A Necessary Evil

By: Abir Mukherjee

Narrated by: Simon Bubb

Length: 11 hrs and 12 mins

Publisher's summary

The fabulously wealthy kingdom of Sambalpore: home to tigers, elephants, diamond mines and the beautiful Palace of the Sun. When the heir to the throne of Sambalpore is assassinated in Calcutta in the presence of Captain Sam Wyndham and his colleague 'Surrender-Not' Banerjee, Wyndham works to uncover the reasons behind Prince Punit's death, despite the opposition of his commanding officers. Travelling to Sambalpore, he discovers a kingdom riven with suppressed conflict. Prince Punit was a moderniser whose attitudes - and romantic relationship - may have upset the more religious elements of his country while his brother appears to be a feckless playboy. And when Annie Grant, the first woman to capture Wyndham's heart since the death of his wife, arrives in the kingdom, Wyndham knows this is going to be a case that is as challenging personally as it is professionally.

©2017 Abir Mukherjee (P)2017 Random House Audiobooks

Leaves you craving for more !

Abir Mukherjee and Simon Bubb continue the magic in their second novel of the series - this novel deals with a little bit more sophisticated plot with multiple characters coming in the fray of the classic whodunnit. The novel also portrays some of the beautiful cultural symbols of India which are still existent today (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ratha_Yatra_(Puri)). Narration is again really enjoyable. Before you read this, make sure you read the first novel since some characters are continued from the first novel.

Fascinating Insight...

... into early 20th century India. Well read and the characters soon become omorganisering to one. The plot is pretty good, the protagonist was guessable but that didn't spoil my enjoyment.

India investigated

I love the way Abir Mukerjee manages to tell a great mystery story while giving the reader an insight into the problems India faced in the first half of the twentieth century while looking at both sides of the equation. As a young Indian man growing up in Scotland he has the knowledge of both and he is able to tell his story to give the reader sympathy for all the Indian communities who wanted freedom from British rule but also taking us inside the British mind of the time. I love Sam Wyndham and his sidekick Surrender-not (often in a low key way the brains of the partnership). I read the first book A Rising Man and have listened to the second. I am keen to get to the third book now. This one was beautifully read. The voice of Sam was exactly how I had imagined it.

Another great story

Abir spins a great yarn. It is exotic and fascinating all at once.
It is also captivating and well read. There are a few stylistic ticks that it would be churlish to harp on
For the author: Annie and Surrender Not are great characters that are under-utilised . I hope the next book gives Annie especially more space.
Other than that this is my favourite series at the moment I’m dying to read the next adventure.