Murder in Old Bombay is an immersive portrait of the late 1800’s life of an orphaned, mixed race, 30-year-old Indian man, Captain James “Jim” Agnihotri, who has been through the murderous terror of a frontier Light Calvary Afghan campaign, an event that haunts, shames and follows him throughout the book.
Just as he is being released after a lengthy hospitalization from his injuries, he receives a Sherlock Holmes book and a local newspaper detailing the deaths of two young women, and the verdict of suicide by jumping off a high library tower in a main square. He reads a letter from Adi Framji, the husband and brother of the two young women, whose mourning moves him deeply, “They are gone, but I remain.”
Thus begins the search as he convinces Adi and the wealthy, entitled Parsee Framji family to allow him to find the truth of the deaths.
This is a very lyrical narrative of historical events and military campaigns that would play out over decades on borders among countries, continents, castes, the wealthy and powerful, the subjugated and poverty stricken. It is a look into military campaigns, those who harm and those who heal.
Captain Jim is a man of honor and empathy, and in his quest to bring closure to the Framji family, the boundaries of societal position become blurred by mutual respect and love. There are brutal, soulless skirmishes, family secrets revealed, promises kept and broken, and a host of well drawn characters from all walks of life and nationalities.
I have read many fiction and non-fiction books set in India, and although some aspects of the story are predictable, I was carried along and felt myself bound up in the journey and lives of the characters and their outcome, and hopeful that Captain James Agnihotri might appear again.

A very interesting read. Captain Jim, recently recovered from wounds received during military service, asks to investigate the deaths of two young women in the same family. The Framjis family hires Jim to find the truth, no matter the cost. Following Sherlock Holmes "lead", Jim begins to dig and find enemies intent on harming him.
The story portrays India very well. The vast differences in different areas and the dark sides of the country are brought out. At times the story felt a little drug out, but in the meantime, you have a chance to learn more about Indian culture and lifestyles.
The author does a good job of keeping you guessing until the very end about who all involved in the murder of two young Indian girls and the motive behind their deaths.

Murder in Old Bombay had a promising start with interesting main characters and colorful historical details about British colonial India in the 1890s. Unfortunately, at the halfway point, the novel quickly devolved into a rambling tale that became an Indian version of War and Peace with a trial thrown in for good measure.

The novel begins when Richard, an orphaned half-Indian half-British retired Army Officer is in the hospital recuperating from a war injury. While reading a newspaper he comes across an article about the trial of suspects in the death of two women who fell from a University clock tower to their deaths. The suspects were acquitted and the court concluded that the women had committed suicide. One of the newspapers included a letter to the editor from Adi, whose wife and cousin were the two women who fell from the clock tower. In the letter, Adi insists that his wife and cousin did not commit suicide. Intrigued, Richard accosts Adi and offers his services as an investigator into the crime. He is quickly hired and befriended by Adi and his family, a prominent Indian family. Richard quickly falls in love with Diana, Adi’s sister who has just returned from England.

The first half of the book is an intriguing glimpse into the history and society of India in the late 19th Century. The main character is complex, plagued by his mixed race heritage, as well as Post Traumatic Stress from his recent battles while serving in the Army. Unfortunately, the last half of the book seems to have gone off the rails, narrating in excruciating detail Richard’s trek across war-torn India in search of a witness. Compounding the error of creating a meandering narrative, the author has Richard make inexplicable leaps of logic regarding the true motive for the murder of the two women. The murder is then “solved” during an interrogation of one of the criminals during an inquest into the later deaths of other victims, where Richard is allowed to question this individual despite the fact that Richard has no legal training. This book had such potential to be a great novel; unfortunately it seems to have lost its way halfway through the narrative, becoming a convoluted mess.

I could not believe that this book was the author’s debut novel! She pulls you in at the first page and hold you to the very end.This book was so good that I was checking back to see about the author’s other books when I found out that this was her first and only one so far. I cannot wait to read more of her stories. Keep writing Ms.March because you write like a pro!! And I for one will gladly read anything you write.

Fascinating tale of war, love, ethnicity and customs in India 130 years past. Characters are fully rendered, but most enjoyably the physical descriptions are left for the reader to flesh out as if in a coloring book. The atmosphere is so deftly crafted that one feels immersed as if there. Superb debut. Reveals more cultural information on India and its history of the era than most other fiction.

