A Rising Man (Sam Wyndham, #1) in Around the World in 80 Books

Jul 24, 2017 Beverly rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: newtome2017, mystery, historical-mystery

thoughts coming shortly

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Feb 25, 2025 Sunflower rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fiction-read-2025, library, historical-fiction

This was a really enjoyable random choice from the library. Set in Calcutta in 1919, and true to the mores of the times, our recently arrived but flawed British hero and his Indian sergeant manage to crack the cases, although there isn't a happy ending for everyone involved. The prose is another reason I liked this book- it is well written with a wry sense of humour, which at times had me going back and reading particularly interesting sentences. I'm already looking forward to the second book in ...more

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Dec 13, 2020 Rachel N. rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery, historical-mystery, play-book-tag, series, historical-fiction, india, read-in-2020, calcutta

It's 1919 and Sam Wyndham has just arrived in Calcutta to join the police force. After WWI and the death of his wife the former member of Scotland Yard needed a change of pace. A top government official has been found murdered and Sam is assigned to the case along with Inspector Digby and Sergeant Banerjee. tensions are high between the native Indian population and the British and the fact that the bureaucrat was found with a note threatening the British doesn't help. I thought this was great st ...more

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Jun 20, 2021 Johanne rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: library-books, 2021-books, crime-fiction

It took me a minute to get in to this book, but once I was hooked, I enjoyed it a lot. Decent murder mystery, although I figured out a fair amount of it before it was revealed in the story. But the characters and setting were delightful. I really appreciated how the author could accurately portray colonial India, with a British officer as the central character, and comment so successfully on the horrendous racism of the situation, without making it feel like it was being looked at completely thr ...more

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Mar 20, 2017 Tony rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: crime, novella, historical-fiction, setting-india

Years ago, I tried the first book in the Inspector Rutledge series, having been drawn in by the concept of a veteran of the WWI trenches coming back from the war to be a Scotland Yard detective. That debut didn't really captivate me, so I didn't read further in the series (now at 15 books I think), but the idea of the war vet as detective still captures my imagination. This first in a projected series delivers on the same premise, although here, the hero has shipped out to India to join the colo ...more

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Apr 24, 2019 Tammy AZ rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: edgars

A promising start to a new series. Set in Calcutta in 1919, this book is look at a long-gone place and era. Sam Wyndham, the protagonist, is a World War I vet who lost his wife in the 1918 influenza epidemic. He's in India because he has nothing left in England. While the mystery is decent, the best part of this book is the author's depiction of Calcutta - the heat, the corruption, and best of all the British Empire itself. Seeing that presented and looking at it through a current eye is very ey ...more

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