51RhNP3AWmL._SL500_About the book: “India, 1920. Captain Wyndham and Sergeant Banerjee of the Calcutta Police Force investigate the dramatic assassination of a Maharajah’s son, in the sequel to A Rising Man.
The fabulously wealthy kingdom of Sambalpore is home to tigers, elephants, diamond mines, and the beautiful Palace of the Sun. But when the heir to the throne is assassinated in the presence of Captain Sam Wyndham and Sergeant ‘Surrender-Not’ Banerjee, they discover a kingdom riven with suppressed conflict. Prince Adhir was a modernizer whose attitudes—and romantic relationships—may have upset the more religious elements of his country, while his brother—now in line to the throne—appears to be a feckless playboy.
As Wyndham and Banerjee desperately try to unravel the mystery behind the assassination, they become entangled in a dangerous world where those in power live by their own rules—and those who cross their paths pay with their lives. They must find a murderer, before the murderer finds them . . .“

My Review

If you read my review for the first audiobook in this historical crime fiction series, you’ll know that I loved it. Well, I loved this second book even more!

As the above synopsis says this book is set in the ‘fabulously wealthy kingdom of Sambalpore home to tigers, elephants, diamond mines, and the beautiful Palace of the Sun.’ Right from the beginning of the book there were wonderful descriptions of the opulence of the kingdom and of the princes wearing jewel encrusted outfits, including their beards!

This was a fantastic murder mystery that tied me up in knots, as I tried to work out who the murderer was and what the motive was behind the killing. The murder trail took Sam and Banerjee right into the heart of the Sambalpore, where they got caught up in the intrigue of the goings on of the Maharaja and his court, and they really didn’t know if anyone could be trusted.

The relationship between Sam and Banerjee is definitely warmer in this book, and it was nice to see that Sam took the Sargeant more seriously as they investigated the murder. This was a welcome change, as Banerjee is a very clever policeman, and definitely more on the ball than his boss!

Simon Bubb’s narration was brilliant again, definitely making him one of my new  favourite narrators! He’s become the voice of Sam and Banerjee, and I can’t wait to hear him bring them to life once again in the next book, Smoke and Ashes!

I definitely recommend this story on audiobook, especially if you enjoy historical crime fiction.