I really enjoyed this book, and I'm happy to know it's the first of a series! The Indian setting was beautifully described and very easy to imagine. I love a good detective story, and I thought this one was very well done and unique compared to other books I've read.

I read this before the first book in the series, Rising Man, and I was definitely able to jump into the story from book two. The atmosphere of India was very well described and it definitely felt like I was right there with the characters. The crime itself was interesting, I definitely have a soft spot for detective fiction although I know it is not for everyone. This is a well-written and entertaining mystery that I definitely recommend!

I thoroughly enjoyed the first book and I was ecstatic when Pegasus Books approved my NetGalley request. The second book in the series, A Necessary Evil, was released in April in the US. The book picks up a year after the events in A Rising Man. The novel opens with Wyndham and Banerjee discussing cryptic notes with Crown Prince Adhir Singh Sai, of the small kingdom of Sambalpore, and traveling back to the prince’s Calcutta hotel after a conference. Prince Adhir, who attended boarding school with Surrender-Not, wants his advice about notes that were left for him in his rooms warning him about threats to his life. Before Wyndham and Banergee can discuss the matter in-depth with the prince, an assassin attack their vehicle and murders the royal. Sam and Surrender-Not’s failure to apprehend the killer only makes things worse, and, though they eventually track the man down, he takes his own life, leaving the investigators still in the dark about his motives. Despite the Viceroy and Imperial Police's desire to close the case after the suspects suicide, the partners travel to Sambalpore where the warning notes and murderer originated. There they encounter court intrigue; Prince Adhir was a modernizer whose attitudes—and romantic relationships—may have upset the more religious elements of his country, while his brother—now in line to the throne—appears to be a feckless playboy. Can Sam and Surrender-Not find the killer before it's too late?

Mukherjee’s ability to conjure a vivid picture of 1920s British India is truly masterful, in my opinion. In this second book, Mukherjee builds on his early themes of race, gender, glass, and religion plus the addition of reformers versus traditionalists. Also, there seemed to be less biting critiques of the British Empire. However, that's due to the setting being moved from Calcutta to Sambalpore. This allows for a look at an Indian court that deals with the British but was not directly ruled by the British. I particular appreciate the details about purdah and the court zenana. Western culture and western feminist have typically decried the practice of female seclusion. However, as Mukherjee points out, this is a limited view from a western perspective and discounts the possibility of empowerment and female solidarity. I think what I love most about Mukherjee's historical fiction is the nuances. All aspects are given multiple viewpoints creating a grey area rather than black-and-white answers.

I haven't read much historical fiction set in India. This and the first in the series, A Rising Man, will definitely lead me to seek out more. Sam Wyndham is a great protagonist and the mystery and atmosphere kept me turning the pages. It reminds me a bit of the Baker and Llewelyn series by Will Thomas. Great setting, great historical details and likeable characters.

This mystery brings to life India in 1920
By Sandy Mahaffey for The Free Lance-Star
I love a good mystery. I also love well-written historical fiction. Abir Mukherjee’s “A Necessary Evil” is both. I was intrigued by the mystery (which I was delighted kept me up in the air until the end) and captivated by the setting of India in 1920.

Capt. Sam Wyndham, a Scotland Yard man, reeling from military service during war and the death of his wife, takes a job with the Imperial Police Force in Calcutta, and chooses an educated Indian man, Sgt. “Surrender-not” Banerjee as his assistant, a very unusual choice in the days of the Raj in India. They have the misfortune to be present when the eldest son of the Majarajah of Sambalpore, Prince Adhi, is assassinated.

A British policeman has much to learn about the politics, religious beliefs and conflicts, the Indian police procedurals and social customs when investigating a murder in India. Mukherjee brings the waning years of the Raj to life—I felt transported to the Colonial era. The sights, sounds, heat, monsoon rains, lavish clothing (even on the elephants) and the wealth displayed in the small kingdom with rich diamond mines were vividly described. Many tricky tactics were needed to interrogate wives and concubines in the zenana, the political landscape was dangerous to maneuver and survive and competing religious factions difficult to untangle.

Sam is not a perfect hero; he has a bit of a weakness—a growing addiction to opium, which does dull his senses from time to time. This is countered by the author’s wonderful sense of humor which reveals itself frequently enough to keep the reader from being pulled too deeply into the dark corners of his world.


This is the second detective novel in which Mukherjee features this wonderful pair of detectives. I have not read “A Rising Man,” but will definitely be looking out for it. He is a wonderful writer who has given Sam a splendid voice for narration and created an entertaining, intriguing world in which to educate and entertain and immerse the reader.

I highly recommend taking this trip to India.
Sandy Mahaffey is a former Books editor at The Free Lance–Star.

