Scan barcode
jhbandcats's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
informative
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I’m so frustrated with this series. I love the stories and the main character Persis and learning about post-Independence India, but so much of the writing drives me nuts. At least the jarring introduction of historical facts into the tale didn’t bother me as much this time.
That said, the whole premise of the riddles seemed preposterous. Maybe if the riddles had been less complex I might have accepted them more easily, but I couldn’t picture a frantic, stressed police inspector going through the nitpicking of figuring them out - and there were a LOT. The story itself was too complex, with too many extraneous characters muddying the plot, especially at the end when everything is finally spelled out.
I was also bothered about documents being faxed - I didn’t know faxes existed in 1950s. In fact, they didn’t. They weren’t in use till 1964. Perhaps the author was referring to the pantelegraph, a precursor to the fax machine.
And what’s that bit about casually climbing over a 7’ wall in the middle of the night? Doesn’t seem realistic.
Finally, there’s a scene in a morgue where what appears to be a tattoo is discovered, but it turns out to be ink. But it’s not something simple; it’s a really long series of words and numbers. It would have gone all the way down the man’s thigh. And it was so complicated that it would have been easy to make a lot of mistakes. After all, writing on your own thigh is harder than writing on a piece of paper.
Normally I wouldn’t read further but I bought the first three books in the series so I’ll read the next one - but I’ll be mad about it.
That said, the whole premise of the riddles seemed preposterous. Maybe if the riddles had been less complex I might have accepted them more easily, but I couldn’t picture a frantic, stressed police inspector going through the nitpicking of figuring them out - and there were a LOT. The story itself was too complex, with too many extraneous characters muddying the plot, especially at the end when everything is finally spelled out.
I was also bothered about documents being faxed - I didn’t know faxes existed in 1950s. In fact, they didn’t. They weren’t in use till 1964. Perhaps the author was referring to the pantelegraph, a precursor to the fax machine.
And what’s that bit about casually climbing over a 7’ wall in the middle of the night? Doesn’t seem realistic.
Finally, there’s a scene in a morgue where what appears to be a tattoo is discovered, but it turns out to be ink. But it’s not something simple; it’s a really long series of words and numbers. It would have gone all the way down the man’s thigh. And it was so complicated that it would have been easy to make a lot of mistakes. After all, writing on your own thigh is harder than writing on a piece of paper.
Normally I wouldn’t read further but I bought the first three books in the series so I’ll read the next one - but I’ll be mad about it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racism, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Antisemitism, Murder, Colonisation, and War
More...