Nev MarchRezensionen

The first book in this series finds the main character, Captain Jim, seeking his place in the world after his medical discharge from the military. His love of Sherlock Holmes leads him to pursue a potential career as a reporter. However, his interest in a recent story about 2 women who apparently committed suicide at a local tower leads him into an investigation that may reveal darker secrets.

Pursuing leads sends Jim on various journeys even as he becomes increasingly fond of the Framji for whom he is working, especially daughter Diana. As Jim finds growing evidence of an ongoing plot, he must survive long enough to bring high ranking officials to justice.

A strong opening book though some of the back story and side adventures slowed the overall pacing.

Look, I’m already in trouble for not finishing this book with someone else, so it is unnecessary for anyone else to add to my shame. This is the sequel to 2020’s [[Murder in Old Bombay]] which I very much enjoyed and highly recommend especially if you want a taste of what 19th century India was like while also having a mystery to solve. It’s good stuff and I was really looking forward to this sequel. Really, I was. But this feels terribly amateurish and very poorly plotted with all the notes of the story very out of place and people behaving in ways entirely uncharacteristic to those established in the first book. In fact, almost every person encountered in the book up to where I stopped reading failed to act like a real person at all. I stopped before all the core characters of book one were ruined forever. I liked them too much.

interesting amalgam of kipling's kim, sherlock holmes and a romance. I think the author is most successful when doing the road adventure sections that resemble kim. I found the romance sections a bit cloying. the overall mystery, involving a letter, blackmail, human trafficking and the Indian independence movement was done well

After having immigrated to America, Captain Jim and his wife Diana are heading from Boston to Liverpool on one of 1894's elaborate Cunard ocean liners. Jim meets an elderly Spainard during the rough first evening as he tries to rather descriptively tries to find his sea legs. When the elderly man is found in the locked music room. tied to a chair and garroted, the Captain of the ship leans on Jim's past investigative experience to solve this locked room within a locked room mystery before they get to England. There is a ship full of suspects and Jim relies on Diana's capable instincts as well as his own to try to solve the crime.

This had the common debut issue of trying to do too much in one book (and it was too long) but I really liked the characters and setting and was invested in the outcome.

The historical aspect is well done, the plot is interesting and the pacing is good but the writing is choppy which prevented me from actually getting into the story. I found the characters rather flat and I feel no desire to read the other books in the series.

Thank you to whatever nice publisher it was who sent me the ARC for review.

I loved the setting and the intricacy of Indian society in the late 19th Century. March has researched this well. It does run a touch too long, especially early on. But it pays off in the end.

In the summer of 1894, Captain Jim Agnihotri and his wife, Lady Diana Framji, set sail for England. When the enigmatic Spaniard Don Juan Nepomuceno is mysteriously murdered, Captain Jim is asked to uncover the killer before they reach Liverpool in six days. With a thousand suspects and a locked-cabin crime, Jim and Diana, inspired by Sherlock Holmes, must solve the murder, all while navigating the high society world of the ship's first-class passengers.

This is the first book of the series I’ve read, so it’s a little awkward since it is book three. The book does a good job, however, of making sure a new reader is brought up to speed on who our main character is and how he’s reached the point he has. Captain Jim is immediately a sympathetic person, being terribly seasick on a ship, and his concerns for his wife.

The plot moved at a good pace. At times, it was rapid action, and at times it was slower, more introverted, as Jim contemplates the tangle before him. I will confess that I guessed the ending rather early on, but still found Jim’s journey to the truth enjoyable. The only thing keeping this from a full five star rating for me is an instance where Lady Diana uses a method of finding something that was a little too close to magic for my taste.

Overall, this was fun to listen to. The narrator did a phenomenal job of bringing Captain Jim to life. I would definitely recommend this to readers looking for a historical mystery. I received a free copy through NetGalley and all opinions expressed are my own.

4.5⭐

Number One is Walking: My Life in the Movies and Other Diversions marks the second collaboration (the first being A Wealth of Pigeons : A Cartoon Collection ) between the inimitable Steve Martin and renowned The New Yorker illustrator Harry Bliss.