Murder in Old Bombay is a fun mystery set in late nineteenth century India, where crack detective Captain Jim Agnihotri is inspired by Sherlock Holmes in The Sign of the Four, and decides to investigate the deaths of two women who fell to their deaths from a clock tower. Not believing it to be suicide, he's hired on by the widower and cousin of the women to find out what really happened. Jim finds the mysterious deaths more complicated than he thought, faces danger at every turn, and falls in love with someone off limits within the castes of India while slowly piecing together why the women died. And I do mean slowly. While this book was fun, and it was great to see a mystery take place somewhere different, the book moved slowly to me. It also felt like it periodically went off the rails, taking Jim on a tangent that vaguely tied into his investigation but felt more like a way to stretch the story out further. All the tangents tied into the story, but it felt like it got overly complicated, with Jim chasing every tiny lead for the slightest enlightenment. With the constant references to Sherlock Holmes and the time period in which it takes place it feels like March definitely took Doyle's stories as inspiration. But where Doyle wraps up a mystery succinctly and makes all the pieces come together in a moment of clarity, March seems to complicate the story more and more as it goes along - making it challenging to the reader to follow Agnihotri's train of thought and how deep the investigation really goes.

Based on real events, this novel was pure Sherlock Holmes with an Indian flair. Having been to modern India several times, it was a consummate pleasure to be transported to the late 19th Century . The dialogue so perfectly portrayed a prismatic view of this period in time. Romance, history and a perfectly plotted story engulfed all my senses and vividly conveyed to me the mysterious dimension of colonial India. At the beginning, Captain Jim Agnihotri,an Anglo-Indian,is recovering in a hospital convalescing from wounds sustained in combat in the Northern Frontier. While reading an article about a crime where two women apparently jumped to their death, he is deeply affected. In a circuitous manner, he becomes an investigator for one of the women's husband who believes they were murdered. The husband, Adi, is willing to sacrifice anything to find out the truth. Captain Jim becomes involved in many skirmishes trying to ascertain the truth for the family. As time progresses he becomes deeply attached to the family and vows to seek explanations for all that went wrong. I loved being transported to a different place in a land I cherish. The reader will love the suspense, as the author unveils a literary onion, constantly adding pieces to the puzzle. Can you tell I was enamored of this book? It only got better as one read further. My only hope is that there will be a sequel!

MURDER IN OLD BOMBAY is one of the most engrossing historical novels I have read in years. It has compelling characters, an engrossing plot, and a compelling sense of time and place.

I know very little about Anglo-Indian history or cultural issues and this book wove them in to the story in a natural and effortless manner. I never felt like the "historical bits" were just filler to support the novels claim as an "historical mystery."

The principal characters were so beautifully conceived that I felt like I was part of their world, or part of their family. Nev March has written a wonderful book that is far more than just a period mystery--it is a romantic story of love and loss, but mostly a tale of achievement over adversity. I loved every minute I spent with this novel.

NetGalley provided me a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for a candid review.

A winding and complex mystery that begins with the death of a woman and her sister falling from a university clock tower. Ruled suicide, the husband, Adi Framji, refuses to believe it and writes to the Chronicle protesting the verdict. Captain James Agnihotri, just hired by the Chronicle, is drawn to the case and wants to find out who killed the two women. This begins a long and arduous journey involving human trafficking, warring factions, family secrets, and the methods of Sherlock Holmes. It was a difficult read for me with so much violence and mistreatment of women and children. But it was well-written and quite a journey with a little romance throughout a difficult story.

Nev March takes an interesting approach to this Holmes-inspired mystery by making his protagonist-detective a combination of both Holmes and Watson. Jim sees himself as an aspiring Holmes, using logical deductions to solve mysteries, but the fact that he's a veteran of the Afghan campaign in British-controlled India puts him in the same basic position as John Watson - a survivor of that particular war who brings his military experiences to bear on the case. Add in the fact that Jim is half-Indian (his absent father was British) and that puts him in a strange between-the-worlds space in colonial India: he's neither fish nor fowl, despite his high-caste surname, and his treatment largely depends on the person he's interacting with and their own particular prejudices. All of this interweaves with the mystery fairly well, although the social plot line can at times feel more interesting than the mystery. On the whole this is an engaging story firmly rooting in its time, place, and inspiration, and if it isn't perfect, it's still a good read.

