Death by Tiger? Or Murder?
It’s been fun traveling the world with Jane Wunderly in 1927. Each book has found her in a different country (or two) as she navigated murder and mayhem. She’s landed in India for her sixth case, and Homicide in the Indian Hills is another fun adventure.
At the end of the previous book, Jane and Redvers got married. But they are right off on his next assignment for the British Crown, making their trip to India a working honeymoon. Redvers is supposed to be attending meetings to help facilitate a meeting coming next year about the future governance of the country. He’s not looking forward to the long, boring days, but it leaves Jane free to explore on her own.
She quickly makes friends with Gretchen, a British woman who has been living in the country for years, and she’s looking forward to getting to know her better. That is until Gretchen is found dead. The official story is that she died of a tiger attack, but after a quick look at the body, Redvers has a different verdict – murder. Can the two of them find out what happened?
I’ll admit that I know very little about India, so everything about the location was new and fun to me. I shared Jane’s fear of encountering some of the wildlife in its native habitat, which helped put me in the story. While I suspect most of the characters we meet (if not all) are fictional, we do get references to some real people in the book.
With Jane and Redvers as the only returning characters (again), there is lots of time for the new characters to grow on us. I found them a mixed bag. Some really got a chance to shine while others didn’t really stand out from each other. Still, these new characters did make me care about the story. Jane and Redvers are their normal engaging selves, and they really got to shine here. I enjoyed spending time with them as always.
And, since Jane and Redvers are the only returning characters, you could jump in here without missing a beat. There are only vague references to their previous adventures.
There was a lot in the story, and something was always happening to keep me compelled and wondering what exactly was going on. Things reach a tense and logical climax.
A year and a half ago, we got an ebook only Christmas novella with the characters. Those who haven’t read it yet will be happy to find that it is included as a bonus at the end of this novel.
If you are looking for a little travel along with your historical murder, book some time with Jane. Homicide in the Indian Hills will keep you turning pages.
Enjoy the rest of the Jane Wunderly Mysteries.
NOTE: I received an ARC of this book.
Someone else reviewed one of the books in this series this month too! You are going to make the monthly round up Mark!
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing this review with the Historical Fiction Reading Challenge.