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A review by nicjohnston
Death of a Lesser God by Vaseem Khan
4.0
4.5* Death of a Lesser God is the 4th outing for Persis, India's first female police officer and it is another page turning, rip roaring thriller from Vaseem Khan.
James Whitby, Indian born to a British father who embodies all that was bad about the British in pre-Partition India, find himself on death row with days to go. As a white man accused of murdering a prominent Indian lawyer there is little sympathy and no support for his cause. Until his father pulls strings and Persis is tasked with secretly re-examining the case against James. Thrust into a den of inequity in her native Bombay, she has the fight of her life when the trail leads her to corruption and gangsters in Calcutta.
Drawing on the chaos of India finding its feet after Partition and not shying away from the apparently religious atrocities and underhand politics, Death of a Lesser God is a brilliant insight into the era while wrapped in another brilliant story.
The pace doesn't let up and the writing is top notch (save for a few too many 'dad jokes'). However, it a return to this fantastic cast of characters which is the biggest treat. Persis is a fabulous protagonist and she now has a sidekick in the sparky Seema. It perhaps lacked airtime for some of the wider cast of characters from the earlier books, notably Persis dad and the grumpy Aunt Nussie.
While this is a fantastic series and is best read as a set, this would equally work as a standalone thriller.
Thanks to Hodder and Stoughton and Netgalley for and ARC.
James Whitby, Indian born to a British father who embodies all that was bad about the British in pre-Partition India, find himself on death row with days to go. As a white man accused of murdering a prominent Indian lawyer there is little sympathy and no support for his cause. Until his father pulls strings and Persis is tasked with secretly re-examining the case against James. Thrust into a den of inequity in her native Bombay, she has the fight of her life when the trail leads her to corruption and gangsters in Calcutta.
Drawing on the chaos of India finding its feet after Partition and not shying away from the apparently religious atrocities and underhand politics, Death of a Lesser God is a brilliant insight into the era while wrapped in another brilliant story.
The pace doesn't let up and the writing is top notch (save for a few too many 'dad jokes'). However, it a return to this fantastic cast of characters which is the biggest treat. Persis is a fabulous protagonist and she now has a sidekick in the sparky Seema. It perhaps lacked airtime for some of the wider cast of characters from the earlier books, notably Persis dad and the grumpy Aunt Nussie.
While this is a fantastic series and is best read as a set, this would equally work as a standalone thriller.
Thanks to Hodder and Stoughton and Netgalley for and ARC.