In the first segment of the of the book Martin takes us through his career as a standup comic and his Hollywood career sharing anecdotes from his personal experiences, some behind the scenes stories about some of his movies and his interactions with his co-stars and other celebrities including Paul McCartney and the late Robin Williams. The stories are shared in cartoon format with Harry Bliss’s brilliant illustrations bringing Martin’s memories to life. Martin also shares some hilarious exchanges between himself and his collaborator, with both himself and Harry Bliss appearing as cartoon versions of themselves along with Harry Bliss's pet dog Penny who is absolutely adorable. The latter half of the book features The New Yorker style cartoons illustrated by Harry Bliss in varying themes that are thoroughly entertaining. While I am a huge fan of Harry Bliss and The New Yorker cartoons and truly enjoyed those featured in this book, I absolutely loved Steve Martin’s humorous take on his career and wished that the memoir segment would have been longer than it was.

Overall, this is an entertaining read and a perfect pick-me-up between more serious reads or for just when you need a laugh. I loved getting to know more about Steve Martin and his movies in such a unique format. I’m eager to see what this duo comes up with next!

Murder on the high seas!

Nev March is killing me with this splendid series
It’s 1894 and Lady Diana and Captain James O’Trey are bound for England on a luxury Cunard liner.
They’re no sooner settled in than a murder is committed. Don Juan Nepomuceno, a Spanish diplomat, but more than that, a nobleman and a general.
Jim offers his services to investigate and is given free rein. He’s become an American, and is seen as a neutral party in what could become a volatile diplomatic occurrence between Spain and Britain.
The thing is Jim had had interaction with Don Juan the night before. A message from the Don was sent to Jim to attend the Don, but had arrived too late.
Eight days to find the killer. Can Jim and Diana do it?
There’s plots within plots, diplomatic and personal.
A young woman drowns, another’s life is threatened.
Then there’s the dark history of the Don Juan. Trouble in Cuba when the US ship Virginius was captured by the Spanish. A military tribunal executed fifty-three men. That tribunal was led by the General.
The pace is relentless and I was on the edge of my seat during the whole of my reading sprint!

A St. Martin’s Press ARC via NetGalley.
Many thanks to the author and publisher.

Nev March's Captain Jim Agnihotri mysteries are among several interesting series that have cropped up in the last few years providing good reading from the mystery point of view and also examining historical issues of class, race, and gender in India during the colonial and early post-colonial period.

In the case of the Captain Jim Agnihotri mysteries, set in the late 1800s, all three of these topics come into play. Agnihotri, now using the name O'Trey, a corruption of his original last name, is the illegitimate son of an English father and Indian mother who was raised in a an orphanage. Having work as a soldier and then being invalided out, he has come to work as a private investigator, first in India, then, after his marriage to the sister of one of his wealthy clients, in the U.S., where they hope their relationship will attract less opprobrium than it does in India. He's triply marked: visibly "native" and from the lower classes and conscious of the way in which his wife has "lowered" herself through their marriage.

In The Spanish Diplomat's Secret, O'Trey/Agnihotri and his wife Lady Diana Framji are sailing from the U.S. to England. Their marriage has become strained and O'Trey/Agnihotri has been unable to discover the issue that is clearly causing his wife a great deal of pain and vulnerability. Nonetheless, he's certain that whatever is happening must be his fault. This issue plays out alongside the mystery over the course of the bovel.

During his first night on the ship, O'Trey/Agnihotri is struck by seasickness, to which he is subject. While fighting his nausea on the open deck, he meets the Spaniard Don Juan Nepomuceno. The two quickly recognize one another as former soldiers and realize that they each are carrying burdens with them based in their military service, but they don't discuss specifics.

When Nepomuceno sends a note to O'Trey/Agnihotri requesting help, O'Trey/Agnihotri arrives too late: Nepomuceno has been murdered. Nepomuceno represents his country, which is engaged in a civil war, as a diplomat, and tensions are high between England and Spain. As a result, the ship's captain requests that O'Trey/Agnihotri try to solve the murder during the ship's remaining days at sea. If this can't be done, passengers will be held as potential witnesses when the ship arrives in port and tensions between England and Spain will almost certainly worsen.

