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Smoke and Ashes: A Novel
Smoke and Ashes: A Novel
Smoke and Ashes: A Novel
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Smoke and Ashes: A Novel

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

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Captain Sam Wyndham and his sidekick Surrender-Not Banerjee return in this prize-winning historical crime series set in 1920s Calcutta.

India, 1921. Haunted by his memories of World War I, Captain Sam Wyndham is battling a serious addiction to opium that he must keep secret from his superiors in the Calcutta police force.

When Sam is summoned to investigate a grisly murder, he is stunned at the sight of the body: he’s seen this before. Last night, in a drug addled haze, he stumbled across a corpse with the same ritualistic injuries. It seems like there’s a deranged killer on the loose. Unfortunately for Sam, the corpse was in an opium den—and revealing his presence there could cost him his career.

With the aid of his quick-witted Indian Sergeant, Surrender-Not Banerjee, Sam must try to solve the two murders, all the while keeping his personal demons secret, before somebody else turns up dead.
LanguageEnglish
PublisherPegasus Crime
Release dateMar 5, 2019
ISBN9781643131153
Smoke and Ashes: A Novel
Author

Abir Mukherjee

Abir Mukherjee is the author of the award-winning Wyndham & Banerjee series of crime novels set in Raj-era India. He has won the CWA Historical Dagger and the Wilbur Smith Award for Adventure Writing, and has been shortlisted for the CWA Gold Dagger, the HWA Gold Crown, and the Edgar Allan Poe Award. His novels include A Rising Man, A Necessary Evil, Smoke and Ashes, and Death in the East. Abir grew up in Scotland and now lives in Surrey, England.

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Rating: 3.9929577957746476 out of 5 stars
4/5

71 ratings6 reviews

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  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I have to be honest and say that it took me a long time to get into Smoke and Ashes, and it's got everything to do with me and nothing to do with the book because I really enjoy this series. The book starts out with Wyndham on a bender, and I have very little patience for fictional characters addicted to alcohol or drugs. Once I'd reminded myself over and over again that Mukherjee's A Necessary Evil made my Best Reads List of 2018, I picked the book up again and began to read. I'm glad I did.Wyndham is no fool. He realizes that--with that first body he stumbled across in the opium den and the subsequent police raid-- he's been set up. Someone knows of his addiction, and that someone is using it against him. Wyndham gets himself together to wean himself off the drugs. Once he started avoiding opium dens, my enjoyment of the story increased, and so did the pace of the book.The mystery and the characters are so strong, but I carried away two major things from reading Smoke and Ashes. One, Mukherjee is wonderful at depicting how unsettled India was in the 1920s-- and how good the British Raj was at making decisions that kept the Indians riled up. They brought about their own doom. The second thing that really impressed itself upon me was what an uncomfortable position Wyndham's Indian sergeant is in. No one in his family wanted him to join the Raj's police force, and many family members shun him. But Surrender-Not is as stubborn as the British mispronunciation of his given name. He is good at his job. He believes in his job. He also believes India should be free from British rule. Like I said, his position is not an easy one.If you enjoy historical mysteries with strong stories, strong characters, and a setting so vivid that you're drawn right into the thick of things, you can't go wrong with Abir Mukherjee's Wyndham and Banerjee series. I also find that these books make excellent companion pieces to Sujata Massey's Perveen Mistry historical series that take place during the same time frame, so keep those in mind, too!
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This third instalment was rather sad and downbeat, I think. Sam's opium addiction is ramping up. Gandhi's campaign for independence is making life difficult for Surrender-not. Sam's hopeless pining for Annie (which I find inexplicable and annoying) pops up again. The plot is more thriller than mystery, and dragged a little in places for me. I hope the next book in this series is funnier and I want things to improve for poor Sam.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Move over Nordic Noir, Indian Noir surprises!My second reading of Abir Mukherjee's murder mystery novel set against related socioeconomic and political conditions in 1920's India, continues to enthrall. I am totally smitten with the goings on of former Scotland Yard detective Captain Sam Wyndham and his co policeman, Surendranath (Surrender-Not) Bannerjee As always Mukherjee's knowledge of political events in 1920's Calcutta is well grounded.Sam's struggle with opium addiction (a result of his psychological traumas of the Great War) continues. Not that it slows down his thinking processes but it does mean that sometimes he's in the wrong place at the wrong or right time depending on your point of view. This time Sam realizes that a ritualistic seeming murder is something he's witnessed already, in fact the night before at an opium den. And that's not a story your going to relate to your colleagues! A further murder of a nurse that has puzzling similarities and the take over of the investigation of the latter by military intelligence, has Sam and Bannerjee at a loss. All this against the background of a Calcutta preparing for a visit by the Prince of Wales--a security nightmare.Once again a tautly charged crime thriller that drew me in and has left me wanting more! Bring on the fourth novel soon, please! A NetGalley ARC
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Well done, Mr. Mukherjee. What makes his books stand out is the thoughtful, vivid history of a time and place, as seen through the eyes of one Anglo man - eyes that are gradually opening to the evils and the triumphs of British-ruled India. Ethnicity, culture, politics and belief systems all come into play as Gandhi's leadership is bringing the impoverished masses to a new awareness of their power. Wyndham's consciousness is beginning to be raised, as his opium habit is spiralling him downward. The quiet, brave, smart Sergeant Banerjee is dealing with his own family and political conflicts. Mukherjee finds fascinating - and sometimes horrifying - historical episodes to weave into his crime stories, which bring them a wider scope beyond just who murdered whom and why.

    Wyndham has a tendency to paint groups of people with a broad brush: Bengalis are talkers, Gurkhas are chillingly bold killers, Nepalese or Assamese all look a certain way. Given Mukherkee's mixed cultural background, I'm not quite sure how to take that. I really DO wish that Wyndham would stop referring to young women - independent, self-sufficient women running their own households or jobs - as "girls." But maybe that's just him, and he'll get over it. And maybe get over the irritating Annie Grant as well.

    Perfectly enjoyable; looking forward to #4.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Fantastic story, great writing, and a little dose of history thrown in. It's the best book I've read all year.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    It's a brilliant thriller that begins with an exciting chase scene and ends with an even more exciting one, involving England's Prince of Wales. Set in 1921 Calcutta, it's full of political unrest and intrigue. Captain Sam Wyndham of the Imperial Police with his faithful sergeant Banerjee investigate a series of grisly murders that lead them eventually to British military intelligence. All the while, Sam is struggling with his opium addition. I hope a sequel is coming soon.

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Smoke and Ashes - Abir Mukherjee

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