Captain Jim & Lady Diana #4
I loved, loved, loved the first book in this series, Murder in Old Bombay. In that first book, the main characters, Captain Jim Agnihotri and Lady Diana Framji, meet and marry despite some pretty steep obstacles. Jim is half white, half Indian, and he is not a Parsi, as Lady Diana is. The Parsis, the aristocrats of Indian culture in the 1890’s, have very strict rules about marrying outside the faith. This creates problems for the couple.
Jim, a dashing and decorated Captain in the British army, has worked as a journalist and a private investigator for the Framji family. He met the Framjis when he searched for the killer of Diana’s sister-in-law. In this novel, it’s her widower, Diana’s brother Adi, who is in trouble. The two novels in between this one and the first found Diana and Jim in Boston and Chicago and on a steamship crossing the ocean. Those novels, which were fine traditional mysteries, nevertheless lacked the zip and life of the first novel. As the Agnihotris return to India, however, life returns to this wonderful series.
Adi is in serious trouble. His business partner has been murdered and he’s the most likely suspect. The two of them had been manufacturing surgical instruments but were having a tough go selling them as they are made in India. Doctors seem to want instruments made in the UK. Not only is the business partner dead but the business is struggling, and it turns out that the man had borrowed all kinds of money as well as cleaning out Adi’s bank account before he died.
Additionally, the Framjis, while delighted to have Diana and Jim home again, are finding themselves shunned, both because of Adi’s situation and because of Diana and Jim’s marriage. Jim, who feels responsible for the family’s plight and worries about his wife’s pain, wants nothing more than to save Adi and discover the true killer. This is made far more difficult and time imperative when Adi is actually arrested and taken to jail.
Jim operates on his knowledge of Adi’s character and calls on the various connections he’s made in Bombay – through the army, the police, and from his brief stint as a journalist. March, a devotee of Holmes (as is Jim), has created a series that relies, as Doyle’s creation did, on deduction, and also includes Sherlock’s love of disguise and adventure. Jim is having little success until he mobilizes the entire Framji family in his endeavour, finding a team works better than he could alone.
The disguises, tricky connections, and well laid out mystery are a delight, but what brings the book to life are not only the personalities of Jim and Diana (and her family) but the city of Bombay, which serves as a character as well. One way of armchair travel is of course geographical, but another way, in the hands of a gifted writer, is virtual time travel. When reading this novel you can feel you are back in old Bombay, a city on the cusp of independence from the British, a city with arcane connections between classes that make everything function.
The mystery here is excellent and if March takes a minute to unfold her tale, be assured it’s well worth it. She’s a master storyteller. I am hoping she keeps her couple in Bombay, as they still have a few issues to resolve, issues which add resonance and depth to this wonderful series. If you’re up for a bit of time travel coupled with a great story, pick this one up. — Robin Agnew