A review by sandrinepal
Smoke and Ashes by Abir Mukherjee

adventurous dark informative mysterious tense 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

4.0

 Oh, Sam Wyndham series, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways. I read this one out of the series order, and it did not detract *AT ALL* from my enjoyment. The tiny caveat would be that there is a marked evolution in the character of Surendranath between this book and book 4, but it's been in the works since the beginning, really, plus historical hindsight being 20/20, it was hard not to see it coming. Only very mildly amused by the Annie Grant plot, at this point, but she does not feature prominently in this book, so that was not a huge deal. On the plus side, Congress Party leaders, opium addiction, British intelligence shenanigans, biological weapons, what's not to love? (Note: one of these things is not like the others.) Bottom line: can't wait for my library to hurry up and get a new copy of The Shadows of Men already!