A Rising Man

By: Abir Mukherjee

Narrated by: Simon Bubb

The winner of the Harvill Secker/Daily Telegraph crime writing competition

Captain Sam Wyndham, former Scotland Yard detective, is a new arrival to Calcutta. Desperately seeking a fresh start after his experiences during the Great War, Wyndham has been recruited to head up a new post in the police force. But with barely a moment to acclimatise to his new life or to deal with the ghosts which still haunt him, Wyndham is caught up in a murder investigation that will take him into the dark underbelly of the British Raj.

A senior official has been murdered, and a note left in his mouth warns the British to quit India: or else. With rising political dissent and the stability of the Raj under threat, Wyndham and his two new colleagues – arrogant Inspector Digby and British-educated, but Indian-born Sergeant Banerjee, one of the few Indians to be recruited into the new CID – embark on an investigation that will take them from the luxurious parlours of wealthy British traders to the seedy opium dens of the city.

The start of an atmospheric and enticing new historical crime series.

Critic reviews

A joy to read (Susan Hill)

A journey into the dark underbelly of the British Raj... a cracking debut (Jon Coates)

Splendid...Captain Sam Wyndham is a winning creation

[A] terrific first novel...Mukherjee’s descriptions of Calcutta under the Raj are vivid, while Wyndham’s position as a newcomer with fresh eyes works brilliantly

Enthralling... The investigation sends Wyndham and his Bengali assistant on a whirlwind circuit of the city (Marilyn Stasio)

Evocative, intricate, beautifully written. A must read (Vaseem Khan, author of the Inspector Chopra mysteries)

A lip-smacking and highly entertaining mystery, set in a Calcutta so convincingly evoked that readers will find sweat bursting from their foreheads (Jake Kerridge)

This vivid murder mystery moves at breakneck speeds

An intoxicating debut… The most engaging detective since…James Runcie’s Grantchester series: utterly captivating (Geoffrey Wansell)

A Rising Man is an exceptionally good, and original, historical crime novel...Roll on book two. (C.J. Sansom, author of the Shardlake series)

Good solid who dunnit and empire

A well written tale that keeps one guessing till the end. Its not magnificently original but its solid and a lot of fun.
The main characters are nicely drawn and engaging. The pomposity of empire is adds a lightness with an undertone of skulduggery and class warfare.
I will certainly be reading the next adventure of Sam and Surrender Not

Murder and the British Raj

Sam Wyndham, veteran of WWI and former inspector with Scotland Yard, has been persuaded to move to Calcutta and work with the police there.  He is still trying to find is footing in this strange new country when a white high-placed government employee is found murdered outside an Indian whorehouse.

This would have been an excellent mystery anyway, but I believe it is even more so because the author is a Brit from an Indian heritage who is able to give the reader insight into thinking and attitudes of both the British Raj and the Indians. 

Simon Bubb is now of of my favorite readers, able to both distinguish the characters, and accurately handle multiple accents.

Rattling good tale

A great first book. I'm going to get the next in the series. The story has pace and indroduced me to aspects of Imperial India I was unaware of. I quickly connected with the characters, they were perfectly believable. The narration was first class. Only 4 stars for the story as I worked out the plot in advance. This didn't detract from my enjoyment though.

great story well read

Loved the story but wished the ending wasn't so bittersweet. Just wanted it to work out.

excellent read

Loved the setting, both time and place. The characters were so believable and the tale intriguing.