BOOKWORM
MURDERS MOST FOUL
Death Of a Lesser God by Vaseem Khan, Hodder & Stoughton, $28.99. Bombay, 1950. James Whitby has been tried for a murder of a prominent lawyer and former Quit India activist, found guilty, and is awaiting execution.
In his cell, he reviews his life. “Born in Bombay, I have spent most of my life here, save for the three years I passed in Cambridge. I’ve walked the same streets as them; I’ve breathed the same air. But I will always be an outsider. Not because of the life of privilege into which I was born, but because of the colour of my skin.”
But is something else at play here? Another reason, a historical wrong, that led to his current situation?
As Inspector Persis Wadia of the Bombay Police investigates, with the help of Scotland Yard criminalist Archie Blackfinch, she uncovers a possible link to a second case. Are the two linked? And if Whitby didn’t commit the murder, who did?
Like Vaseem Khan’s other books, Death of a Lesser God is a delicious page-turner of a mystery, replete with evocative descriptions.
“He seemed a bundle of nervous energy, as if he’d been struck by lightening and it had somehow become trapped inside him.”
“The rain struck her from all sides, like a careless pickpocket being slapped by the many-handed mob in a crowded train.”
“The heat clung to her like a lovesick octopus.”
Khan’s prodigious research and attention to detail reveals itself in the dishes enjoyed by Persis on a mission in Calcutta – chingri malai curry and nolen gur.
And in a crucial piece of evidence, the pendant which everyone mistakes for the star of David but which is actually the little-known shatkona, part of the Hindu tantric tradition. Or the history of a unique knife.
Oh, and Roshan Seth, George Fernandes and Tiger Shroff, show up – not the real guys, but characters with those names!
That Persis will solve the case is a given, but can she resolve the crisis in her personal and professional lives?
A FUN WHODUNNIT
Scandal at the Savoy by Ron Base and Prudence Emery, Douglas & McIntyre, $19.95. The rich and famous are converging on the iconic Savoy Hotel in swinging 60s London.
A famous Broadway producer with anger issues, a demanding Indian raja and a gorgeous film star with kinky predilections – all is as it should be, until a murder throws a spanner in the works.
The list of suspects includes Priscilla Tempest, the trouble-prone Canadian head of the Savoy press office. A lady who is prone to say things like, “...If you ever hit me again I will beat the crap out of you – and believe me, I’m Canadian, I can do it.”
Clearing her name would be easy enough, if only she hadn’t spent the night of the murder with a certain charismatic Canadian prime minister.
Justin Trudeau’s troubles pale in significance to what Trudeau senior may or may not be embroiled in. No, really.
As her bewildered assistant notes, “He’s called a couple of times. It must be some sort of prank, right? I mean, why would the prime minister of Canada be calling you?’
Why, indeed?
And then there’s also Antony Armstrong-Jones, Lord Snowdon.
To add to the fun, Noel Coward, Sir John Gielgud and Sir Laurence Olivier join forces to help her solve the mystery. But not before they form the Gossip’s Bridle Club.
Ron Base and Prudence Emery may just have invented a new genre – the fun whodunnit.
MURDER, THEY WROTE
The Penguin Book of Murder Mysteries, Penguin, $24.95. Writer and anthologist Michael Sims eschews the usual suspects and gathers the unfamiliar, the unjustly forgotten and the little-known gems by writers from outside the genre.
This anthology of lost treasures includes stories never before reprinted, features rebellious early lady detectives and celebrates how the nineteenth century added a fierce modern twist to the ancient theme of bloody murder.
PLAYING THE FIELD
Collide by Bal Khabra, Viking, $24.95. Summer Preston is on the dean’s list and has her future all mapped out. Master’s, PhD, work with Olympic athletes as a sports psychologist. Marriage to an accountant. Two kids, a boy and a girl. Oh, and she’s not a hockey fan.
Aiden Crawford is captain of the hockey team – but also on the dean’s list – and his future is all about hockey. He’s just been signed by Toronto Thunder for a three-year contract.
Forced to work together on a project, they discover aspects of each other that belie the stereotype, and once they let their guards down, there’s nothing to check their feelings. But Donny Rai lurks around the corner. He, who inserts a doubt a Summer’s head.
“It feels like I have a rat infestation in my brain, and I’m left with sparking, chewed-up wiring.”
Hookups (many, many, and in explicit detail), a break-up of sorts, make-up...and a sweet and tender thread throughout. Fans of the genre will love it. Like, a lot.
MONEY TRAIL
Can’t We Just Print More Money? by Rupal Patel and Jack Meaning, Penguin Books, $22.99. In these days of debts coming due and authorities coming after people for government loans extended during the pandemic, one thing is clear: There’s no such thing as free money. And: The books have to balance.
Join Rupal Patel and Jack Meaning, both economists at the Bank of England, for a rip-roaring crash course in economics.
