Harini Nagendra

The first in a charming, joyful cozy crime series set in 1920s Bangalore, featuring sari-wearing detective Kaveri and her husband Ramu. Perfect for fans of Alexander McCall Smith’s The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency. When clever, headstrong Kaveri moves to Bangalore to marry handsome young doctor Ramu, she's resigned herself to a quiet life. But that all changes the night of the party at the Century Club, where she escapes to the garden for some peace and quiet—and instead spots an uninvited guest in the shadows. Half an hour later, the party turns into a murder scene. When a vulnerable woman is connected to the crime, Kaveri becomes determined to save her and launches a private investigation to find the killer, tracing his steps from an illustrious brothel to an Englishman's mansion. She soon finds that sleuthing in a sari isn't as hard as it seems when you have a talent for mathematics, a head for logic, and a doctor for a husband . . . And she's going to need them all as the case leads her deeper into a hotbed of danger, sedition, and intrigue in Bangalore's darkest alleyways.

A Novel

The Bangalore Detectives Club

Caroline

TBDC is an book written by Harini Nagendra & is 1st in its series. 

📖Set in the 1920s, the book revolves around Kaveri, an nineteen year old girl, who moves to Bangalore to begun her married life with her husband Dr. Rama Murthy. Kaveri loves maths & dreams of pursuing her education further & of living a quiet life with her husband. But things change, when a murder takes place at the Century Club and kaveri finds herself distracted & obsessed with finding the murderer & goes all out, leaving no keys unturned to save the life of a innocent woman who has been wrongly accused in the crime.

📖When I initially began reading this book, it tick off all the boxes of being an 5 star rated book but as I went further into the story the stars begun to drop one by one. 

📖First let’s start with the positive aspects of the book: For me personally, the book was fast paced with short, crisp & to the point chapters. The writing was easy (not great), the characters could have been more developed but they were still likeable. I liked that the author gave each chapter a title, which is rare to find these days. The author did a good job in trying to highlight a progressive India, where women were trying to make a life of their own. The book also gave a glimpse of some famous places of Bangalore like Lal Bagh showcasing the heritage of India. The recipes at the end was also a good way to showcase the traditional cuisine of that region.

📖Now coming to the points, where the stars begun to drop for me: The first star dropped for me, when the murder took place. From that point on, I kind of just knew, who the murderer was! Though, the author did a good job trying to keep the suspense till the end but it was still pretty much easy to identify the murderer. 

📖The next star drop for me, when I finished reading the book and realised that the ending and prologue at the beginning of the book did not connect. The book starts off with an unknown person who the author referred to as "The stranger" in the prologue but was nowhere to be found by the end, leaving the book incomplete & the reader confused. Even if it was a build up to the next book in the series, it just did not make sense.

📖 Overall, the book was a cozy mystery read and recommended to readers looking out for a quick, easy and cozy mystery read.

Nicola Sarah Brooks

Bangalore of the 1920s - elegant and modern but with an old-world feeling.  An evocative mix of classical Indian heritage and culture and the mish-mash of culture imposed on the city by the long-standing invasion of the British. Whilst at its heart it's very much a murder mystery, there is so much factual base to the story that you could easily step into a time machine and spit yourself out there and easily navigate the world you found yourself in.

A backdrop of arranged marriage, girls education (or lack thereof) and blatant racism and classism gives such a vibrant edge to the story. Kaveri really has a foot in two worlds, but it is the men in her life who are happy for her to be educated and her mother-in-law who wants her tied to the house.

Whilst the premise of the story is much like any of the established turn of the century detective novels; Holmes, Poirot, etc.  This is most definitely stamping its own mould. Ismail, while Kaveri's foil, is probably one of her biggest fans - he always just seems awestruck by her.  You can decide for yourself if it's misogyny or just adoration, lol. Kaveri may still be a young woman, almost a teenager today, she has a lot of responsibility and a fine grasp on current affairs and the world around her.  She is perfectly happy to use people's ignorance and racist beliefs against them. 

An absolute delight and I'd be happy to read more from this author.

The Bangalore Detectives Club A Novel

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