A mystery in Old Bombay with very likeable characters. Who murdered 2 young women? Enchanting mystery with a different set of history and. Customs.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the eARC.
Captain Jim Agnihotri is in hospital whiling away time reading the newspapers. He's in Poona, India in the year 1892. He's fascinated by an article about the death of two young women who fell to their death minutes apart in Bombay. He ends up working for the husband of one of the women, trying to find the truth about the tragedy, unknowingly stirring up a hornet's nest. He's in for some nasty attacks and 'accidents' before getting at the truth.
Jim is an interesting and very likeable character. He's Anglo Indian, his father white and his mother Indian...not an easy life path to follow. I lived in Bombay for 2 years and had several Anglo Indian
friends and even then, in the late 1960's and early 70's it was upsetting to see how difficult their status was. Not accepted by the English or the Indians, it could be a very lonely life.
The descriptions of Bombay made me nostalgic and the historical mentions were very interesting, even though I knew about them. There's lots of action and adventure and some adorable kids. There's also romance, which is not my genre and the ending is happy, as expected. If there's a follow-up I would definitely read it. My rating is 3.5 stars.

I was intrigued by the description of the book, and as it reminded me of The Widows of Malabar Hill which I loved, I decided to take a chance on it. I'm so glad I did. I particularly enjoyed learning about the historical parts of the book, and I liked the main character being Anglo-Indian and the big impact of that on his life. The book is a great mix of mystery, historical novel, adventure and romance. I appreciated learning about the culture of the time, both for women and young men, learning more about Zoroastrians in India, as well as the devastation from the uprisings against the British from both perspectives. I would be happy to read more if it should become a series. The main character, Jim, is a complex person, and I'd be interested in seeing what happens in his life. I highly recommend this book.

It’s 1892, and Captain Jim Agnihotri is recovering in a military hospital when he reads about a puzzling case: two women have fallen from a clock tower. The husband of one of the women is certain that they didn’t die by suicide, and hires Jim to investigate. Jim is a devotee of Sherlock Holmes, and tries to use his methods to solve the mystery. The setting of India during British rule is unique, and the author seems to have done quite a bit of research to create the novel’s unique ambiance. Recommended for readers who enjoy historical mysteries with a different twist.Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Mystery and adventure. Love that this booked was based in Colonial India. Felt like i was actually in the country Was very privileged to be given this early publication book to review.

Thank you to Net Galley for providing an e-copy of this book for my review.“ Murder in Old Bombay” is the well deserved winner of the First Crime Novel Competition awarded by Minotaur Books and Mystery Writers of America, I thoroughly enjoyed this book; it had all the hallmarks of a good historical novel. The protagonist, Captain James Agnihotri recently retired from a British Cavalry company, takes on the job of solving the murder of two young Parsee women in 19th century Bombay. In the course of solving the murder Jim travels to Afghanistan. I enjoyed learning about the various tribes and the tribal set up of the country still in place today. The supporting cast of characters were well fleshed out and believable. I look forward to reading more about these characters in, hopefully, future books.

Mystery, romance and adventure in Colonial India! It is no wonder that Nev March won the Mystery Writers of America First Crime Novel Award. She does a great job immersing the reader in the sights, sounds and smells of Colonial India with all of its wonder and harsh realities in this enticing novel.

Jim Agnihotri is recovering from wounds suffered while serving in the British army when he becomes intrigued by the death of two women who fell from a clock tower during broad daylight. Floundering around with what to do with himself after being discharged from the Army, Jim decides to follow up on the interesting case and is hired by the family of the two women to investigate the circumstances of their death. Emulating the methods of Sherlock Holmes, with some amateur mistakes along the way, Jim is plunged into a complex mystery that takes him from the splendor of Bombay to combat torn areas and into the darkness of the human heart and mind.

Captain Jim, half Indian and half English, is a wonderful unique and complex character. He is an outsider of British and Indian society though it also allows him to move in both. His status prevents his advancement in the British army and stands as a barrier to his romance with Diana Framji. However, his English side allows him some social mobility that his low birth would never allow in the strict caste system of India. At times, Jim is torn between his loyalties to both sides of his heritage.

March also portrays the complexity of the situation of India at this time. Some sided with the British because their self-interest lay there but they could be torn by the appeal of Indian self-government. Others strongly supported a form of Indian self-government. Neither side is show as all evil or all positive. Horrors are committed by both sides. In the end, the ones that suffer the most are the common people.