A NECESSARY EVIL by Abir Mukherjee is the second in his series about Captain Sam Wyndham and 'Surrender-Not' Banerjee. I will be going back to read the first, but this one stands alone, too. Set in 1920's India, A NECESSARY EVIL is a very well-crafted mystery (I was guessing up until the end!) and a wonderful opportunity to immerse oneself in another time and place. Motives for an assassination of the Prince of Sambalpore abound – corruption, religious fervor, and jealousy, for example. Understanding of the relationships between and within the British and Indian societies, plus gender and class divides provide much to contemplate. Sam Wyndham, too, offers droll commentary on any number of circumstances: "I handed him the scrap and he examined it ... beaming like a Frenchman in a wine cellar..." or "Indians often did that, walking a conversational tightrope between speaking the truth and what they thought we wanted to hear."

A NECESSARY EVIL received starred reviews from Booklist, Library Journal, and Publishers Weekly – this mystery novel definitely deserves your time and would make a clever pairing with Sujata Massey's The Widows of Malabar Hill, set again in India in the early 20th century.

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Abir Mukherjee's first mystery novel, A Rising Man, was one of my favorite reads of 2017. Because I read it several months before starting this blog though I have never really shared my thoughts about it.

That novel is a superb historical mystery that is set in India in the years immediately following the First World War. There are many reasons to recommend it, not least the author's ability to convey a strong sense of place and culture and the two remarkable main characters. It is a page-turning read and one I find myself regularly recommending on the staff picks rack at my place of work.

A Necessary Evil is a sequel to that book and I am surprised and happy to be able to say I found it an even stronger read than the first one, though I think readers would be best served by starting at the beginning. Before I explain why, I ought to tell you a little bit about its plot.

The book begins close to a year after the events of the previous novel. The heir to the throne of the wealthy kingdom of Sambalpore seeks out Captain Wyndham and Sergeant Banerjee (who, it turns out, is an old school friend) to consult them about some strange letters he has received that seem to suggest a threat to his life. As they discuss the matter his car is attacked in an ambush and he is killed.

While Wyndham is able to track down the assassin it is clear that further investigation is needed to understand why this has happened and how it was possible for an ambush to take place when the route they were travelling had not been prearranged. Though political considerations make it impossible to formally continue their investigation, Wyndham and Banerjee travel to Sambalpore in search of answers.

The novel contains an excellent mystery plot but it also reads like a thriller, particularly in the final chapters which have a page-turning, race against time quality. This is not a change of style but rather reflects how the circumstances of the novel manage to amplify the tension at key moments.

In each novel Wyndham is in a position where he is an outsider. In A Rising Man he is a stranger to India, learning to navigate Indian society while trying to solve a murder. Here he finds himself in a country where he has no legal authority and may be given the order to stop and to return home. He is isolated, has few resources he can call on and is treated with suspicion by almost everyone he encounters.

I also appreciated that Mukherjee reduces the amount of discussion of Wyndham's opium addiction in this second book, though it remains an important part of his character and of the plotting. As a result the calmer, clearer Wyndham is able to show more of his detective skills as he works to understand the complex relationships within the palace and learn about the circumstances of the prince's death.

His assistant Sergeant "Surrender-not" Banerjee, so named because none of his British colleagues can pronounce his actual name, remains a delight and gets a few moments to shine. I appreciate his steadiness as a secondary investigator and I like his relationship with Wyndham which is generally respectful and constructive.

A secondary character makes a return from the first book and she makes an important contribution to the investigation. Her involvement helps to reinforce one of the series' most potent themes - that social status shifts and can be a matter of perspective.

That idea is crystallized in a wonderful exchange in the very first chapter of the book when the Prince points out to Wyndham that the question of precedence between the Indian prince, the British policeman representing the crown and his Indian sergeant from the priest caste is far from simple. Throughout the novel we see Wyndham confronting his own lack of status within Sambalpore as he is unable to gain access to people he wishes to speak with, impeding his investigation.

Speaking of that investigation, the mystery here is a good one and very well plotted. Mukherjee creates an intriguing cast of characters and while the identity of the villain didn't surprise me, I felt the resolution was extremely powerful and effective.

The best historical mysteries do not simply entertain but they educate, inform and speak to aspects of our culture and society. A Necessary Evil does this, discussing aspects of British rule in India without becoming polemical and exploring fascinating themes such as of the nature of justice and the transience of social status. Its characters are compelling, as is the case they are investigating. If you haven't tried the first one, I'd definitely recommend starting there (there are references made to events that take place at the end of the previous novel) and just know that you will be in for a treat when you get to the second. Highly recommended.

A copy of the novel was provided by the publishers through NetGalley for review though I have also purchased my own copy.

I enjoyed A Necessary Evil so much that, when I finished, I had no idea the book was almost four hundred pages long; that's how fast-moving the pace is. It also has a marvelous, twisty plot made even more so by the fact that a male investigator has no access to the zenana, the part of a Muslim or Hindu household reserved for women only.

