A Nest of Vipers

Starred review from March 11, 2024
Nagendra masterfully melds character, plot, and period detail in her transporting third historical mystery featuring amateur detective Kaveri Murthy (after Murder Under a Red Moon). It’s 1922, and the city of Bangalore is preparing for a visit from the Prince of Wales. Given that royal visits to Bombay and Calcutta during the previous year were “marked with riots and arson,” British authorities have already begun cracking down on activists advocating for Indian independence. Amid that tension, Kaveri attends a street magic show with her friend, Anandi. When a man in the crowd locks eyes with Anandi and mimes slitting his throat, she refuses to acknowledge that she knows the man. After the performance is over, Kaveri and Anandi find him dead from a broken neck, and Anandi admits he’s her estranged husband, Pawan. With Anandi arrested as the most obvious suspect, Kaveri and her husband, Ramu, set out to clear their friend’s name. As they dig deeper into the dysfunctional couple’s past, they stumble on a plot that could pose greater danger to the visiting prince than any political protest. Nagendra is in peak form here, expertly mining the era’s political frisson for top-shelf suspense. Fans of Abir Mukherjee’s Wyndham and Banerjee series will devour this. Agent: Priya Doraswamy, Lotus Lane Literary.

April 15, 2024
The third installment of the Bangalore Detectives Club series, following Murder under a Red Moon (2023), offers a winning blend of historical mystery and detective work propelled by the-clock-is-ticking danger. The setting is Bangalore, India, in 1921. Kaveri Murthi, Bangalore's first woman detective--young, recently married, and passionately devoted to mathematics, Sherlock Holmes, and human rights regardless of sex or caste--attends a circus performance that goes off the rails in several ways. The big-name magician disappears from a cage. Masked thieves take over the arena and strip British women of their jewelry. And the abusive husband of Kaveri's employee and friend, Anandi, who attends the circus with Kaveri, is found stabbed to death after she leaves Kaveri's side. Ratcheting up the tension is the impending visit to Bangalore by the Prince of Wales (later King Edward VIII), who has been touring India and facing widespread protests or empty streets. The only beings that are falling for him are the drugged tigers his servants present for him to shoot. This last detail is one of many that make Nagendra's mysteries fascinating to read. A courageous heroine; intriguing social history embodied in clothes, housing, and food; Indian jadoo magic; and a propulsive plot all add up to a rewarding read.

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