Don't forget the mystery, romance and action. All this historical context does not overwhelm the superb story. There are heart-pounding moments when Jim risks his life to save stranded soldiers in enemy territory. There is also a heart-breaking romance, if predictable, that is superior to what one usually finds in a mystery novel. The mystery is well-crafted and kept me up reading well into the night.

I look forward to reading the next one, if there is one, with great anticipation.

Thanks to netgalley for a free copy of this book in return for an impartial review.

This is not the genre I usually choose. It is set in foreign lands with names that are often difficult. That being said, I enjoyed this historical fiction mystery with a Sherlock Holmes type military man. Quite a mouthful to describe the protagonist. This story is a page turner-difficult to put down. I hope to discover more books by this author. The story reminded me of books by M.M. Kaye that I read years ago. The only part I would change would be the ending chapters-drawing out the conclusion. Don’t miss this book.

This book was very interesting. It was the first time I read a mystery novel set in India. I loved the fine detailed history of the area and characters. It was very well written and told a good story. I definitely recommend to those looking for a good solid mystery with many twists and turns.

Bombay! 1892! It’s the British Raj! Captain Jim Agnihotri is stuck in a hospital in Poona, recovering from injuries he received in the northern frontier. There’s not much he can do except lie there and read newspapers. As he slowly recovers, Jim becomes fascinated with a case he keeps reading about - two young women, Bacha and Pilloo Framji, died after falling from the Rajabai Clock Tower at the University. Was it suicide? Or something more sinister? The Framjis are a super-wealthy Parsee family who are basically the crème de la crème of Bombay society, and the deaths of two young women in the family is a massive news story/scandal. Jim follows the whole saga while in the hospital - there’s a trial, three men accused of being involved with murder...only they’re found innocent. But if the women had committed suicide, why did they not jump at the same time? And why did Pilloo land so far away from Bacha? As the story starts to fade from the headlines, Jim becomes even more obsessed with the case after reading a passionate letter-to-the-editor by Bacha’s widower, Adi:

"Sir, I beg you do not besmirch the memory of my dear wife and sister with foolish rumours. Their loss has taken the life from our family, the joy from our lives. Leave us in peace. They are gone but I remain."

That last line in particular sticks in Jim’s head - having survived while so many of his fellow soldiers died on the frontier. Jim, having also read <i>The Sign of the Four</i>, resolves to become like his new idol Sherlock Holmes, and solve the case of the two Framji women.

The second he’s out of the hospital, Jim manages to finagle himself a job as a journalist at a paper ran by a guy who is also interested in solving the case. Lucky for Jim, his new editor gets him an interview with the widower and expert letter-writer, Adi Framji. Adi meets Jim and they pretty much instantly become best friends.

So Jim’s new BFF Adi doesn’t just want to do an interview for a paper. He hires Jim right then and there to be his live-in private investigator and finally figure out once and for all the truth behind what happened to his wife and Pilloo.

Even though Jim is an ex-soldier with like only one instance of investigative experience, who isn’t really a private detective, he just read a book about one and decided “hey, I could do that.” I mean, why not? Fortunately, Jim isn’t a complete moron - he’s actually really good at this whole investigating thing. He immediately figures that the women definitely didn’t commit suicide. They were murdered. But why? The Framjis are genuinely kind people - so kind that they immediately accept the half-English bastard orphan ex-soldier Jim into their household and start acting as his surrogate family. Even Adi’s gorgeous other sister, Diana, starts making eyes at Jim. The Framjis are just super. Who would ever want to hurt them and why?

I do loves me my 19th century mysteries, and, for some reason, I really like mysteries that are set in India during the Raj. Why? No idea, I just do. And with the world the way it is right now, I wanted an escape and Murder in Old Bombay provided just that. Nev March beautifully evokes late 19th century India as Captain Jim chases up clues and suspects from Bombay to Lahore, donning disguises, questioning suspects, getting suckered into one last army assignment...seriously, I loved this book. It took my brain to a completely different time and place, something I desperately needed right now. Murder in Old Bombay is a fantastic read - my only complaint is that it drags a bit in the middle, but eh, most books do and that’s what final revisions are for. I sincerely hope that this is the first book in a series, and that we’ll be seeing more 19th century mysteries being solved by Captain Jim.