, and Inspector Persis Wadia is forced to work the case. She will be taken from Bombay to the old colonial capital of Calcutta where she uncovers a possible link to a second murder that occurred during the Calcutta Killings of 1946.

 

Are the two cases connected? Is James Whitby really innocent, or is Persis merely postponing the inevitable? Can a white man receive justice in post-colonial India?

 

~

 

Inspector Persis Wadia wants nothing to do with taking a look into the case of convicted killer James Whitby. India was controlled by British "justice" for hundreds of years. Surely, turnabout is fair play? But higher-ups in the Bombay Police and the government realize that, if no one makes sure that Whitby is really guilty, then they are no better than the whites who ruled them for so long. Besides, if anything goes pear-shaped, who better to put in charge of the investigation than the only woman on the police force, the woman everyone wishes would just disappear? Persis is the perfect scapegoat. 

 

Author Vaseem Khan continues his enthralling Malabar House historical series with this fourth book, Death of a Lesser God. He never fails to enlighten me about the history of the area, be it India's fight for independence, the gut-wrenching Partition riots, or the horrific Bengali Famine of 1943. This fourth book centers on a sensitive subject: ensuring that the former white oppressors receive justice even though they did not dispense it themselves when they were in power. And... how can you scream at someone to GO HOME when they were born in India? "How can I go back to a place I've never been?" says more than one white character.

 

Inspector Persis Wadia is led by an overwhelming ambition to succeed in a career where she's not wanted. She is so convinced of her mission that she blindly puts others in danger. Fortunately, Persis realizes these deadly traits and knows she has to fight them. Watching her character struggle and develop is one of the strengths of this series. She must also deal with a personal learning curve when she's put in charge of mentoring Seema, a young woman who wants more for herself than a life in abject poverty. Fortunately, the love triangle Khan has created isn't taking center stage in the story, since I've never cared for those. However, the triangle does highlight a cultural difficulty. Life would be much easier if Persis accepted her Aunty Nussie's choice of Darius. Her strong attraction to white Archie Blackfinch could be much more dangerous.

 

As compelling as the story is, I did have a couple of problems with it. There was a bit of deus ex machina at the end with various elements popping up just in time to save the day. Although they had been mentioned tangentially beforehand, their timing was so impeccable that I couldn't resist a tiny eye roll. In addition, similes run amok through most of the book. Now I love a good simile, but when I start counting them, it's not a favorable sign. But those two small complaints aside, Death of a Lesser God is a good addition to Persis Wadia's story. I'm looking forward to what she does next.   

Death of a Lesser God by Vaseem Khan

eISBN: 9781399707626

Hodder & Stoughton © 2023

eBook, 376 pages

 

Historical Mystery, #4 Malabar House mystery

Rating: B+

Source: Purchased from Amazon.

The Lost Man of Bombay by Vaseem Khan

 

First Lines: March, 1950-- Tsangchokla Pass, Himalayan foothills. Have you lost your mind?

 

When the body of a white man is discovered frozen in a cave in the Himalayan foothills, he is christened the Ice Man by the media, and public interest runs high.

 

Inspector Persis Wadia investigates, trying to find out who the Ice Man is and why he was murdered. She soon pieces together clues left behind by the dead man that leads her straight into the heart of a conspiracy-- and more deaths.

 

~

 

The Lost Man of Bombay is the latest entry in one of my favorite historical series. Khan does an excellent job of portraying a post-World War II, post-Partition India remaking itself in its new era of independence. Persis Wadia has her first ride on an airplane as she searches for answers to the Ice Man's identity, but that's not all she has to contend with.

Her father has a new woman in his life, and Persis does not want to deal with it. The entire situation brings up too many memories... and too many questions about the future. Something else she does not want to deal with is Seema Desai, a young girl from the slums of Bombay whom she's supposed to mentor. And then there's Archie Blackfinch, the white forensics expert with whom she's fallen in love. Although I'd just as soon skip this romance, it does show that the prejudices of colonial India are still a significant factor in life there.

The mystery in The Lost Man of Bombay is excellent, and the book was powering its way to my Best Reads of 2022 list when everything came to a screeching halt. Persis had a "TSTL" (Too Stupid to Live) moment that disgusted me. She even knew she was being stupid and did it anyway. Yes, it showed her determination to succeed at all costs. Yes, it showed her bravery. Yes, it showed her tactlessness (once again). But oh how I hate those moments! Hopefully, she's learned from her experience and won't be so foolhardy in the future.

Despite her momentary lapse in judgment, The Lost Man of Bombay is an excellent read that immerses readers in a fascinating period of India's history in which the extraordinary Persis Wadia is carving a name for herself. I look forward to the next installment.

