The Silversmith's Puzzle brings Jim and Diana back to her family home in Bombay to save her brother from a charge of murdering his business partner. I love that the mystery again takes place in India. I feel the strength of the books is their sense of place, the historical references and the explanations of what is and isn’t allowed among the various peoples. I enjoy learning about the castes, the different religious sects and the social interactions. I have enjoyed all 4 of the books in this series but hope Jim and Diana remain in India from now on.

I both liked and disliked this book. My dislike stemmed from the fact that it takes place in the past and involves servants. I find myself less thrilled to read stories where families have slaves or servants, because I cannot ever imagine a servant being so excited to get a glass of water for a person that they skip away to do it. This is my owner personal hangup and does not directly impact the quality of the mystery of the silversmith's death.
I found the mystery surrounding Rastogi's death to be well-constructed. Adi is a meek character that is the perfect patsy for the murder. Jim is both an outsider to Indian culture but a part of Adi and Diana's family and a peripheral part of the Bombay constabulary. Jim is the perfect person to investigate the murder since he is a master of disguise, is an intuitive investigator, and has both ties yet the ability to move around freely. I enjoyed how complicated the mystery became due to Indian culture and family dynamics - this type of mystery would not be so complicated in American culture. I am thankful to Steve Erickson of St. Martin's Publishing Group (Minotaur Books) for giving me the opportunity to read an ARC of The Silversmith's Puzzle, because I found the investigation to have so many tangents and I enjoyed learning about Indian traditions. Although I have heard of the caste system and know of arranged marriages, this story makes real the daily life of a typical Indian family. It also brings to light the shunning resulting from going against family or religious directives. Sure, this takes place in the past and traditions evolve, yet the historical footprint is still present. An excellent mystery, notwithstanding my initial misgivings.

I've read the first & third in the series and was glad to get the offer to read #4 from NetGalley. The couple returns to India for this investigation. Diana's brother is accused of murder & they return to find the true killer. Upon their return they are met once again with religious prejudice, but Diana's family pull together to support them. There are many twists & turns in this latest mystery. It is carefully plotted with much Indian history & culture included. I was glad to be reading on my Kindle where I could quickly look up people & events on Wikipeedia. Giving this one 4 stars and I recommend it to both historical fiction & mystery lovers.

The mystery stands alone, but is best understood by fans of the series, or at least those who read book one. I never read the first book and I would have liked this story more if I had, even though I read books 2 and 3. It took a long time for Jim to make progress with the investigation, or maybe the pacing made it feel that way. Diana is on the sidelines in its one. She complains about her ostracism, justly, but does little else for long sections. Bombay itself is more of a character than her. Jim’s great, but this one isn’t a team effort, if that matters to you. Still on board for the next book.

I had read March's earlier novel and found it engaging and informative so knew I wanted to read this new one. I like mysteries and was especially attracted to this one dye to its setting in British India. The cultural context made it more interesting. I leaned about life in India during this time in history - cultural, politics and overall life. The dive into the Parsi culture gave me some insight into a an area I had no exposure to. It added depth to the story through a varied and diverse set of characters. The inclusion of a mix of caste, religion and statuses in the characters is a strength. I give March a plus for having the main character be Anglo-Indian / Eurasian. That added to the richness of the story.
A weakness, that added caused me a bit of a down in reading, was that the story did plod in places. Some gentle editing to smooth those slow points would strengthen the story.

I am a completely unabashed and enthusiastic fan of Nev Marsh's books, and when I saw she had written another book featuring Jim Agnihotri, half Anglo and half Indian, and his Parsi wife, Lady Diana Framji, I was delighted to delve immediately into this rich book. I was not disappointed.

Nev Marsh manages to incorporate intricate mystery, teach us about important aspects of Indian and Parsi culture, introduce us to the complexities of Diana's family, and to interweave clever and timely plots into a comprehensive and alluring whole. Themes such as silver smithing (thus the title), child slavery, the tight knit and challenging rules of Parsi society and how that affects Jim's and Diana's relationship, Jim's half-caste background, and the challenges of colonial and the underground of Bombay in 1894 are all carefully featured.

