A Necessary Evil

An exceptional historical crime novel.

CJ Sansom

A journey into the dark underbelly of the British Raj.

Daily Express

A Rising Man is a whodunnit set in the social and political tinderbox of 1919 Calcutta – a thought-provoking rollercoaster.

Ian Rankin

Splendid...Captain Sam Wyndham is a winning creation.

The Times, Crime Book of the Month

Terrific...Mukherjee’s descriptions of Calcutta under the Raj are vivid, while Wyndham’s position as a newcomer with fresh eyes works brilliantly.

Sunday Times, Crime Book of the Month

Evocative, intricate, beautifully written. A must read.

Vaseem Khan, author of the Inspector Chopra mysteries

A lip-smacking and highly entertaining mystery, set in a Calcutta so convincingly evoked that readers will find sweat bursting from their foreheads.

Daily Telegraph

This vivid murder mystery moves at breakneck speeds.

Sunday Times

An intoxicating debut… The most engaging detective since…James Runcie’s Grantchester series: utterly captivating.

Daily Mail

One of the most exciting debut novels I've read in years.

Val McDermid on A RISING MAN

Richly satisfying, in character, sense of place and colour, this is a crime novel to revel in.

Lin Anderson on A NECESSARY EVIL

Abir Mukherjee has a flair for recreating a place and time... The heat, the dust, the different way of life, all come together in a cracking story.

Alex Gray on A NECESSARY EVIL

A year ago I welcomed the arrival of Captain Sam Wyndham and his faithful Sergeant… and I am delight to report that his return is every bit as engaging

Geoffrey Wansell, Daily Mail

An intriguing and enjoyable crime novel

Sarah Shaffi, Stylist

Wyndham is an appealing character, reckless and self-aware by turns, and the contradictions of the Raj are beautifully evoked

Joan Smith, Sunday Times

Even better than his first… What is most striking about Mukherjee’s novels is his infectious enjoyment of the human oddity of the British in India… Even better is his portrayal of the mix of opulence and spirituality that characterises Sambalpore under its sybaritic but benevolent maharaja… I can’t imagine anyone failing to enjoy it

Jake Kerridge, Daily Telegraph

He writes beautifully, bringing the colourful kingdom of Sambalpore to vivid life and taking the reader on a highly entertaining journey to unearth the dark secrets as its core, with unexpected twists on the way to a satisfying finale

Jon Coates, Daily Express

Another writer who shows how to inject unexpected warmth into credible stories of murder… Full of colour, wit and clever phrasing, this novel should be only the second in a long, long series

N.J. Cooper, BookOxygen

This second outing confirms Abir Mukherjee as a rising star of historical crime fiction

Antonia Senior, The Times

A richly detailed period gem boasting the British Raj’s exotic setting and a gripping "whydunit" spun around an intriguing cast

Christine Tran, Booklist