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Sunday, July 18, 2021

Midnight at Malabar House by Vaseem Khan

Cathy recommended Vaseem Khan as another author of Indian mysteries, and since I enjoyed Suhata Massey's The Widows of Malabar Hill and The Satapur Moonstone so much, I wanted to read Vaseem Khan's new series as well.   

Midnight at Malabar House is set in Bombay, but where The Widows of Malabar Hill is set in the 1920's as Ghandi's influence is increasing, Midnight at Malabar House begins on New Year's Eve 1949--after the 1947 partition of British India into two independent dominions, India and Pakistan.  From both historical accounts and a novel read years ago (I don't even remember the name), I knew this was a bloody and tragic period of sectarian violence and massacres.

Vaseem Khan creates Persis Wadia, India's first female detective: "mistrusted, sidelined and now consigned to the midnight shift."

 Persis, however, is determined to do her job regardless of prejudice and setbacks, and when she gets the call that Sir James Herriot, an important British diplomat, has been murdered, she finds herself in a sensational and delicate case amplified by the fact that she is female and the case is virulently political.

Midnight at Malabar House is an excellent mystery, but as I read, it was so many of the passages and events that reminded me of our contemporary problems, not only here in America, but in many countries.  We have pasts (and contemporary problems) that we would prefer not to acknowledge.

Quotes

"Inflame a man's passion and you can make him do anything."

"Evil could only flourish if the world colluded with it."

"How was a nation to establish itself if it could not look itself in the mirror."

"Thought Police, in particular, bothered her, the idea that individualism and independent thinking might actually be considered a crime."

"And that today many want that restriction."

"Men, women, and children murdered.  All in the name of patriotism."

"We all know what happened," she said.  "The trouble is that a new fiction is being written.  Day by day we are rewriting the past."

"...who set aside decades, sometimes centuries of friendship, who took up sword and flame to terrorise their neighbours and compatriots, to murder men, women, and children in a frenzy of bloodlust that even now is difficult comprehend."

"That is the true legacy of Partition.  The way it has coloured the perceptions of two peoples who were essentially one, the way it continues to serve as a means by which political interest on both sides of the border can employ hatred and prejudice as a means of deflecting criticism of their regimes."

Recommended for both the mystery and the history.  And now I want to read The Dying Day by Vaseem Khan.

Purchased.

Historical Mystery.  2020.  Print length:  320 pages.  

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I keep weeding, fighting mosquitoes, and retreating upstairs to work on my little monsters.  As Les at Coastal Horizons mentioned in a comment, listening to an audio book makes weeding less onerous, but darn, the heat!  

The blue jays that had been visiting for the peanuts I put out for them have been absent lately.  I suspect the aggressive mockingbird who patrols the yard and dive bombs Edgrr may be responsible.  Mockingbirds can intimidate other birds, but I would have thought blue jays would be worthy enough opponents.  At any rate, I miss the blue jays; they have their own feeder with nothing but peanuts and no other birds seem to want them.   

23 comments:

  1. I had a neighbor who used to put out peanuts for the Western Scrubjays that live around where I do, and the jays used to come hide them in my yard. I miss that. They're such fun birds to watch. :)

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    1. They are fun to watch, aren't they? So they used your yard as their "buried" treasure X on their internal maps? :)

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    2. Yes they did! And then they must have promptly forgotten where they hid their treasure because we'd find uneaten peanuts in our yard for months afterwards. :)

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    3. Oh, that's too funny, Lark! I think the squirrels must have been awful lazy to miss those peanuts!

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  2. I enjoy novels set in India and this sounds like one I should add to my reading list.

    Mockingbirds can be quite aggressive to other birds at the feeders. I have one that rules at my backyard feeders but the Blue Jays mostly frequent my front yard feeder so everybody's happy.

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    1. The historical setting and the mystery are interesting, but it was the particular problems of Partition that affected me. Too similar to our current problems for comfort.

      The mockingbird hasn't bothered other birds at their feeders, but the tree where the jays feeder is turns out to be a frequent perch for the mockingbird to torment Edgrr. Sigh. Rearrangements may be required.

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  3. The Persis character seems to have her hands full. Hard times to be a detective then.
    I like gardening to an audio ... and sometimes I have to wear long sleeves due to mosquitos but your heat there would be tough to handle! We are dealing with smoke right now from wildfires, which is terrible.

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    1. Heat and humidity are unpleasant, but nothing like the smoke and wildfires. Such a scary situation in both the long and short term. Stay safe!

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  4. Those are great quotes! I haven't seen our blue jays for a while. Maybe they're hiding because of the heat. Usually they are fighting the crows for the peanuts!

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    1. They are good quotes, aren't they? I'm hoping the blue jays will come back. We don't have crows, but something has been keeping them away, and I miss them!

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  5. I liked so much the style of Vaseem Khan's writing. The juxtaposition of old and new, how in Asia you never can get away from the old - its too hard! The characters are wonderful too and the post independence setting always gets me.

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    1. I'm so glad to have found another author I enjoy! Have you read any of his Baby Ganesh books? I'm going to have to give them a try as well. :)

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    2. I've read all the Baby Ganesh mysteries, and they're good. They provide a fascinating picture of modern Mumbai-- one takes readers right into Bollywood-- and one shows that Khan has a marvelous sense of humor. Khan, Massey, and Tarquin Hall are three of my favorite mystery writers whose books are set in India.

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    3. Looks like I have my India reading set up for a while!

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  6. Mockingbirds around here in Phoenix don't seem to be as aggressive-- probably because they don't have worthy opponents like jays. Denis and I have a favorite place up in the mountains where we like to feed the stellar jays peanuts.

    I'm glad you enjoyed Midnight at Malabar House, and I think you're going to like The Dying Day, too.

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    1. This mockingbird isn't aggressive to any other birds, which is a good thing. And yes, I'm looking forward to The Dying Day!

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  7. I'm not familiar with this author, but it sounds interesting given the history.

    My postcard is on its way to you. Sorry for the procrastination! :p

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    1. I've read positive reviews of Vaseem Khan's books on several blogs, but this is the first one I've read. It won't be the last. :) Yay, looking forward to your postcard, Melody!

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  8. I enjoyed Tarquin Hall's mystery series, which makes me think I'd enjoy these. I'll check them out. Thanks!

    Blue Jays are striking birds, aren't they! We put out peanuts for them, too. The mockingbird is our state bird, and I'm glad they don't chase other birds away here.

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    1. I haven't read Tarquin Hall, although I have seen positive reviews. Thanks for the reminder, I may give him a try as well.

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  9. Great review! I have added this to my wishlist because I think I would love it. And, the lines you quoted really make you wonder about history and how it does continue to repeat itself right?

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    1. Yes, those quotes apply to past and present, don't they. We don't seem to learn enough to prevent the worst of history happening again and again.

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  10. Suhata Massey's books were already on my list and now I will add Midnight at Malabar House by Vaseem Khan to the TBR. I am very much interested in reading books set in India and/or Pakistan. I have read the first book by Tarqin Hall but it was a little too "cozy" for my personal tastes, so I didn't continue on in the series.

    I have two hummingbird feeders in my yard and they are also very territorial! I need to set up a couple more feeders to spread the wealth. :D

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