The Shadows of Men
An atmospheric historical crime novel from the award-winning author of HUNTED
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4.1 • 15 Ratings
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- $15.99
Publisher Description
A city on the brink. A murder that could ignite it.
When a Hindu theologian is found murdered in his home, the city is on the brink of all-out religious war. Can officers of the Imperial Police Force, Captain Sam Wyndham and Sergeant Surendranath Banerjee track down those responsible in time to stop a bloodbath?
Set at a time of heightened political tension, beginning in atmospheric Calcutta and taking the detectives all the way to bustling Bombay, this instalment in the 'unmissable' (The Times) series presents Wyndham and Banerjee with an unprecedented challenge. Will this be the case that finally drives them apart?
'The Shadows of Men finds the always reliable Crime Writers' Association Dagger Award-winner Abir Mukherjee on fine form' Financial Times
Discover the rest of the Wyndham and Banerjee series:
A Rising Man
A Necessary Evil
Smoke and Ashes
Death in the East
The Burning Grounds
‘An engaging, evocative thriller’ Janice Hallett
‘Breathtaking’ Peter May
‘A thought-provoking rollercoaster’ Ian Rankin
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Scottish Bengali author Abir Mukherjee opens a new, enthralling adventure for the fifth instalment in the best-selling Wyndham & Banerjee series. Set in Raj era Calcutta, 1923, police detective Captain Sam Wyndham and Sergeant ‘Surrender-Not’ Banerjee, are called to investigate the murder of a well-known Hindu theologist. And through alternating its point-of-view chapters, Mukherjee reveals their dedication and gritty resolve is key to the pair negotiating rising disorder in Bombay and Calcutta. Can they solve the crime and quell the threat of all-out religious war? To do so, they must inspect and query activity across the castes and corners of India. In the background: early rumblings of India’s independence movement add a rich, historical layer to proceedings for another dynamic slice of historical fiction.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Increasing tensions in 1923 colonial India provide the backdrop for Edgar finalist Mukherjee's superb fifth mystery featuring Capt. Sam Wyndham and Det. Sgt. Surendranath Bannerjee of the Calcutta CID (after 2019's Death in the East). Lord Taggart, the Calcutta commissioner of police, gives Bannerjee an assignment he's required to keep secret, even from his friend Wyndham: keeping track of the movements and activities of Muslim politician Farid Gulmohamed. Taggart fears Gulmohamed may stoke unrest in Calcutta before the upcoming municipal elections, called by the British following Mahatma Gandhi's incarceration. The surveillance mission goes awry, leaving Bannerjee suspected of murdering Prashant Mukherjee, a Hindu religious leader, after he was found near the corpse and took steps to conceal the homicide. Under these adverse conditions, the investigators must solve the crime while averting a cataclysm of ethnic violence should a Muslim be accused of committing it. The pacing and twists are among the author's best work. This is a sterling example of a riveting whodunit plot coupled with a vivid portrayal of a seminal historical moment.
