Death in the East

Sam Wyndham, Book 4

By: Abir Mukherjee

Narrated by: Simon Bubb

Length: 12 hrs and 48 mins

Publisher's Summary

Brought to you by Penguin.

From the winner of the 2017 CWA Historical Dagger Award and the 2018 Wilbur Smith Award

Calcutta police detective Captain Sam Wyndham and his quick-witted Indian Sergeant, Surrender-not Banerjee, are back for another rip-roaring adventure set in 1920s India.

1905, London. As a young constable, Sam Wyndham is on his usual East London beat when he comes across an old flame, Bessie Drummond, attacked in the streets. The next day, when Bessie is found brutally beaten in her own room, locked from the inside, Wyndham promises to get to the bottom of her murder. But the case will cost the young constable more than he ever imagined.

1922, India. Leaving Calcutta, Captain Sam Wyndham heads for the hills of Assam, to the ashram of a sainted monk where he hopes to conquer his opium addiction. But when he arrives, he sees a ghost from his life in London - a man thought to be long dead, a man Wyndham hoped he would never see again. 

Wyndham knows he must call his friend and colleague Sergeant Banerjee for help. He is certain this figure from his past isn’t here by coincidence. He is here for revenge.

©2019 Abir Mukherjee (P)2019 Penguin Audio

A trip to the past with a message for the future

This book like the two others before it shine a light on the colonial past wrapped up in a murder mystery. The colonial story has two sides and these books show faults on both sides written by a young man of Indian descent who having grown up in Britain has absorbed the best of both sides of the equation in a very believable way.

Abir Mukherjee is now in my top 5 favourite author

Brilliant Story, brilliant narrator and inspirational author's note at the end. I think Mr Mukherjee has a unique view on the Indian/British/Scottish situation in India in the Raj. Fans of Tartan Noir should give this series of books a try as there is always at least one Scottish character. I have enjoyed each book in the series more than the one before and can't wait for the next one.

Extremely good!

Thoroughly enjoyed this book. Listening to the further adventures of Sam Wyndham is like hearing from an old friend. As ever, the scene is set beautifully and vividly, drawing the listener into the story. It is an excellent locked door murder mystery. And just when I was thinking how much I missed Surrendernot, he joined the plot too...
At first, I had my reservations about the reader who just sounded terribly slow. I increased the speed to 1.25 and the reading was perfect. Made me wonder if the slowness was a recording error.
Thank you Abir Mukerjee, for a thoroughly enjoyable (and thought-provoking) book. I hope the next installment of Sam & Surrendernot's adventures will be published soon

Disappointing

Having read/listened to the series and enjoyed each one, this came as a disappointment. Not the clear sentiments of the author, these were fine. Rather the predictable events of the first 2/3rds of the book were followed by the one surprise and a locked room mystery. Sadly that mystery too was so obvious that I spent the last part of the book thinking how dumb Sam actually was and frustrated that it dragged on so long.

thoroughly enjoyable!

Very good engrossing plot and unravelling storyline and very good narration of the characters. 👍🏻

Really good 4th book

Really good story, but to get the most out of it you really need to read previous 3 books in the series.

Very Satisfying Latest in a Great Series!

I really enjoyed this latest in the series. The programme at the monastery was interesting and convincing. The dual story line worked really well - not always a massive fan of this kind of structure but it was handled convincingly and added to the quality of the book.

Great that Banerjee and Wyndham have a deepening relationship and that both characters have a more complex relationship towards the ideology and practice of Imperialism.

I am conscious that any details here could spoil this excellent book for other Audible listeners - so please forgive any impresson of generalities.

Fully recommended and I hope that other listeners enjoy it as much - the whole series is very high quality . Now have to wait for Book 5!

Great story and narration

Simon Bubb is perfect as the narrator of Sam Wyndham and Mukherjee is back on form with a time slip story set in London and India.A great listen

Superbly read, engrossing story.

A great story set in two countries, two time periods. Thoroughly involving and with a top-class narrator. Looking forward to more of the same.

Beautiful and haunting

This was the first one I had read in this series, and I have not enjoyed a book this much for quite some time. The writing is beautiful, perfect for the period, and the characters were warm and totally credible. I will now go to the beginning and read all the books in the series.
PS Sometimes with an audiobook the performance can be to the detriment of the writing; not so in this case, as the voice and the story perfectly complimented each other.

An outstanding listen

Another success in a distinctive and engaging series. Let’s hope there will be more to come. Highly recommended