The Bangalore Detectives Club

by Harini Nagendra Narrated by Soneela Nankani

Overview

The first in a charming, joyful cozy crime series set in 1920s Bangalore, featuring sari-wearing detective Kaveri and her husband, Ramu. Perfect for fans of Alexander McCall Smith's The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency.

When clever, headstrong Kaveri moves to Bangalore to marry handsome young doctor Ramu, she's resigned herself to a quiet life.

But that all changes the night of the party at the Century Club, where she escapes to the garden for some peace and quiet-and instead spots an uninvited guest in the shadows. Half an hour later, the party turns into a murder scene.

When a vulnerable woman is connected to the crime, Kaveri becomes determined to save her and launches a private investigation to find the killer, tracing his steps from an illustrious brothel to an Englishman's mansion. She soon finds that sleuthing in a sari isn't as hard as it seems when you have a talent for mathematics, a head for logic, and a doctor for a husband ...

And she's going to need them all as the case leads her deeper into a hotbed of danger, sedition, and intrigue in Bangalore's darkest alleyways.

Editorial Reviews

Rhys Bowen

A classic whodunnit with the added appeal of a female sleuth in colonial India. For the Western reader, a fascinating glimpse into customs and a mindset very different from our own.

M. W. Craven

"I absolutely adored The Bangalore Detectives Club, a beautifully painted picture of a woman's life in 1920s India. Kaveri is a compelling character, headstrong, clever and dogged, and not at all deterred by the constraints of her position and gender. A fantastic book."

Booklist (starred)

"Set in colonial India in 1921, this debut mystery, the first in a projected series, makes full use of the oppressive British rule of the time, matched by the oppressive treatment of women, to highlight the ingenuity and bravery of a young woman determined to solve a murder. Nagendra's evocation of setting is riveting, and her use of colonial history is thoroughly fascinating, with devastating depictions of the airy condescension of the British. A fine start to a promising series."

Catriona McPherson

"From page one we plunge into the exuberant cacophony of 1920s Bangalore, right there beside Kaveri Murthy in her adopted city: the drawing-rooms and dirt lanes, the gardens and brothels, the temples and jails. Nagendra's depiction of an awkward but tender new marriage is a delight, and who couldn't help but cheer for Kaveri as she swims in her sari, studies in secret, and commits herself to the pursuit of justice?

Vannessa Cronin

"Nagendra’s fiction debut is an excellent series starter, set in 1920s Bangalore. Kaveri, newly wed to handsome doctor Ramu, and biding her time until she can return to the study of mathematics, accidentally witnesses a murder at a social event and uses her skills to try to identify the killer with Ramu assisting. In a layered and well-nuanced show-don’t-tell writing style, Nagendra skillfully contrasts India’s burgeoning national independence movement with the more constrained situation of its women, especially those at the bottom of the caste system. Kaveri and Ramu—despite being novice sleuths—make a great pair in this atmospheric and charming mystery."

Book Riot

"For historical mystery and cozy mystery fans, armchair travel to 1920s Bangalore, where newly married Kaveri ends up at a party that instead turns into a murder mystery. Soon she’s investigating the case herself using her logical brain, talent for mathematics, and the medical expertise of her husband."

Oprah Daily

"Women have made serious inroads with historical mysteries, and the Bangalore Detectives Club is a perfect example. Authored by an Indian professor of ecology, the story is rich with the sights, sounds, tastes, and politics of southern India in the 1920s under British Colonial rule. One of the book’s strengths is how the heavier themes are balanced by the sweetness of the relationship between Kaveri and her husband."

Abir Mukherjee

"Told with real warmth and wit, in The Bangalore Detective Club, Harini Nagendra has created an intricate and fiendish mystery with a wonderful duo of amateur sleuths Kaveri and Ramu at its heart, and capturing the atmosphere and intensity of Bangalore in the roaring twenties. I can’t wait for the next installment. A perfect read for fans of Alexander McCall Smith and Vaseem Khan."

