The Blue Monsoon (Blue Mumbai Book Two) by Damyanti Biswas

 

The Blue Monsoon (Blue Mumbai Book Two) by Damyanti Biswas.

Published 24th October 2023 by Thomas and Mercer.

From the cover of the book:

A ritual murder at a Mumbai temple exposes the city’s dark secrets and ravages the personal life of a detective in this sequel to The Blue Bar.

Amid incessant rains pounding down on Mumbai, Senior Inspector Arnav Singh Rajput is called to a shocking crime scene. A male body is found dismembered on the steps of a Kaali temple. Drawn into his flesh are symbols of a tantra cult. The desecration of a body at a Hindu place of worship puts the city on edge and divides Arnav’s priorities: stopping a fanatic from killing again and caring for his wife who’s struggling through a challenging pregnancy.

Then video footage of the murder is uploaded onto the account of a Bollywood social media influencer, triggering twists in the investigation Arnav didn’t see coming. Caste systems at war. A priest under suspicion. And an anonymous threat that puts his wife’s welfare at risk. When more bodies are found, the savagery of the city begins to surface―and Arnav fears that no one is safe from a bigger storm brewing.

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Senior Inspector Arnav Singh Rajput is called to a disturbing crime scene, when a badly mutilated body is found on the steps of a Hindu temple. The police are baffled, and there is little evidence go on, other than the arcane tantric symbols inscribed on the body. Whispers of the sinister crime are causing unsettled feelings in Mumbai, and this edginess explodes into fear when gruesome pictures of the murder appear on the social media feed of a well known Bollywood influencer.

Hampered by the incessant monsoon rains, a lack of resources, and the desire of his superiors to calm the mood of the public, Arnav feels under pressure to solve the case as soon as possible - it does not help that he is distracted by the fact that his wife is heavily pregnant. As the bodies start to pile up, and the investigation points to a possible link with organised crime, Arnav finds the safety of his own family under threat. Can he solve this bizarre case before death comes calling at his door?

The Blue Monsoon is set a couple of years after the bloody events of Damyanti Biswas' first gripping Blue Mumbai thriller The Blue Bar. Arnav is now married to his childhood sweetheart Tara, who is still suffering from the disabling injuries she sustained in the serial killer case that brought them back together. Arnav is trying to get his head around becoming a husband, and father to Pia, the daughter he did not know he had until he was reunited with Tara, and the impending birth of the baby that Tara is carrying - and when a complex case drops in his lap, he is torn between his responsibilities as a family man and those of his job.

Biswas contrives a seriously twisty case for Arnav to negotiate in this second book, that weaves his private and professional lives together, and goes far beyond the dark desires of an individual like the Blue Bar case. Instead, this story revolves around cold-hearted revenge, tied up with the prejudices associated with tradition and strict social boundaries. Interlaced through a fast-paced investigation, that has all the chaotic drama you would expect from a police force dealing with the challenges of solving crime in urban melting pot like modern day Mumbai, Biswas works threads about deeply held religious beliefs, and the ingrained strictures of a caste system that still holds sway. It is an intoxicating, and often bewildering, combination, that I found rather eye-opening. Throw in a bit of gory bloodletting, wide-spread corruption, horrifying exploitation, blind-siding betrayal, and all the emotional turmoil present in Arnav's family life (and that of his colleagues), and there is a lot to keep you busy!

My favourite person in this tale was Sita. Her intelligence and sheer guts were key factors in making this book so engaging, and her determination to succeed in her law enforcement career was admirable, despite all the obstacles she had to surmount as a woman in a man's world. I was also pleased to see that Tara's character is fleshed out much more in this second book, and that she carries her side of the plot well in the story.

If you are looking for a series that really gets into the nitty gritty of life in an Indian city, then Blue Mumbai is definitely for you. I have very much enjoyed the way Biswas blends a gripping crime story with a glimpse of Mumbai life in a way I have not seen before, and I hope that there will be a book three!

The Blue Monsoon is available to buy now in paperback, ebook and audio formats.

Thank you to Damyanti Biswas for sending me a Netgalley copy of this book in return for an honest review.

About the author:

Damyanti Biswas is the author of The Blue Bar, the first novel in the Blue Mumbai Thriller series, and You Beneath Your Skin, as well as numerous short stories that have been published in magazines and anthologies in the US, the UK, and Asia. 

She has been short-listed for Best Small Fictions and Bath Novel Awards and is coeditor of the Forge Literary Magazine. Damyanti is also a supporter of Project WHY, a program that provides quality education to underprivileged children in New Delhi. 

Apart from being a novelist, Damyanti is an avid reader of true crime, a blogger, and an animal lover. Her ambition has always been to live in a home with more books than any other item, and she continues to work toward that.