This is the latest in Vaseem Khan's historical Malabar House mystery series featuring an Indian woman police detective, Persis Wadia, set in post-colonial India in 1950, experiencing all the teething difficulties and complexities of the largest fledgling democracy. Persis's personal life is a mess, she feels she cannot act on her feelings for police criminalist, Archie Blackfinch, over issues of race, societal hostility, and the fact that a married woman can no longer serve as a police officer in India. Her usual unusually close relationship with her wheelchair bound father, Sam, becomes a veritable quagmire as she struggles to accept his desire to get married. Then there is her boss, Superintendent of Police, Roshan Seth, insisting that she serve as a mentee to the young Seema Desai who wishes to become a police officer under the Bombay Slum Rehabilitation Programme, an idea she is hostile to, certain she lacks the skills to be a mentor.

Amidst this background of personal turmoil that she is not handling well, Persis finds herself working on 3 separate cases that are to prove to be dangerous and push her to her limits. In a Himalayan mountain cave near Dehra Dun, the frozen body of a murdered white man, aka The Ice Man, is discovered, it is not clear how long he has been there, but he is a white man and there is pressure to identify and find out who killed him. A prominent couple are found dead in bed at their home, Italian Stephen Renzi is bludgeoned to death, and his Indian wife, Leela Sinha, has her throat slit and then a German Catholic priest, Peter Grunewald, is killed with a similar MO to Renzi. The investigation is lent a sense of urgency when Persis's incompetent police colleague, Hemant Oberoi, arrests and extracts a confession from a man she is certain is innocent, but unless justice prevails, he will hang.

Persis follows all leads, and once again finds herself having to break a code in a story where it begins to emerge that all her cases appear to be connected. On a personal level, the flawed Persis is off kilter, she is an able, courageous and competent police officer, but she has none of the social and emotional skills that can oil life's everyday interactions, professional and personal. It makes me wonder if she is on the spectrum, because of this and her inability to accept and process changes in her father's life, so much so she comes across as unpleasant and irritating. This is a wonderfully plotted, complex, tense and suspenseful and twisty historical crime read with a great sense of location, the time period, the culture, and the social norms and expectations in India, particular with regard to women. This will appeal to those readers interested in the early days of India after independence, nicely blended with some intriguing mysteries. Many thanks to the publisher for an ARC.

Once again Vasem Kham has expertly blended social insight, politics, and solid thriller plotting in another entertaining post partition tale from Bombay in the company of Inspector Persis Wadia and Metropolitan Police criminalist Archie Blackfinch. This time around the story revolves around hidden treasure connected to the end of the second world war, kicked off by the discovery of an Ice man. Who was he? How did he die? And is there any connection to other deaths of Europeans? Is there a serial killer on the loose?

Alongside the main plot, as in previous outings, Persis' life - in particular, her relationships with Archie and her father are explored – the latter complicated this time around with his new found love interest. Whilst these bits do take you away from the main story they also add a human quality to characters as they show that we are all warts and all characters: even if we are the 'heroes', that doesn't mean we are not flawed ones – Persis' treatment of a new female intern is a perfect example of this.

Whilst possibly the weakest of the Malabar House series to date there is still more than enough to enjoy.

It's taken me a while to review this after finishing, mainly because I loved it on so many different levels. Story takes place in recently post-colonial India of the 1950s. The main character, Persis Wadia is India's first female Police Inspector, battling against a hugely chauvinistic culture. There's so many different levels to appreciate in this book: a 'woman in a man's world', the fallout and damage the British colonialists have left behind, a family saga - her relationship with her father is particularly tested, Persis' doomed relationship with her British colleague Archie Blackfinch and on top of all this, a super crime story investigation with so many facets, clues, stops and starts, sabotaged by a chauvinistic officer who just wants an 'easy arrest'.
A dead body is found in a cave up in the Himalayas, a historical death revealed after a small avalanche occurs. An innocent man could be held responsible - cue the indomitable Persis in pursuit of justice, who uncovers an intricate trail of clues - and more bodies along the way! Don't want to give spoilers but this was such a gripping book I'm now going to look up the previous 2. Highly recommended.

