Book Review: The Bangalore Detectives Club by Narini Nagendra

The Bangalore Detectives Club (Kaveri and Ramu #1). Pegasus Crime (2022). 304 pages. Genre: Mystery.

First Line: "Mrs. Kaveri Murthy pulled out her oldest sari, nine yards of checked cotton in dark brown."

Summary:  Bangalore, April 1921.  Kaveri is getting used to married life in Bangalore.  She and her husband, Dr. Ramu Murthy, are still getting to know one another.  Their marriage was arranged between their families, but both feel fortunate in their spouse. One evening they are invited to a dinner at the Century Club for the doctors and their wives.  This is a chance for Kaveri to meet some of the other wives.  

Later that evening, on her way to the ladies' room, Kaveri stops to look out the window at the gardens.  She notices someone lurking in the shadows and then views an argument between a man and a woman.  Not long after she returns to her place at dinner, a woman's loud scream is heard.  Soon the party is informed that a man has been found dead.  When Kaveri learns that the dead man is the man she saw arguing in the garden, her curiosity is peaked.  Fortunately, she brings her questions to her husband.  The two of them work with the police to help discover the murderer.

My thoughts:  Kaveri is an interesting heroine.  She is unique for her time in that she has been educated.  She grew up in a home where education was valued, even for women.  She is very interested in mathematics and is determined to continue her education.  She is currently studying to be able to take an exam, but is hiding it from her husband.  Granted, she doesn't know her husband very well yet and the prevailing attitude toward women becoming educated is negative.  There were several other instances where she hid things from her husband.  I was beginning to be a little annoyed with her.  Fortunately, each instance was soon discovered by her husband and in each instance he was not upset, but was understanding and they were able to talk about it.  This ultimately led to some good character development. 

I really enjoyed the setting.  The author did an excellent job of helping the reader get a feel for India in 1921.  The story takes place in the month of May and the description of the heat as well as the beauty of the flowers and gardens helped me to travel there in my mind.  There was such a vast range of wealth in the area, from the poor cowherders to the wealthy British doctors.  

Kaveri's husband, Ramu, has a love for automobiles and has one of his own.  There were a few scenes in the story where they went on excursions in the car.  These were some of my favorite parts of the book.  

The mystery allowed Kaveri to come in contact with people from several different classes.  Since the murder took place at the Century Club, the suspects were either doctors and their wives or staff.  Of course there is always the possibility that someone was there that shouldn't have been.  Since Ramu is at work during the day, Kaveri asks her neighbor to go with her to visit some of the people she wants to question.  As her neighbor is an older woman who has lived in the area for many years, she usually knows the person or one of their family. Along the way they are able to help some people while also gathering information.

Overall, I found this a bright, cheerful read.  I look forward to getting to know Kaveri and Ramu better in the next installment.

Quotes: 

"She could not help but notice things in the world sometimes - patterns and abnormalities.  They multiplied and repeated in all directions, like random coordinates on a map, begging somebody - begging her - to make sense of them."

"The temperamental May sky, overcast and cloudy when they had entered the cottage, had gone through one of its quick mood changes, and the sun now blazed hot overhead."

"She remembered Lalita Iyengar had also been heavily decked out in gold, wearing a thick chain, and multiple large bangles jangling on each hand as she swam.  It seemed an uncomfortable price to pay for the pleasure of flaunting your wealth."