Another fantastic book from Vaseem Khan. Persis Wadia is a great character and this book has a really strong storyline, both personal and from the investigation. I’d love to see this as a tv series.

An eagerly anticipated return for Persis, India's first female police inspector. Based at the unimpressive Malabar House Station, she is tasked to find out if justice has been done after a white 'British' man, (James Whitby, born in India, son of a millionaire Industrialist) has been sentenced to death for the murder of an Indian Lawyer . The visiting Deputy AC instructs her to do this in a covert, quiet manner, she's not even able to inform her colleagues! The case is sensitive and probably won't do her career any favours - seeming to do favours for a convicted white man in these years after Independence is risky and Persis finds out that no-one will protect her doing this. But she believes in true justice for all and her courageous stubbornness drives her to find out the truth, whichever way it may fall.
Numerous cans of worms are opened and we are taken back to the murdered lawyer's father (also murdered, implicating James' Father); and the murder of two young people killed under 'cover' of the Direct Action Day in August 1946. An intricate tale is woven, with far-reaching consequences.
I have to write how much I enjoy Vaseem Kahn's dry, laugh out loud humour - his descriptions particularly of people are so graphic and instantly memorable. (A few minor comments of racial stereotypes now jar a bit (French, Italian, Greek - poor grandmothers...) but I took this to read in the story's 'time' i.e. 1950, so excusable for then).
I did want to read Sam's reaction on his return to the bookshop - of Nussie Auntie being in charge. Alas, there were more important factors to be dealt with at the end! Intricate, humorous, gripping, exciting and dangerous with wonderfully realised characters - a super read all round, and highly recommended.

Death of a Lesser God is the fourth book in the entertaining 'Malabar House' series by Vaseem Khan.
And, this book provides readers with the very welcome opportunity to return to Bombay in 1950.
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 to the pressure of higher authorities.
This time around, the tagline posts an intriguing query, "Can a white man receive justice in post-colonial India?". For decades, a person of colour would have been highly unlikely to receive justice but now, in the post-Raj era, society in India has changed and James Whitby has been sentenced to death, for the murder of activist Fareed Mazumdar. Whitby's father is a
arch-colonialist, and uses his influence to force a review of the original investigation. Persis is assigned and inds herself in the middle of a high-profile, highly-charged case, where suspicions and enemies everywhere she turns.
With pressure building, Persis will find her judgement being questioned and ultimately her life is at risk as she fights for justice.
Death of a Lesser God is a complex story, where moralistic dilemmas and the intricate Indian politics create a unique environment that is a must-read.
Also, while it's not at all necessary to have read the previous three novels in the series, I would recommend that you do so, for the sheer joy of the storytelling.
I'm excited for the next adventure for Persis!

Superlative..
The fourth in this superlative series finds Inspector Persis Wadia of the Bombay police on her travels to Calcutta and involved in another complex mystery and a disturbing investigation. Wonderfully written, once again, with a superb sense of place, a deftly drawn and credible cast, a thread of wry humour and clear affection and an atmospheric and carefully crafted sense of time and place. An excellent addition to this series which can be read as a standalone - although the series is highly recommended as a whole.

The latest in Khan's delightful series. As ever, I got a bit confused with the *very* intricate plot twists and turns - but Persis is beautifully done, and her very understandable dilemmas over choices in her life keep us hooked. Am agog to see what'll happen next...

A must-read for fans of detective stories, novels about India. Another tale about Persis, first female inspector in the Bombay police force. This time she is asked to re-investigate, privately, the murder of a lawyer by the son of a highly successful British businessman.; and time is not on her side. It takes her to Calcutta and the surrounding countryside, both of which are colourfully described by Vaseem Khan.

One doesn't have to have read the previous novels to enjoy this book; but I would recommend that one does - only because they are all good.

With many thanks to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for an ARC.