Murder in Old Bombay: A Mystery Hardcover
by Nev March (Author)
Review by Rita Kapadia
Nev March writes with an elegant flair. Her vocabulary is fluid and words like “dapper” are from the old Bombay Parsi lingo. The scenes of old Bombay on the front cover are almost true life of that era. The bazaar with Indian traders and British soldiers monitoring the street, Indian ladies carrying water, foods and other goods on their heads are so colorful. The camels, donkeys and bull driven canopied carriages are accurate transportation of old Bombay.
Nev narrates the Parsi/ Parsee community stories in her murder mystery. She writes of generosity of the community. Diana a prominent character in the novel is a beauty. Captain Jim Agnihotri investigates the mystery of two Parsi ladies of very young age falling to their deaths. Neither Bacha and Pilloo had any reason to commit suicide; they had everything to live for, says Adi Framji a wealthy and traditional Parsi businessman. Jim falls in love with Diana and many time sacrifices his physical well-being to protect her. However because of the Parsi marriage customs, they are in agony on how to get engaged and married. Jim and Diana work out a way, to obtain Adi Framjis blessings and keep the family respect in the society.
The 1857 Indian Sepoy Mutiny is unfolded with historical detail. Bombay streets, Dockyard and Malabar hills are brought to life !
Growing up in India, I was an avid book reader and collector and specially of mystery novels. When Nev March’s (Nawaz Merchant ) book was published, I was keen to get a copy. I could not put the book down, it was so enthralling and gripping!
Book is available on Amazon
About the Author
Nev March is the winner of the Minotaur Books/Mystery Writers of America First Crime Novel Award. Leaving a long career in business analysis in 2015 she returned to her passion, writing fiction. She is a member of the Mystery Writers of America and the Hunterdon County Library Write-Group. A Parsee Zoroastrian herself, Nev lives with her husband and two sons in New Jersey. Murder in Old Bombay is her debut novel.