I didn’t realize this was a series so I was actually a little confused at first but thankfully the plot wasn’t too hard to follow.

This story follows Vijay who was still recovering from his last case when an actor named Majid was killed nearby where Vijay lived. The local detective is not interested in the murder as Majid is no longer famous and is planning to write this off as an overdose. When Vijay’s neighbour was kidnapped, he took matters into his own hands and begin to investigate the matter and connection between the murder and connection with the help of Neha, a journalist.

I actually enjoyed reading this one despite not knowing what happened in the first instalment of the story. I wished I had understood more of Vijay’s backstory which I felt would have helped me enjoy the story better but I do enjoy the unexpected plot twists presented in the story and the pacing of the story is quick, making this a fast read for me.

Thank you Netgalley and Little Brown Book UK for the arc.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Litter, Brown Book Group UK for the ARC of Black Rain, featuring DS Vijay Patel.

It’s the second book in the series, I have read by Anita Sivakumaran and although I really enjoyed it, I found it quite slow going, especially in the first half of the book. I loved Vijay Patel’s first outing in the ‘Cold Sun’ but this one had no real sense of place. He is still a great character, but there was something missing in this book.

It will not stop me from reading another book in this series.

Love finding detective series starring new characters and this one was fabulous! I had not read the first one in the series and though it said there was no need to have done so it jarred that there were references I was not getting when incidents from book 1 were mentioned. But i plan to read the first one and the next one.

It's the first book I read by this author and I'm a bit on the fence as I liked Vijay and the setting, the plot was well done but I felt it too slow.
I want to read other books as I think there's plenty of potential.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine

I would like to thank Netgalley and Litter, Brown Book Group UK for an advance copy of Black Rain, the second novel to feature DS Vijay Patel of the Met.

Vijay is recovering from his last case at his mum’s house in Leicester when fading actor Majid Rahman is killed in the nearby allotments. The local detective isn’t interested in the murder, writing it off as an overdose and is even less interested in the kidnapping of a neighbour, so, cajoled by journalist Neha Sinha, he starts to investigate and finds that it all hinges on Majid’s missing satchel.

I thoroughly enjoyed Black Rain, which is a fun read with an unexpected direction and some good twists. It is told from various points of view, basically everyone who has skin in the game and that turns out to be more than one would suspect. It does make the start of the novel slightly incomprehensible as the reader tries to sort out who is who and their role in events, but it soon settles down and becomes quite an addictive read.

It’s not a long read so little is wasted on padding, although the trips to Mumbai and Dubai seem a little pointless except to land Vijay and Neha in more hot water and add to the fun content. Everyone is looking for the satchel, but it is one of the more unlikely characters who finds it and how it is found is extremely funny. The finding ends in a big so what, so there’s more to the story and I would never have guessed it in a million years. It’s gobsmacking.

Many of the smiles in the novel revolve around the character of Vijay Patel as he’s a kind of accidental hero. He’s quiet, tends to let women push him around and appears hapless, but he has a hidden antenna for danger and a keen mind for working out where people and events slot together. I hope to see more of him as he’s very likeable, in fact I’d like to see him conduct an investigation at the Met and watch him deal with his bully of a boss.

Black Rain is a light hearted read that I have no hesitation in recommending.

This is book 2 in the Detective Vijay Patel series. It's set in Leicester and the plot revolves around the murder of a cricket player, suspected of being involved with drugs. I liked the characterisation and the plotting, there was plenty suspense and the pace was good but somehow it just felt something was missing. An OK read. Thanks to Net Galley for my ARC.

Black Rain is the second book in the DI Patel series by Anita Sivakumaran but the first one I have read. There are a few references to the storyline from the first book and whilst Black Rain works as first or stand-alone book I did feel a times that my lack of previous knowledge did deduct from my full enjoyment.

That minor point aside Black Rain is an enjoyable thriller and I will keep an eye out for future instalments.