Vaseem Khan is the expert when it comes to bringing 1950s India to life through his detective series and now through his new novel- The Lost Man of Bombay. Two murders that don't seem connected starting with the Ice Man and the detective Persis Wadia who has to confront the remnants of the British Empire, the caste system and the patriarchy. Khan's captures 1950s in a thoroughly authentic way with great attention to detail. It is a clever tale with cryptic clues that Agatha Christie would be proud of. Authentic and a satisfying thriller.

This is my first venture into this particular detective series and I found a lot to enjoy with a central mystery that is dark and complex with a lead character who, largely, is engaging and likeable. However, it was an overlong book, and while it was nice to explore Persis' personal life, the fact that several subplots were crammed into what was already a long, sprawling book, made it a bit of a slog.

Would I recommend this to people? Yes - if they're looking for stories in post-colonial India and intriguing whodunits, I can see Lost Man of Bombay being a great fit, I don't know if I'd consider going back and reading the other books in the series (though I've seen them before and been tempted), but the writing is strong and Persis strong enough a lead that further adventures starring her are more appealing than not.

This is the third in the series with India’s first female police officer and I think the books would be best read in order to appreciate the characters and their personalities. Persis is a unique woman, a strong character with her own troubles. Her conflicting relationships with her father and Archie, the English man, form an excellent backbone to the books, but the intricate plot of the story is magnificent. I learned a lot about the partition of India from this book. The descriptions of life in India are brilliant. I cannot recommend it highly enough. I hope Vaseem Khan is busy writing the next in the series!

The Lost Man of Bombay is a classic style mystery. The mystery is solidly entertaining but little more and the identity of the killer when revealed is at one level obvious and easily guessed and, at another, appears to be an example of clairvoyance rather than deduction.

It is marked out by its trappings - immediately post-colonial India - and its lead character - India’s first female police officer. Whilst neither is flawlessly drawn, both add a sufficiently interesting flavour to the story to make the story a worthwhile read.

This is my first introduction to the Malabar House and Persis but there is enough to bring me back for further adventures.

Thanks to Net Galley and Hodder and Stoughton for an advance copy. Having read the first two books in the series, finishing the second just before receiving this, I was really looking forward to to reading it. I was not to be disappointed, the best so far. The characters are more fully formed and I think the way they portray the society they live in is fascinating. The twists and turns of the plot are intriguing, with an ending I didn’t anticipate. Already looking forward to the next instalment.

I hadn’t read any of the other books in the Malabar House series so I didn’t know what to expect. I am usually dubious of starting to read a series midway through but I didn’t find that I needed the extra context to enjoy the book. I really liked Persis as a character, feisty but flawed, I liked seeing her personal progression as she worked to solve the case. It wasn’t until the end that I discovered aspects of the case were loosely based on real life people and events, which made the premise even more interesting. I would definitely recommend for a lighter crime read with lots of twists and turns

This was a far better book than I had expected (not my usual genre) and I became fully immersed in the hot steamy colourful 1950's. The main character is a wonderfully flawed woman and this could be because of the cultural attitudes of the time but still I thought she was great. Will read more of this authors work.

Post colonial India sees the rise of female detective Persis Wadia. Although having already proven her ability, still causes indignity and outrage in such a male dominated society and she is languishing in Malabar House ( Bombay version of Slough House? ). The discovery of an unidentified body in a cave in the foothills of the Himalayas starts a chain of investigation worthy of Indiana Jones whilst giving us the flavour of early 50’s India that creates the atmosphere and background for this very good detective story. Not having read this author previously I both enjoyed and would recommend and grateful for an early read.

Really enjoyable book, with an immersive setting. The characters are flawed and all the better for it, but also quite well nuanced, and grow and develop as the book progresses.

I particularly enjoyed the different religious settings and cities, and while I appreciated the place that anger has against the British in India, it got a little repetitive at times.

I enjoy detective novels and this one was no exception. My knowledge of some of the historical events which were in the book are vague to say the least so possible missed some of the nuances but overall a good read and would read again.

The Lost Man of Bombay by Vaseem Khan is the third book in the Malabar House Series.
In short, we follow Persis Wadia, India’s first female police detective, solve her next intriguing case. It all begins with a body of a white man found frozen in the Himalayan foothills. Meanwhile, two new murders grip the city, both victims are Europeans, an Italian bludgeoned to death and a German murdered in the same manner. Is there a serial killer on the loose preying on white men?
I love this series, the crimes are always fascinating mysteries which are loaded with historical facts, clues, codes and cyphers and all masterfully concluded by the charming, complicated Persis. An excellent series brimming with richly drawn customs, locations and characters, I look forward to Vaseem Khan’s next original masterpiece.
Big thanks to Vaseem Khan, Hodder and Stoughton and NetGalley for this eARC which I chose to read in return for my honest review.