Nepomuceno's death is a sort of locked-room mystery. He's discovered in the ship's music room, with the door and all windows are locked from the inside. He's also sitting in a chair that has been positioned directly in front of a mirror. Clearly the murderer, who strangled Nepomuceno, wanted to watch Nepomuceno die and wanted Nepomuceno to witness his own death as well.

O'Trey/Agnihotri is simultaneously facing a lack and a plethora of potential killers. He has no idea who may have had such hatred for Nepomuceno, so he can't eliminate any of the ship's passengers or crew from his list of suspects.

The novel is populated by the kind of cast one expects in a mystery set in this particular historical moment. There are the two wealthy brothers—the older formal and controlling; the younger rash and disinterested in social niceties. There's a wealthy older woman in a wheelchair who is sharp of tongue and continually dissatisfied with her two servants; a wealthy American businessman; his much-younger wife; a wealthy couple, very concerned about social hierarchies and easily offended, with small children; a wealthy young woman traveling on her own; and the ship's captain and crew.

March does quite a solid job of laying false trails, which leaves readers wondering about the solution to the murder through the entirety of the novel. There are several issues—personal, financial, and political—that might have triggered the murder, and none can be easily dismissed.

If you enjoy historical mysteries, particularly those that examine issues of social equity and diversity, you'll find The Spanish Diplomat's Secret an engaging and rewarding read.

I received a free electronic review copy of this title from the publisher via Edelweiss; the opinions are my own.

Author Nev March spins a wonderful tale, filled with adventure, mystery, and a touch of romance. The writing is excellent and highly descriptive. In this installment of the Captain Jim and Lady Diana Mystery series, one is swept away on a magnificent Cunard ocean liner, HMS Etruria, traversing the Atlantic and experiencing marvelous scene settings, descriptions of exquisite attire, beautifully presented culinary treats and society's mannerly practices. Nev March's rich understanding of society, delicate international diplomacy, classism of the 1890s, and history of the day is beautifully rendered. The way in which she writes dialogue among people of differing cultures and class is insightful and delivers a strong understanding of why things ultimately had to change.

Early on in the story there's a death aboard ship. Owing to the delicate nature of Anglo-Spanish relations, the ship's captain calls upon Jim, a Boston private detective, to lead the investigation concerning the death, which absolutely must be resolved before docking in Liverpool. Given the tremendous number of possible suspects, Jim is affronted with dead ends and red herrings at every turn. Fleshing out the truth within the witness statements is nerve-wracking. Will Jim be able to solve this mystery in the nick of time to salvage international relations and his own reputation? Perhaps with his dear Diana's assistance. Tick tock, tick tock.

The story was thoroughly captivating and I eagerly await the next book in series as it makes its way into the world.

I am grateful to publisher Minotaur Books for having provided a complimentary uncorrected digital galley of this book through NetGalley. Their generosity however, has not influenced this review - the words of which are mine alone.

Publication Date: 09/12/2023
Publisher: Minotaur Books
ISBN: 978-1250855077
No. of pages: 320½

1894. Captain Jim Agnihotri and his wife Lady Diana Framj are on board HMS Etruria travelling to Liverpool. When the Governor of Bilbao Don Juan Nepomuceno is killed in the locked music room, Captain Hawley insists that Jim investigates. But why was he killed in that way. Then a suicide occurs. Are they linked.
A well-written and entertaining historical mystery with its cast of likeable and interesting characters. Another good addition to this enjoyable series.

This is apparently the third installment of a series involving Captain James O’Trey and his wife Lady Diana, married just two years. Now, it is 1894, and they are on a transatlantic voyage from America to Britain.

On their first night on board, Jim meets an older Spanish gentleman who sends him a note the next day requesting an urgent meeting. But when Jim tries to find him, he discovers that the man, Don Juan Nepomuceno, has been murdered.

