Book Review: Peril at the Exposition (Captain Jim Agnihotri #2) By Nev March

 

Title:  Peril at the Exposition (Captain Jim Agnihotri #2)

Author: Nev March

Star: 4

Review:

A murder mystery set at the exposition in Chicago, Illinois during the mid 1890s. A murder has taken place and an undercover private investigator has been dispatched from Boston to investigate. He is an ex Indian Captain from the British Army in India. His wife is also Indian from a wealthy family. As time passes, without hearing from him, she departs to seek him out and assist where possible. During which she becomes involved and in danger. A plot to blow the exposition up is uncovered and derailed. This story takes place in a time which is foreign to most of us who were raised during the age of unions, worker and civil rights. Most will read the story and think it is an outlandish tale. But the worker was exploited, Jim Crow laws were in effect and the company owners were absolute rulers over their domains. Not a time most Americans remember or want to remember. This book clearly shows some flaws in American society for the time period. But thankfully most have been resolved. 

I have rated this book 4 stars and recommend it to anyone who wants a peek into a dark time in history for the American worker.

I received an ARC from Netgalley for my unbiased review.

Heidi, I have also included my review for the authors previous book which is the start of a series.  Frank

Murder in Old Bombay

I always enjoy reading books, historical or otherwise, that are located in an area I have visited. This book is no exception as it takes me back to a beautiful area during the day of the British empire. The death of two wealthy young Indian ladies fails to be resolved by the British authorities and justice is not seen to be done. A recently retired Indian Captain, of the British Army, is hired by the husband of one of the ladies to investigate for a period of 6 months. As he begins to investigate a series of events unfolds which puts him on the right track to find the killer(s). The story is masterfully told and the descriptions, of both the locations and people, are vivid and believable. It makes you feel you, the reader, are there on the hunt for justice. The ending is both happy and sad at the same time. I will leave it to you to decide which is the one you feel.

I have rated this book 4.5 stars and recommend it to anyone who enjoys both mysteries and romance stories.

I was provided an electronic Advance Readers Copy (ARC) by Netgalley for my unbiased review. The above review is my honest review and is not influenced in any Way 

Synopsis:

1893: Newlyweds Captain Jim Agnihotri and Diana Framji are settling into their new home in Boston, Massachusetts, having fled the strict social rules of British Bombay. It's a different life than what they left behind, but theirs is no ordinary marriage: Jim, now a detective at the Dupree Agency, is teaching Diana the art of deduction he’s learned from his idol, Sherlock Holmes.

Everyone is talking about the preparations for the World's Fair in Chicago: the grandeur, the speculation, the trickery. Captain Jim will experience it first-hand: he's being sent to Chicago to investigate the murder of a man named Thomas Grewe. As Jim probes the underbelly of Chicago’s docks, warehouses, and taverns, he discovers deep social unrest and some deadly ambitions.

When Jim goes missing, young Diana must venture to Chicago's treacherous streets to learn what happened. But who can she trust, when a single misstep could mean disaster?

About The Author:

Nev March is the first Indian-born author to receive the Minotaur Books/Mystery Writers of America Award for Best First Crime Fiction.

Her debut novel, Murder in Old Bombay is nominated for Macavity and Anthony Awards as well as Edgar, Barry and Hammett Awards for Excellence in Crime Fiction.

She has appeared in radio and podcast interviews including NPR, and been featured in Mystery Tribune, Mystery Scene Magazine, CrimeReads, BookPage, DearReader, The History Reader and other publications. Murder in Old Bombay was an Amazon’s Editor’s Pick. The New York Times listed it as one of the “Best crime novels of 2020”.

After a long career in business analysis, she returned to her passion of writing fiction and now teaches creative writing at the Rutgers-Osher Institute. A Parsee Zoroastrian, Nev now lives in New Jersey with her husband and sons.