Review by Booklist Review
Part of the appeal of the Sergeant Akal Singh mystery series (this is the second installment, after A Disappearance in Fiji, 2023) is the intense "stranger in a strange land" dynamic faced by the hero. Sgt. Akal Singh is an Indian Sikh, formerly serving with the Royal Hong Kong Police, but now exiled to the Suva Constabulary in Fiji after he unwittingly met with a woman connected to a coven of burglars. Singh doesn't fit in with the Fijians, Indians, Australians, New Zealanders, or the British, who rule the island colony. The time itself is intriguing. It's 1915; the Brits on Fiji are trying to leave the island to join the war effort, and Germans have been sighted on a nearby island. Singh's boss, the Inspector-General, gives him inane assignments, including escorting two European women to the island and going on a wild goose chase to discover Germans there. Singh discovers a murdered shopkeeper on the island, and must use his wits to battle the obstacles in his path. Intriguing history-mystery.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Rao serves up an immersive second adventure for Sikh police sergeant Akal Singh (after A Disappearance in Fiji). The year is 1915, and Singh, who has been transferred to the backwater British colony of Fiji due to an indiscretion at his former posting in Hong Kong, is still being assigned only the most inconsequential tasks by his commanding officer, inspector-general Jonathan Thurstrom. This time out, Thurstrom asks Singh to escort two visiting British ladies on their sightseeing tour of the island of Ovalau. As an afterthought, he also suggests that Singh follow up on a local shopkeeper's report of spotting German soldiers on the island (since WWI is raging in Europe, officials consider the alleged sighting improbable at best). Accompanied by his friend and colleague Taviti Tukana--the nephew of a prominent Fijian chief--Singh tackles both assignments, only to stumble into a murder investigation when a local pariah on Ovalau turns up dead. Through Singh, who's an outsider both to Fijians and his British superiors, Rao deploys sharp observations about colonial rule and classism. Though the book's many subplots unfold at a leisurely pace, the author ties them together in shrewd and satisfying ways. Historical mystery fans will enjoy this. (June)
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Review by Library Journal Review
In 1915, Sergeant Akal Singh, an Indian Sikh, is based out of Fiji's capital, Suva, when the inspector-general sends him to former capital Levuka to handle a number of minor issues. With his Fijian companion (and sole friend in Fiji), Constable Taviti Tukana, Akal escorts a young English woman and her aunt to Levuka. Akal has to be careful not be seen as too familiar with a European woman, but she feels no parallel restraint. Then there's a murder that they're led to believe was carried out by German marauders. Akal and Taviti capture them, but the local chieftain impounds them for violating local customs and won't hand them over to British authorities. They find a letter in a secret compartment, and a man is killed after translating it. This time, it can't be the Germans; they're locked up. It's up to Akal to solve the riddle, unearth the killer, and convince the chief to hand over the Germans to the British. VERDICT A lively story with engaging characters and fascinating bits about British colonial governance in Fiji. Rao's second tale about Sgt. Akal (after A Disappearance in Fiji) is first-rate.--David Keymer
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
Multiple mysteries challenge a dogged police sergeant in colonial Fiji. It's 1915. Despite several successes during his brief tenure with the Fiji police department, Sgt. Akal Singh still seeks acceptance from the community and his superiors. A cricket match is both an illustration of this sharply segregated society and an opportunity for Akal to ingratiate himself. He has still not caught the criminal who first brought him to Fiji more than a year ago, a serial rapist known as the Night Prowler. When Inspector General Jonathan Thurstrom assigns him the task of chaperoning two Australian ladies, the sister and niece of local bigwig Hugh Clancy, Akal is painfully reminded of his censure for his past relationship with an Englishwoman inA Disappearance in Fiji (2023). Both Clancy and Thurston again dress him down for that perceived indiscretion. Meanwhile, Sanjay Lal, a store owner in sleepy Levuka, reports seeing some suspicious Germans in the area. The ladies, Mary and Katherine, accompany Akal and Constable Taviti Tukana on this assignment. When Akal arrives at the store, he finds Lal dead, the victim of a whipping. Meanwhile, Akal's assignment with Mary and Katherine involves a cemetery search and their interest in a jewelry box found at the murder scene. An additional mystery surrounds the shipwreck of the title. The earnest Akal is a compelling protagonist, at the center of a deeply researched novel about a fascinating moment in history. Sensitively told story of class and racial tensions during World War I, with some mystery. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