The setting of this book is absolutely marvelous, as Sam Wyndham (late of the British Expeditionary Forces and Scotland Yard) moves from the bustling, mostly modern, city of Calcutta to a maharajah's kingdom. One minute he's being driven in a silver-plated Rolls Royce to dine with people whose clothing is fastened with diamond buttons, and the next he's participating in a tiger hunt followed by a dance where the host is an expert at the Turkey Trot. Sam is an interesting mix of modern and traditional. Fighting in the trenches during the First World War has knocked a lot of the old nonsense out of him, but not all. Living in India as the British Raj is winding down and being partnered with an Indian sergeant means Wyndham is always being faced with new attitudes.

The reader also learns all sorts of interesting things about the culture and politics of India during this time. With laws such as the Doctrine of Lapse, the British should never have been surprised when India insisted on regaining its freedom. (If an Indian ruler died without a direct heir, or if he was what the British termed incompetent, the government would seize control of his kingdom and all its assets.)

The biggest learning experience of all for Sam was finding out how to conduct an investigation when so many of the people he needed to question were in purdah-- females in seclusion. It was a world completely beyond his comprehension, and one that made the mystery more difficult for him to solve-- even though someone blatantly gave him the key to solving it.

I found A Necessary Evil to be a wonderful mystery and the perfect companion piece to Sujata Massey's The Widows of Malabar Hill. I'm also looking forward with a great deal of anticipation to Abir Mukherjee's next book.

This book has made me want to read more by Abir Mukherjee! It is so atmospheric, the plot immediately engaging and the characters intriguing. I was also impressed by the writing, the way he author is so eloquent, while keeping the story really fast paced. Can't wait to read more by this author!

Abir Mukherjee's "A Necessary Evil" is such an excellent, readable novel that it would have been a page-turner even if it hadn't been a mystery. The writing gives just enough context into Indian life to help the reader understand the stickiness of various situations while propelling the plot forward, and the characters are all believably complex in a world that is never black-and-white. Mukherjee's writing manages to immerse the reader in high-stakes mystery early 20th century India under British control, over the suspense of a culture and country that is about ready to boil over - all woven into centuries of beauty, history, and culture. A must-read for mystery fans.

4.5 Stars. This one shines!

Prince Adhir of of Sambalpore has been assassinated and Captain Wyndham and Sergeant Banerjee of the Calcutta Police were in the prince's car with him when it happened. In spite of their best efforts, the assassin escapes and the chase begins. Who would have wanted the highly intelligent, forward thinking heir of the Maharaja eliminated? Was it political, personal or religiously motivated? Is someone hoping to gain control of the enormous riches of Sambalpore?

A Necessary Evil is set in 1920s colonial India when the British were still determined to maintain their hold over the jewel in the crown and the author does a excellent job of explaining the political climate of the time. India is another character in the story; the sights, sounds and smells of the country come alive, you can feel the humidity. There is fascinating information about religious practices, culture and history scattered throughout; I felt like an armchair traveler.

There is a sinister undercurrent running throughout the mystery, but Mukherjee's great sense of humor and talent for characterization balance out the violent murder and political unrest. From the flawed hero Captain Wyndham with his drug addiction and his partner, the well educated and kind Sergeant Banerjee, to the funny side characters like Mrs Mitter, the author has created people so real they pop up instantly in your minds eye.

The pleasure of this book is in the details, feeling of discovery and complex characterizations. I'm now impatiently awaiting the next book in the series.

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley.

Thank you Netgalley and Pegasus Books for the eARC.
A wonderful book! I spent my last 3 highschool years in Mumbai and am always eager to read books set in India. This one is so atmospheric, you can practically feel the humidity and inhale the smells described.
Police Captain Sam Wyndham, formerly of Scotland Yard, now working in Calcutta, and his Sergeant, Surrender-not Banerjee are driving the Crown Prince of Sambalpore when an assassin shoots and kills the Crown Prince. Not able to catch the perpetrator, they hunt him down shortly thereafter, but the man commits suicide.
The 2 men manage to attend the funeral and wake of the Prince in Sambalpore, staying on to investigate the murder, which might have had a religious motive, but Sam and Surrender-not believe it to be much more complicated. The plot for the murder obviously started in Sambalpore, where the Crown Prince had received letters warning him of danger. Did his brother have anything to do with it? Their father, the Maharaja, is old and in failing health and with the Crown Prince out of the way, his younger brother would become the next ruler.
The descriptions of life in the palace; the opulence, the extreme wealth generated by the diamond mines, the many wives and mistresses (and the more than 200 children sired by the Maharaja!) are stunning. The relationship between the 2 policemen is strong, they even share a home in Calcutta, unheard of in those days: an Englishman and an Indian man living under the same roof! Sam is pining after Annie, not terribly successfully and is addicted to opium, which affects him badly when he suffers from withdrawals. But he seems to be a good man, trying his best to be fair in his treatment of the people around him as he attempts to solve the murder.
Not having read the previous book (a fact I will remedy shortly!) I obviously missed some background, but I loved this book and believe it can definitely read as a standalone.
Can't recommend this book highly enough!