David J. Carter Puns

This is one of those books which kept me invested more for the setting than for the plot or the mystery. The story is set in early 19th century India, which itself lends the book a uniqueness, for I do not think there are many other books set in this period.

The book is, in essence, about the investigation of a mysterious disappearance of an author by a bumbling young officer, Avery, and his reticent, rebellious mentor, Blake. I found the latter to be the more interestingly written character, but unfortunately, the book is written entirely from Avery's perspective, and we never get into the head of the more interesting Blake.

In a book on the British invasion of India written by a Brit, I initially expected some 'outsider bias', but refreshingly, the author, through one of the protagonists, calls out the biases and double standards of the British East India Company, and also explains in an afternote how their skewed attitudes and misplaced understanding of the subcontinent led to their downfall in 1857 (that the British empire itself took another 90 years to leave India is a different story.)

As for the central mystery itself, it was not bad, but it was not the kind of reveal or resolution that would make one hold one's breath. It was not a twist that I saw coming, to be honest, but it wasn't one that made me jump out of my seat either. Still, it was well worth trudging through the 300+ pages for the descriptions of early 1800s India, of glittering native kings, chatty bazaars, British officers seated aloft elephants, the enigma of the 'thugs', the tensions between the East India company and the native rulers and people..

Though a few decades away, the book's setting gives a very good sense of what could have precipitated the coming of the Indian revolt of 1857. For the fantastic setting, I would happily recommend this book.

Not sure what happened, COVID?