The Lost Man of Bombay by  Vaseem Khan

eISBN: 9781529341133

Hodder & Stoughton © 2022

eBook, 378 pages

 

Historical Mystery, #3 Persis Wadia mystery

Rating: A

Source: Purchased from Amazon. 

The Dying Day by Vaseem Khan

 

First Line: The dog watched her as she toiled up the steps.

 

When one of the world's great treasures-- a six-hundred-year-old copy of Dante's Divine Comedy-- as well as the manuscripts curator goes missing, the Bombay Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society calls in Inspector Persis Wadia. What she finds is a trail of cryptic clues that lead right to the first body.

As the death toll mounts, it becomes obvious that someone will do anything to possess the missing manuscript, and that someone doesn't care how many people die until this goal is reached.

~

 

After enjoying the first book in this series, Midnight at Malabar House, I couldn't wait to get my hands on The Dying Day. All but one part of the mystery kept me guessing, and I really can't go into what part it is or my reasoning behind how I knew because it would be giving too much away. One thing is certain: this book has a little something for all mystery lovers. Clues, codes, and ciphers for traditional mystery lovers as well as a harder edge and post-war darkness. All good stuff.

Khan assembles an interesting cast of characters which include the missing man, John Healy, various people who want the Divine Comedy manuscript for their own reasons, the president of the Asiatic Society, Neve Forrester, Archie Blackfinch, an English forensic scientist who is attracted to Persis, and Zubin Dalal, the charming man from her past. 

But The Dying Day is very much Persis Wadia's show. As Bombay's first female inspector, she is always having to prove herself, and it comes as a complete shock to her that organizations for women's rights think she is a role model. Give a speech? Are they nuts? We get to see her persistence as well as her ability to decipher codes. Her dedication as well as her temper. And we get to glimpse inside that walled-off heart of hers.

The Dying Day is a wonderful look at 1950s Bombay (Mumbai) and Persis Wadia is more than capable of holding my attention through (hopefully) many more books in this series.

The Dying Day by Vaseem Khan

eISBN: 9781529341072

Hodder & Stoughton © 2021

eBook, 400 pages

 

Historical Mystery, #2 Persis Wadia mystery

Rating: B+

Source: Net Galley

Midnight at Malabar House by Vaseem Khan

First Line: The call came in the deepest part of the night, the telephone's lusty urgency shattering the basement silence.

Bombay, New Year's Eve, 1949. India is at the threshold of a momentous new decade, a country looking to the future and wanting to put all memories of the bloody Partition behind it. Inspector Persis Wadia, India's first female police officer, is working the night shift at Malabar House, home to the city's most unwanted unit of police officers. She is mistrusted, sidelined, and consigned to the midnight shift.

Then the phone rings, and the murder of a prominent English diplomat-- the country's most sensational case-- falls right into her lap. Persis has this one chance to prove how good she is, and she is determined to succeed, regardless of the cost.

 I love Vaseem Khan's Baby Ganesh mystery series set in Mumbai, and I was eager to see what he could do with a historical mystery, especially one involving the first female police officer in India. Midnight at Malabar House introduces a character and a time period that I have to know more about. 

The horrors of the 1947 Partition loom large in this book, as they should considering the time in which it is set. The Partition was so momentous that its aftershocks are still being felt today, and the author talks about this a bit at the end of the book. 

The mystery here is deeply satisfying, but it is the character of Persis Wadia that holds center stage and refuses to turn loose. She is paired with Scotland Yard criminalist Archie Blackfinch, a relationship that should continue to prove increasingly interesting as the series progresses. Persis's wheelchair-bound father, Sam, owns a well-known bookshop in Bombay, and this is where Persis has grown up-- now with ever more frustrating visits from her Auntie Nussie who's determined to get Persis married off and away from all this police nonsense.

The main thing that makes Persis such a fascinating character is her ironclad sense of morality, her belief in the new India, and her youth. She has the pig-headed righteousness of youth, convinced that she's always right, convinced that her way is the moral-- and only-- way. She doesn't have a frivolous molecule in her body, and she certainly didn't inherit a humor gene. Persis could be an obnoxious character, but she's not. Her naïveté means that it never occurs to her that the reason why those powerful government men are content to let her head the investigation is because they are convinced that she's incapable of solving it. She's a mere woman after all! As she flings herself at one obstacle after another, we see that some of those sharp edges of hers are going to be worn down with time.

I am looking forward to watching Persis Wadia mature as a human and as a police officer, and I look forward to Vaseem Khan's next book in the series with a great deal of anticipation. For those of you who are familiar with Sujata Massey's excellent Perveen Mistry historical series, give Midnight at Malabar House a try. I think you're going to like it.

Midnight at Malabar House by Vaseem Khan
eISBN:9781473685499
Hodder & Stoughton © 2020
eBook, 329 pages

Historical Mystery, #1 Persis Wadia mystery
Rating: A-
Source: Net Galley