The captain of the ship, upon discovering Jim is a detective, asks him to lead the investigation to find the killer before they dock in Liverpool in six days. The Don was a high-level government figure in Spain - governor of Bilbao - and “the unofficial Spanish ambassador to the United States.” The captain inferred the murder could have diplomatic consequences, so solving the crime is of utmost importance.

The task is a daunting one: there are 945 people aboard the ship, including crew. Moreover, Jim is plagued by bouts of seasickness. He has Diana, however, who knows her way around the upper classes and is curious and clever. Those skills are much needed, since not only did the Don have secrets, but so did many of the passengers and crew.

The plot unfolds in a rather Sherlock Holmesian manner, but I thought the writing was a bit stiff, the plot a bit contrived, and the characters not all that compelling. Still, it wasn’t a bad effort, and ably evoked the class relationships and political machinations of the times.

historical-novel, historical-places-events, historical-research, historical-setting, history-and-culture, class-consciousness, murder, murder-investigation, interrogation, relationship-issues, 1890s, liner, lies, secrets, private-investigators, suspense, riveting, mixed marriage*****

I absolutely loved the first two in this series, so don't expect an unbiased review.
Lady Diana gave up all that to marry her beloved army officer turned private investigator (because he is of British/Indian lineage). They have settled in America to negate the kind of prejudice they had faced in their birth countries but are now sailing the Cunard Line to Liverpool. Not a good time for Captain Jim who is cursed with mal de mer. And then, a Spanish nobleman is garroted and the ship's captain wants Jim to solve the murder before they dock in a week. It is sort of a closed circle mystery but it is also a daunting investigation. Excellent sleuthing with a side order of marital misunderstanding. I loved it.
I requested and received a free e-book copy from St. Martin's Press/Minotaur Books via NetGalley. Thank you!

I was thrilled to get the ARC for this book since I read the first book, Murder in Old Bombay, and loved it! This book was a bit different from the first, as it takes place in the United States now instead of in Bombay, but it was still amazing. I loved, loved, loved this one just as much, maybe even more than the first one.
In this story, we get to not only see more of what Captain Jim is doing as a detective in Boston, but we get to see what Diana does and get to know her even more, and Diana is amazing. I love her character and she's definitely a good complement and match to Captain Jim.
It starts out with Captain Jim and Diana being home and happy with his returning from a job, but then he has to leave on another top secret detective job and tells Diana he'll be gone for a longer time this time. Then as she's going about doing her normal, figuring out what to do and all by herself while he's gone, while she's cleaning she finds his wedding ring left behind in his dresser drawer and then gets concerned when he doesn't come home after a few weeks. Diana has to go find him to see if he's safe and in the process ends up being a detective and taking a part in the job and operation that Captain Jim is involved in. This story has it all with Diana figuring out how to use her knowledge and skills as a woman to help with the whole operation and with Captain Jim seeing what happens with investigating a murder and unrest happening around when the World Fair is going on in Chicago, which is a fun part in the story with Diana talking to Nikola Tesla. I can't wait to hopefully read more about Captain Jim and Diana and would love to read anything by Nev March. She's an exceptional author.
Thank you so much to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Minotaur Books for letting me read and review this fantastic book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for letting me read and review this intriguing mystery. It was a bit different from what I've read lately and was a nice change. I enjoyed reading this historical mystery set in British India quite a bit.
I loved how I felt more immersed in this novel and story. I felt like I was very much there in the British India setting and it reminded me a bit of part of The Secret Garden with the setting. It was a mystery that kept me and my mind engaged trying to figure out and keep up with what was going on. You were kept guessing for a lot of the novel as to who killed the two Framj women and what the exact motive was behind their murders. The motive behind the murders opened up a lot more of the story as well and brought in more aspects and information about the time and place they were living in.
This story is about Captain Jim and how he comes across a very notable case in the newspapers that he's reading while recovering in the hospital after a battle. The case is about two women who fall to their death from a clock tower in broad daylight at the university and Captain Jim finds himself wanting to help the widower of one of the women, who believes his wife and sister didn't commit suicide. So, Captain Jim approaches the Framj family to help them investigate and discover what happened.
As Captain Jim becomes involved and gets to know the Framj family even more while investigating the case, many things happen that illustrate and show the divided loyalties among the people and ends up putting himself and the Framj family in danger while investigating and asking questions.
There are also topics addressed and discussed throughout such as PTSD from his being in a war, prejudice because he is part Indian/Parsee, and part White - not a full Parsee, which causes problems with the woman he loves and her family that have to be addressed. There are also characters and parts of the story dealing with slavery, human trafficking, child prostitution, and the like that happened with the war and in these kinds of times. Some parts are hard to read not because they are explicit, vulgar, or violent, but simply because it's hard to hear and read about these types of things that happened to human beings during wars and situations such as these.
It was heart-wrenching at parts reading in this book and made me wish more people were loving and accepting of others instead of prejudiced and selfish. I also was joyful during other parts where things worked out despite the hardships. It was a bit of an emotional rollercoaster, but then, in that way, it was similar to real life and in the end, things ended up on more of a positive note.
This is worth checking out and reading especially if you like historical mysteries, but also because it makes you stop, think, and reflect on a lot. It causes some self-reflection and thinking through things to see what you can learn from this and how you and others might improve.
I would recommend keeping this on your list, make sure to take a look and read it!