At the same time, Marsh's descriptions of environmental Bombay, the city itself, buildings, and intercultural life all add to the mystery of the book. Lady Diana and Jim go back to Bombay from the US in order to help her brother, who has been accused of a homicide that Jim has to sort out. The pace is quick but fascinating and complex.

Every Marsh book provides something for the reader to learn, and the quick-paced plots and socially oriented relationships are somewhat recondite but always compelling. I eagerly await Marsh's next book.

Thanks to Minotaur Books and Net Galley for the opportunity to read this book.

Continuation of previous storylines but a reader is able to jump in here without too much trouble. The storyline takes the family back to a familiar place, seeking to help solve a murder. But will they be welcome after their marriage? And who is the mastermind behind this plan?

Loved the book. Captain Jim and Lady Diana return to India to solve a mystery and the stakes are high. The twists and turns in this story keep coming and the action is exciting. Best book yet!

This was my first foray into this series, and so it took a little longer to read the ARC because, naturally, I had to go back and read the preceding novels,

What a great way to discover a new favourite author.

The Silversmith’s puzzle had me longing for the characters to return to India, and the world was written so well. As was the mystery itself. A real page turner from the start.

Back in Ol' Bombay.......

Nev March, you've taken us to the center of activity, once again, in India where our story had its first beginnings. The Silversmith's Puzzle is the fourth book in this series, but it can be read as a standalone. My favorite books is still Murder in Old Bombay. (2020)

"If you want to go quickly, go alone. If you want to go far, go together." (African Proverb)

Fissures and divides only weaken a society. Nothing emphasizes that more than when Captain Jim Agnihotri and his wife, Lady Diana Framji, return to Bombay after living in the United States in 1894. Love holds them together, but that love cost Diana her inheritance. The Parsi community puts pressure on purity of bloodline and Captain Jim is of mixed race. When they return to the Framji home, their usual friends and acquaintances shun them or make excuses not to gather together. It's obvious that Jim and Diana have been ostracized.

But life has bigger fish to fry. Diana's brother, Adi, has been accused of murder. He had started a business with a silversmith to craft surgical implements. Adi was found bending over this craftsman who had a silver scalpel in his neck. Adi claims innocence, but witnesses say otherwise.

Adi is Jim's best friend and brother-in-law. It is up to Jim to find the real killer. Proving Adi's innocence will not be easy as Jim sifts through secrets and outright lies. He'll come across roadblocks of the caste system in which the society is subdivided into hierarchies or ranked by wealth, property or assets. British rule as a stronghold wouldn't allow Indians to hold top positions in civil service or banks causing another layer of division and strief. Although serving in the Army, Captain Jim still was not afforded complete homor because of his mixed race.

Nev March takes on quite the mystery here. It's a long dive into societal roadblocks and British rule during this time period. No stone is left unturned as March pursues multi-layered avenues into solving this crime. She implements Jim's voice into pursuit of the real killer even though it seems that Adi is not fully forthcoming in what he knows. Diana stays somewhat on the sidelines this time. It's Jim's show.......fullout and fierce.

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley for an honest review. My thanks to Minotaur Books and to the talented Nev March for the opportunity.

Jim and Diana have returned to Bombay to help Diana’s brother Adi clear his name after being accused of killing his business partner Satya. Making things more complicated is that Diana and Adi are Parsi, and many in the Parsi community do not approve of Diana’s marriage to a non-Parsi, which results in ostracism. The investigation into Satya’s death will involve fake gold, religious statues, caste prejudice, tax collection, tension between Indians and the British, and child slavery.

It was interesting to learn what events and which people in the story were based on or influenced by historical events or figures.

Me before reading The Silversmith’s Puzzle: I want Jim and Diana to go back to India

Me while reading The Silversmith’s Puzzle: How fast can we get them out of India?

Returning home scratched an itch many of us had for this series, but seeing Jim and Diana navigate the caste system and Jim’s always being an “other” reminds you that they knew what they were doing when they moved away.

It was great to see Diana’s family again, but tough to see how the Parsi’s have treated them since Diana married outside the group

The mystery was fascinating and complicated. I had no idea how it would resolve until the moment the murderer confessed.

