I selected this book because the title of it's sequel fits the requirements of the Color Coded Reading Challenge. I will be reading The Infadel Stain next month for this challenge. This series by M. J. Carter is a historical thriller series.
The publisher's summary:
India, 1837: William Avery is a young soldier with few prospects except rotting away in campaigns in India; Jeremiah Blake is a secret political agent gone native, a genius at languages and disguises, disenchanted with the whole ethos of British rule, but who cannot resist the challenge of an unresolved mystery. What starts as a wild goose chase for this unlikely pair—trying to track down a missing writer who lifts the lid on Calcutta society—becomes very much more sinister as Blake and Avery get sucked into the mysterious Thuggee cult and its even more ominous suppression.
There are shades of Heart of Darkness, sly references to Conan Doyle, that bring brilliantly to life the India of the 1830s with its urban squalor, glamorous princely courts and bazaars, and the ambiguous presence of the British overlords—the officers of the East India Company—who have their own predatory ambitions beyond London's oversight
There isn't much of a mystery in this novel. I would say it is an atmospheric mystery where the setting is predominant over the action. We mostly read about the customs, sights and sounds of India. While I love India fiction, I also want a story. There is a murder to solve but it takes second place to the setting.
The novel is described as a historical thriller. It is historical as it takes place in the nineteenth century. However, this is not a thriller. None of this bodes well for my reading and review of The Infadel Stain but since it's already on my Kindle I plan on reading it.
We read this in my book club a while ago. I really enjoyed it for that intro to the setting.
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