We meet Captain Jim Agnihotri as he is recovering from battle wounds in a military hospital in Poona in 1892. He passes the time reading books and newspapers, when his attention is captured by the story of two young women who are said to have jumped from a Bombay university clock tower to their deaths. The husband of one of the women wrote a letter to the paper and his words haunt Jim. 

Upon Jim’s release from the hospital and being discharged from the Army for medical reasons, Jim needs to find work. The haunting words of the young widower drives him to approach the local paper and ask for job looking into the mystery further, as he does not believe the women committed suicide, regardless of the trial’s outcome. His first task is to meet the young widower, Adi, and he is quickly hired to work for the husband and find the truth of what happened that day.

As Jim searches for answers, he comes to find the Framji family to be everything he could wish for in a family. The child of an Indian mother and an English father, Jim was orphaned as a young boy and raised in a catholic orphanage and has a strong desire for the family he is working for. As he creates bonds with the family and takes risks to get answers, the family comes to care for him and it he begins taking more risks that put him in jeopardy as he searches for the truth that will help the Framji family begin to heal.

Having spent a good deal of time in India, primarily Mumbai and Pune, and having a love for history, this book called to me. I was swept up in the story and could see the people, smell the aromas, and was familiar with the Indian hospitality described. I was literally transported to India.

A fabulous whodunit that holds great promise for the author with this debut novel. WOW! I cannot wait to see what Nev March releases next.