The New York Times Book Review - Sarah Weinman

"The first in an effervescent new mystery series by the ecology professor Harini Nagendra, The Bangalore Detectives Club turns the clock back a century. This is a treat for historical mystery lovers looking for a new series to savor (or devour)."

Vase Khan

"The Bangalore Detectives Club is the latest entry into the recent flowering of India-based crime fiction. Nagendra’s novel introduces us to Raj-era 1920s Bangalore and her calculus-loving amateur sleuth Kaveri Murthy. A cosy mystery that warmly illuminates a time and place not often examined in fiction.

Susanna Calkins

"Tantalizing and intriguing, The Bangalore Detective Club evokes the Golden Age of detective fiction with a romantic flair. In Kaveri Murthy, the lovely, impish and mathematically-inclined wife of Ramu, a Bangalore doctor, Nagendra offers readers a delightful amateur sleuth capable of drawing on the emerging forensics of the day to resolve a local murder. Throughout, Nagendra beautifully captures Bangalore in 1921, a city of contrasts, combining evocative period detail with insights into the social and political complexity of the region. A wonderful start to an enchanting new series!

Sujata Massey

The Bangalore Detective Club is a gorgeous debut mystery that introduces Kaveri Murthy, a young wife living a conservative household who applies her prodigious intelligence to solve a murder that threatens to tear apart genteel 1920s colonial Bangalore. Kaveri is a charming and fearless sleuth, trooping from elite social clubs to humble districts to ensure the right culprit is charged with murder. Nagendra brilliantly shares the landscape, social customs and history of South India in this spellbinding novel. I eagerly await the next Kaveri mystery.

Victoria Thompson

"Harini Nagendra takes us to wonderfully unfamiliar world in this delightful debut mystery. Colonial India is on the verge of gaining its independence from the British, and new bride Kaveri Murthy is also looking to gain her independence from the strict culture in which she was raised. You will love watching her blossom as she makes new friends and strives to save an innocent woman from a charge of murder. I couldn’t put it down."

R V Raman

"Harini takes us on an enjoyable trip back in time with a spunky young woman for company. When the resourceful Kaveri surreptitiously plays amateur sleuth, we find that Bangalore of the 1920s is as full of deceit as it is of prejudices. Kaveri's insatiable curiosity is matched only by her determination as she throws off the shackles that fettered women a hundred years ago."

Ovidia Yu

I loved The Bangalore Detectives Club mostly because I love Kaveri and Ramu and exploring 1920s Bangalore through their eyes. Kaveri especially is charming and practical and despite her age and inexperience (19 years old, newly wed and new to Bangalore) uses her position—as a doctor’s wife and as a woman who can speak to women who wouldn't speak to a man—to clear an innocent and expose a murderer.

Sumi Hahn

"This lush mystery will transport you to heady 1920s Bangalore, where new bride Kaveri stumbles into sleuthing—while dragging her doctor-husband into the fray. Mouth-watering fashion and food set against simmering colonial intrigue in this delicious whodunit can be devoured in one sitting."

JULY 2022 - AudioFile

With an engaging South Indian accent and lively characterizations, Golden Voice narrator Soneela Nankani paints a vibrant listening experience in this first title in a planned historical mystery series by a Bangalore professor. Set in 1920s colonial Bangalore, the story centers on new bride Kaveri and her husband, Rumi, a doctor, who attend an Anglo-Indian banquet where a murder occurs. When a defenseless woman is implicated, Kaveri launches an investigation. Well-researched history and evocative descriptions of food and clothing, furnishings and landscapes color the intrigue. Nankani rises to the challenge of portraying many British and Indian characters from all walks of life, including clipped memsahibs and coarse beggars. Her sympathetic delivery of the story’s cultural themes increases listeners’ appreciation. A.C.S. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award, 2022 Best Audiobook, 2023 Audies Finalist © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine

Product Details

BN ID:	2940178030202
Publisher:	Blackstone Audio, Inc.
Publication date:	08/02/2022
Series:	The Kaveri and Ramu Series , #1
Edition description:	Unabridged

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