The Bangalore Detectives Club

I've found a new historical mystery series to enjoy. Set in 1920s India, The Bangalore Detectives Club was a pure delight for someone like me who prefers the cosier side of mysteries yet craves authentic historical detail and a vibrant, multi-facetted setting.

The sleuth is a young Indian wife determined to study mathematics, supported by her new(ish) husband, a doctor. Through them, a picture emerges of a new and exciting vision both gender relations and for their colonised country, while always keeping the story on a human, compassionate, and sweetly humorous scale. Even the - for me - unusual circumstance of instantly picking out the villain ("it can't be this easy," I thought; "this must be a red herring." ) barely impacted my enjoyment. I absolutely loved the three-dimensional characters and the dynamics of their interactions, the searching social and political commentary, and the deft writing - all treated with a light touch, a lot of heart, and passionate caring.

I know very little of Indian culture so pretty new for me this. Set in 1920's Bangalore. The MC, Kaveri is 19 years old and just off to live with her husband in another city, their parents have arranged the marriage. Lucky for her he's a pretty modern man and doesn't mind her studying math. At a dinner party at some fancy club with English people a man is murder and Kaveri who loves murder mystery books gets sleuthing...

It's another meh for me. Kaveri and hubby never runs into any issues and wraps up the mystery with a nice little bow at the end. No challenges, no conflicts. For example, Kaveri's husband is a modern man but his mother is not, this could be used to add conflict, have MIL causing issues for Kaveri but no. I can't recall a moment in this book when Kaveri had to use her head to get out of problem.