I have read this author before but believe this one could be read as a stand-alone
This gentle plot is woven into the rich history of 1950’s India. I felt transported to another world and learned not only of the history but also the culture at this time. The heroine is an unusual woman not only for the time but also to have been in the police force and I really enjoyed her character and spirit.
I loved the author’s writing and appreciated his balance of plot to history.
I would definitely recommend

I love Vaseem Khan’s books. Interesting settings, interesting people and relationships and always make me want to go travelling. I learn loads of history when I’m reading them.

The story is set in 1950s India with an improbable lead character who is an able detective but has to suffer prejudice and misogyny in her job and her life. This makes for an unusual and fresh slant in a detective story. The author has a nice style of writing and you learn about Indian history.

Overall an intriguing, satisfying and pleasurable read.

This is the third of Vaseem Khan's Persis Wadia series. I already owned - but had not read - the first two, and so I spent some time catching up before I started reading 'The Lost Man of Bombay'. From his second book, I know this was originally intended to be The Lost Man of Dehra Dun, but I can only assume the author reflected on the general public's ignorance of Indian geography and concluded that Bombay was more likely to sell books.

The novel starts with the discovery of a body in a block of ice in the Himalaya. The man has had his face smashed in and is carrying a notebook that he asks be passed to his wife. Within the notebook are clues to solve a mystery that Persis will need to uncover.

Soon after the ice man's discovery, two people are murdered in their beds - one of them with his face disfigured in a similar way to the ice man. And soon after that, another man is killed in a similar way.

You need to suspend quite a lot of disbelief to follow Persis on her journey. The idea that the same 'first ever woman police inspector' would randomly be assigned two completely unrelated dead people is quite hard to believe but this is fiction, and if you can accept that, you'll be fine.

Persis Wadia's attitude to Europeans is largely despising - especially towards the British. And yet, the coincidence of the first three books can't be missed. She ALWAYS gets challenged to find out who killed white people. It sits a bit uncomfortably for me with her disdain for India's colonial past.

This story twists and turns and keeps you guessing. The connections need to be established between the men and in doing so, the author gives us insights into WW2 treatment of 'enemy aliens' which wasn't a topic I'd encountered before.

Her on-again-off-again interest in geeky British forensic scientist Archie is still active but in this book we also find Persis's father, Sam, getting embroiled in his own romance and stirring up jealousy and resentment along the way.

I'd place this book as better than the first of the series but not as beguiling as the second.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for my copy.

A welcome return to Bombay in 1950, for the third book in the wonderful 'Malabar House' series by Vaseem Khan.
Our protoganist is one Inspector Persis Wadia, and as India's first female detective., Persis encounters hostility on a regular basis and I love her strength and resistance in how she constantly strives to solve her cases and not succumb o the pressure of higher authorities.

This time around, Persis is investigating the discovery of a frozen body of a white man, in a mountain pass, This case is quickly followed by three more murders, an Italian industrialist and his wife, and a German monk. Persis is the only one of her colleagues to truly care about the victims and finding out the truth behind the murders - rather than finding a convenient scapegoat.

The plot is clever full of attention grabbing twists, with plenty of authentic-sounding historical detail that completely engage the reader's attention. And of course, there is the personal aspect of the novel as Persis learns about her past and tries to accept the decisions of her father (whom I absolutely love for his attitude and comments) and her burgeoning relationship with Archie and the potential issues of a mixed-race relationship and inability for a married woman to work as a detective.

Roll on book number 4! Also, while it's not at all necessary to have read the previous two novels in the series, I would recommend that you do so, for the sheer joy of the storytelling. Fun, evocative books.

This is the first book I have by this author and also in this series.

The body of a white man is found in the Himalayas and the case is sent to Malabar House, the place where all the police who have fallen from grace, are sent. It is also where Persis Wadia investigates from.

There are two more murders, an Italian industrialist and his wife, and a German monk, is there a connection, and does it have anything to do with the man from the mountains.

This was a well-written, evocative book. which captured the India of the 1950s, newly freed from British colonial rule

Highly recommended