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Inspector Singh is pining away on sick leave after his adventures in Cambodia but his boss is not about to let him come back to work. His boredom is such that he agrees to accompany his wife to the wedding of a distant relative in India. When the bride-to-be disappears and her body is found burned to a crisp, he gets roped in by her rich and powerful grandfather to find out the truth. Was it suicide as it seems and if so, what were her reasons for it? But then, the grandfather is found dead and Inspector Singh decides to continue his investigation out of curiosity and as a favor to his Indian counterpart.
With a room full of colorful relatives and acquaintances, all with various degrees of interest in the deaths, he has his work cut out for him, especially with his wife nudging him at every turn to clear the family honor. As he progresses, the investigation's scope widens and provides a very satisfying plot involving local politics and customs. The characters are well defined and it is interesting to get a first hand view at Singh's conflicting reactions to the land of his ancestors and to the Sikhs still living there.
A few irritants come to mind, the biggest being the constant bickering between Inspector Singh and his wife. You can feel the strains of an arranged marriage where both members suspect that they could have done better. It soon gets tiresome. The reader also could use a lexicon for some Indian words scattered throughout the book. The meanings can be deduced from the context in which they are used, but it would have been nice to get a clearer description.
These are very minor points compared to the author's talent for bringing a whole culture to life without ever being tedious about it. One gets a better grasp of the various countries visited on this literary tour. Flint makes the reader feel like a stranger but never like a tourist. No mean feat. On top of being entertained, you come out of this book more knowledgeable about India, and specifically about Mumbai.
§ Nicole Leclerc is a native Montrealer, avid reader, long time reviewer and moderator of the 4MA online discussion group.
Reviewed by Nicole Leclerc, September 2013
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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