It is 1892, and Captain Jim Agnihotri awakens in a Poona military hospital. As he recovers, there is little to do except read daily newspapers and re-read mysteries solved by Sherlock Holmes, his favorite detective. The story of two women was reported as suicides from the clock tower, but the words written by Adi Framji haunt Captain Agnihotri's thoughts. After discharge, he takes an opportunity to introduce himself to Adi, husband to Bacha, and brother to Pilloo, and the visit changes the course of his life.

The well-written novel of mystery, adventures, and romance provides immersion in another time and place by evoking the atmosphere, culture, landscape, sights, and sounds. One of many descriptions I enjoyed was

"Quick and graceful, she set the table, each step soothing like cool sherbet in summertime."

The characters and their dialogue opened a window to history, of which I had no prior knowledge but not with the dryness of a textbook but sharing daily life, relationships, emotions, expectations of self, family, and society, personal wishes and desires, and coping with restraints.

I encourage readers to enjoy The Author's Note to learn the inspiration for the novel and historical notes. A Glossary and Discussion Questions are also available at the novel's end.

If you have a Pinterest account, please don't miss the author's "Cast of Murder in Old Bombay" with pins described as "Old Bombay, locations from the book, actors with the look of characters from Murder in old Bombay (was The Rajabai Tower Mystery)." https://www.pinterest.com/NevMarchAuthor/cast-of-murder-in-old-bombay/

Jim is sent by his detective agency to the Chicago’s World Fair in 1893 to investigate the disappearance of another operative. Diana receives a visitor in Boston who wishes to see her husband. He explains he has the letter that Jim wanted translated, and tells her about it. Wanting to get Jim the information, she goes to the agency, but is told that Jim, too, has disappeared. Fearing for her husband’s welfare, she goes to Chicago. Hoping Jim will find her, she puts a daring plan in motion. Armed with a small pistol in her muff and a parasol, she puts herself in harm’s way. She does get some help from others, but it is her sheer determination that propels her on. It’s an exciting story, rich with the flavor of the fair and hidden problems that plagued it. Anarchists, scheming men, and the newly unemployed all figure in this story, as well as the recent inventions and discoveries of that time period. Well written with well developed characters, this novel is a great addition to the series. Lady Diana and Captain Jim are quite the duo, and it will interesting to see what lies in their future.