What actually is money? How do I get a pay rise? Why are all my clothes made in Asia? How do central banks use interest rates to steer the economy? Questions like that. And why you shouldn’t hoard cash under your mattress.
Understanding money, like moderate eating and regular visits to the gym, is good for your health. Pick up this book. It’s a quick read.
A WRITER’S STORY
A Strange Life, Selected Essays of Louisa May Alcott, Notting Hill Editions, $28.95. Louisa May Alcott is best known as the author of the beloved Little Women series. But she was also a noted essayist who wrote on a wide range of subjects including her father’s failed utopian commune, life as a Civil War nurse and her experiences as a young woman sent to work to alleviate her family’s poverty.
ANOTHER LIFE
The War Librarian by Addison Armstrong, GP Putnam’s Sons, $23. 1918. Timid Emmaline Balakin works at the Dead Letter Office and lives more in books than in her own life – until fate drops a letter from a soldier in France on her desk. It bears a name from her past, inspiring her to volunteer as a librarian on the front lines. Where she finds Nicholas.
Like Jane Eyre hearing Mr Rochester’s voice on the winds or Heathcliff returning to Catherine after years away.
1976. Kathleen Carre is eager to prove that she deserves her acceptance into the first co-ed class of the US Naval Academy. After tragedy strikes close to home, she discovers a secret about her family that could be her undoing.
COME TO THINK OF IT
A Terribly Serious Adventure by Nikhil Krishnan, Random House, $38.99. A lively, immersive account of the brilliant and colourful philosophers who roamed the halls of mid-twentieth-century Oxford and taught the world the importance of language.
While many of the names will be new to those who haven’t studied literature or philosophy, fans of Iris Murdoch will be delighted to find her quoted extensively.
Supremely topical in the current questioning of how free can “free speech” be, the book explores how philosophy can be brought closer to everyday life, what makes a good human being... and the limits of language.
HAPPY GETS UNLUCKY
Happy by Celina Baljeet Basra, Astra House, $36. Happy is a moody young man in a village in Punjab, dreaming of becoming an actor who plays melancholy roles. Destiny conspires to get him to Italy, where his daydreams grow increasingly at odds with his bleak reality – one shared by so many migrant workers disenfranchised by the systems that reap the benefits of their labour.
THE WHOLE SIX YARDS
Once Upon a Sari by Zenia Wadhwani, illustrated by Avani Dwivedi, Tundra, $24.99. Avani is having a great time, looking at all of her mother’s beautiful saris. Rivers of turquoise, azure and sapphire blues next to emerald, pistachio and emerald greens. Gems of ruby red and precious pinks...
As she soon realizes, she’s made a big mess. Is mom going to be upset? But mom sits down next to Avani and says she used to do the exact same thing and shares what her mother told her – that each sari is a story.
What follows are beautiful capsules about each treasured sari. Chikankari, not chicken curry, as Avani imagines, for one! Where it came from, the traditions behind the weave, and one priceless piece of family history, wrapped in a sari.
For all the little ones enthralled by the magic of saris. And their mothers who love to share the stories behind each.
PURR-FECT!
Garfield Home Cookin’ by Jim Davis, Nickelodeon, $22. Christmas is not the same without Garfield declaring, “It’s me!” “New and improved!” “Now with 25 percent more sarcasm!”
A laugh-out-loud collection of the inimitable, incorrigible cat and his people.
WEDDING BELLS
Archie Celebrates An Indian Wedding by Mitali Banerjee Ruths, illustrated by Parwinder Singh, Charlesbridge, $21.99. Archana, aka Archie, has lots to do.
Her uncle Poppy is getting married and she’s a busy little girl.
Then Poppy uncle asks her to look after his bride’s niece Emma. Setting the stage for Archie to explain Indian wedding customs to Emma.
From mehendi and sangeet to stealing shoes! A sweet family-filled story of discovery, joy and building new relationships.
Read it with your little ones to prep them for weddings you might be attending with them!
And don’t forget, “It’s an Indian wedding. You’re supposed to have fun and be happy.”
TEEN REVIEW
By DANIEL BOLAJI
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas, Balzer + Bray, $17.14. The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas is a powerful story of a police shooting of an unarmed Black teen. The story examines how society often justifies racialized violence through the voice of a 16-year-old Black girl. The book explains police brutality from the victims’ perspective and has strong messages throughout; about courage, family, friendship, and social justice.
I really loved the realism of the book as it made you question and reflect on the topics it covered. The characters in the book were very well-written. The author created realistic, emotion-evoking characters that help you to understand and relate with the novel.
Overall, The Hate U Give is a great novel that inspires activism in young teens and everyone around the world. It’s an interesting, empowering and time-worthy read!
• Daniel Bolajiis a youth volunteer at Brampton Library.