The Dying Day – Vaseem Khan

The bookpacking journey arrives in the subcontinent, albeit seventy years ago when Mumbai was known by a different name

Bombay 1950: post-war, post-independence, post-partition, and the scars remain, as do a raft of white men, hanging on with their colonial attitudes. But Persis Wadia is a symbol of the new India, its first female police inspector, complete with uniform and gun. Not that she wants to be a symbol, she just wants to get on with the job of solving crimes and serving justice.

The case looks simple enough, a missing British academic – John Healey – and a missing rare book he was working on – an early edition of Dante’s Divine Comedy. It turns out to be nothing like simple as Healey has left a trail of cryptic clues, riddles, and puzzles. The hardest question is why has he bothered? Particularly when he turns up dead quite early in the chase.

Persis tackles the case with ingenuity and dogged determination, picking the brains of experts and drawing on the resources of her father’s bookshop. She also has the assistance, and close attention, of Archie Blackfinch, forensic criminologist on loan from the English Police. He is one of few who don’t treat her as a curiosity. She appreciates that and likes him – but it is complicated. He is white, which does not sit well with her anti-colonial views

As Persis criss-crosses Bombay seeking answers, the backdrop is brought to life with interesting historical nuggets about the buildings and the people of her city, some relevant, some not. Her character – spiky and flawed (a necessity for fictional detectives) – is nevertheless appealing, and we root for her as the investigation spirals into unexpected territory.

Once the artificiality of laying a convoluted trail of clues is parked, the chase is engrossing and pacey. There are enough sub-plots involving professional jealousies, a fractious family, and a previous boyfriend to add variety. And though the minor characters remain that way, that of Persis is strong enough to carry the book.

This is the second book in the series featuring Persis’ police career, and I could be tempted to sample the first, “Midnight at Malabar House”.