It looks like we’ll be in India for another book! I’m thrilled to see more of Diana’s amazing family!

I've really been enjoying this series, and this may be the best oneyet. Jim and Diana return to Bombay, where Diana's brother is suspected of murdering his business partner. This brings them back to the Framji family, who are so lovingly portrayed, but have been sadly absent from the series for two books. This book is tighter than the first one, also set in India. It's fast-paced and suspenseful, and the themes about colonialism are further developed. Nev March is really hitting her stride.

Captain Jim and Lady Diana return to India to clear her brother's name in The Silversmith's Puzzle, the latest novel by Nev March.
As much as I have enjoyed this series thus far, I felt like this one had me wanting to pick up the previous books to reread them... in that I felt like I was remembering parts of the previous plots incorrectly, and thus I was confused. And with that, I also think that this book wouldn't work as a stand alone either, as I'm not sure that there's enough frame of reference given.
I also overall, unfortunately, have to say that this installment is the weakest one for me, both in terms of the mystery and the character development. I did like the general premise, and the return to the setting of India -- it was part of the reason why the first novel had me so enthralled with how March worked in history with the main plot and Jim's characterization. However, I didn't get the same feeling with this one sadly, it was like something the missing for me. I also felt like there could have been more exploration of Diana's plot, and she definitely felt less on the page to me compared to the last two books. They continue to be fascinating characters all the same, I just wish that this book clicked for me the way that the others did.
I would recommend this novel to readers who are fans already of the series. 3 stars.
Thanks to St. Martin's Press, Minotaur Books, and NetGalley for providing this copy, in exchange for a fair and honest review.

(Captain Jim and Lady Diana Mysteries #4)
The Silversmith's Puzzle by Nev March

I adored the character of Captain Jim Agnihotri in the first book of this series, Murder in Old Bombay. That book focused on Jim and his experiences, past and present, and gave us the story from his POV. The two books that follow continue Jim's story although his wife Diana plays a huge part in those two books and I wanted the series to go back to putting Jim in the forefront of the stories. I'm so pleased with this fourth book in the series that once again allows us to see life from Jim's POV. This is the series going back to what I loved so much in the first book and I want the author to know how much I appreciate the approach she took in the first book and this fourth book.

What I enjoy about this book (and the first one) is that we are back in Bombay again, with Diana's family. Now Diana must face the traditional Parsi community shunning her for her marriage to Jim but the two didn't hesitate to come back to Diana's home because her brother, Adi, needs their support and help. Adi's business partner was murdered and for many reasons Adi is being suspected of his murder. Things look bad for Adi but Jim knows Adi would never kill anyone and Jim's going to use all his skills to find out who really killed the business partner.

Jim loves the stories of Sherlock Holmes and he's often quoting Holmes and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. He has used what he's learned from those stories to help him solve crimes in the past. This is one of the features I enjoy so much from the first book, too, Jim's utilization of what he has read to help him through life. He may have come from an extremely poor background but he was/is always willing to learn and continues to study and make good use of his education. This is a man who has not let his background keep him down but who also has not forgotten where he came from and that others like him need support and compassion to survive.

Diana, his wife, grew up affluent and able to have anything that a young woman of her status was allowed. She's as smart and clever as Jim and they make a great pair. Now her family is struggling financially as they've lost so much in the global financial slump and that's just one more thing putting her brother in the crosshairs of the justice system. The family's financial crisis it allowing others to give Adi a motive to kill his business partner and things do not look good for Adi or the family.

It looks to me like there will be more of Jim (and those important to him) and I look forward to additions to this series. Don't miss the author's notes because they are so interesting when it comes to this series, how she came to write it, what's based on real events, what might have been changed. All that information adds to my enjoyment of this world and characters she has created.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press | Minotaur Books and NetGalley for this ARC.

This was a fantastically done mystery novel, it had that element that I was looking for and enjoyed getting back into this world. The concept had everything that I was looking for and enjoyed the time-period in this universe. Nev March has a strong writing style and was hooked from the first page, it continued the story from the previous three books.