This novel really has it all - it’s a work of history, romance, suspense, and mystery all wrapped up in a fascinating tale. Taking place in 19th century Bombay, Captain Jim is recovering from injuries he sustained while in the army. Now channeling his idol, Sherlock Holmes, he embarks on a new career. He has been hired to find out why two young women leaped to their death from a clock tower. Ruled a suicide, the widowed husband believes it was murder. The quest for answers and the truth leads Jim on a merry chase. He has many encounters, mostly dangerous ones, but at least one is a bit humorous. He falls in love along the way, but that way is fraught with negativity. It’s an exciting adventure for Captain Jim and for the readers who are lucky enough to have picked up this novel to enjoy. Well written, filled with compelling characters, and set in a country rich with a vibrant history, this intriguing tale captivated me from the very beginning. Recommended for readers who enjoy historical fiction as well as mystery.

When I read the first in this series, I made note to read the second when it came out. Unfortunately, I like it much less than the first. The setting has changed from Bombay to Chicago and the protagonist has become Wonder Woman.

Jim, the husband of Diana, is an experienced investigator and has gone to work for a private agency in Boston where they are now living. He is sent to Chicago, it's 1893, to help an investigator who has already been sent there. When Diana goes weeks without hearing from Jim, she decides to go find him and of course, she does. My greatest problem with what follows is that it doesn't have even a slim thread of possibility to me.½

Married couple Jim and Diana investigate a possible bomb threat in Chicago at the World's Fair in 1893. I enjoyed the author's notes at the end describing events in the story that were based on facts. Of particular interest were that the first successful heart-repair surgery was performed by Black surgeon, Dr. Daniel Hale Williams, on Chicago's South Side in 1893. The characters were interesting but I didn't find the plot particularly intriguing.

Peril at the Exposition by Nev March is a 2022 Minotaur Books publication.

This is the follow-up to March’s outstanding debut- “Murder in Old Bombay”. As the story opens, we find Jim and Diana are now married and living in Boston. Jim is working as a detective for the Dupree Agency, and passing on his detecting skills to his wife…

But then Jim is sent away to Chicago, just as the World Fair is getting underway. Diana is left alone, and soon begins to worry when she doesn’t hear from Jim. To her horror the men at the Dupree Agency have also lost track of him, so Diana heads to Chicago hoping to find her husband… hopefully, alive…

I had high hopes for this one, but alas, I’m afraid I really struggled with it. I didn’t have a problem with Diana controlling the main narrative- Jim gets to have his own first-person narrative as well, though his voice is secondary, but the story moved slowly, and has a few too many characters flowing in and out, for my taste. Diana was too bumbling- constantly putting Jim in danger- which just didn't feel right- or plausible.

Though the plot, which was centered around the disgruntled anarchists who stirred up anger and unrest, is a terrific issue to explore, the backdrop didn’t hold the same intrigues of the original Indian landscape, and the wonderful chemistry between Jim and Diana wasn’t evident here. I never warmed to the secondary characters, and the suspense which should have built as the plot unfolded never fully got off the ground, causing the ending to fall flat in the process.

Overall, this sophomore effort simply did not measure up to its predecessor, but it is also possible that my expectations were set too high going in. To be fair- the story does have its merits and was enjoyable enough- it just didn’t impress in the way I had hoped.

That said, some of my favorite series suffered through a few rocky moments before I fully settled into them- so if this series does continue- I’ll give it a chance to properly develop.

2.5 rounded up½

Spoilers
Bailed at 15%
Ladies maid Abigail turned out to be a dude in drag. He wants to be both male and female.

This second book in the Captain Jim/Lady Diana mystery series is a thoroughly enjoyable mystery, set in Chicago during the 1893 World's Fair.

After leaving Bombay, the setting of the first book in the series, the newlyweds settle in Boston. Soon, though, his detective agency sends Jim to investigate a murder in Chicago. When she doesn't hear from Jim for quite awhile, Diana leaves for Chicago to try to find her husband.

Both of them explore the gritty underworld of Chicago. The author does an excellent job at bringing both the Fair and the less than savory parts of 1890's Chicago to life.

I'm definitely tracking down the first book in the series and carrying in with, hopefully, later books. Highly recommended to fans of historical mysteries.

(I received a copy of this book from the publisher, via Net Galley, in exchange for a fair and honest review.)½