A DISAPPEARANCE IN FIJI.

 Today on Pen and Paper ... 

A DISAPPEARANCE IN FIJI by NILMA RAO. 

 

Genre ... Historical mystery

Publication Date ... 31st August 2023

Publisher: Bonnier Zaffre

Standalone Novel

Estimated Page Count ... 288

​Order Link: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Disappearance-Fiji-charming-historical-mystery/dp/1804183008/

1914, Fiji: Sergeant Akal Singh would rather be anywhere than this tropical paradise - or, as he calls it, 'this godforsaken island'. After a promising start to his police career in Hong Kong, Akal has been sent to the far-flung colony of Fiji as punishment for a humiliating professional mistake. Lonely and embarrassed, he dreams of solving a big case, thereby redeeming himself and gaining permission to leave. Otherwise, he fears he will be stuck in Fiji for ever.

When an indentured Indian woman goes missing from a sugarcane plantation and Fiji's newspapers scream 'kidnapping', the inspector-general reluctantly assigns Akal the case, giving him strict instructions to view this investigation as nothing more than cursory. But as soon as Akal arrives on the plantation, he identifies several troubling inconsistencies in the plantation owners' stories, and it seems there is more to this disappearance than meets the eye ...

A shame that neither the plot with all of its intricacies nor its characters failed to engage me, that though set in very different locations {Fiji South Pacific instead of Saint-Marie in the Caribbean} alas, not a fan of Death In Paradise, for me there were just too many parallels between this, the author's debut novel, and the long running televised crime-comedy drama; not least of which was that both have fairly typical 'fish out of water' leads in newly arrived from Hong Kong, Sergeant Akal Singh, and Detective Inspector Richard Poole sent from London. 

'Well, Brown said he had secured a commission with the British Army and he was leaving for the war in Europe. The coolie woman disappeared when he left. My husband and I drew our own conclusions. Who knows where he actually went, though. I can't imagine the army would want him with a slatternly low-caste Indian woman in tow.'

The ensuing silence on the verandah was broken only by the distant sound of the cicadas and the creaking of the nearby coconut palm as it languorously swayed in the breeze. 

- Pg 29

Never the less, a refreshing change from your typical WW1 in London read, despite any misgivings that I might have had about the plot and characters I enjoyed Rao's writing; the way in which she brought to life life on the tropical paradise {or, as Sergeant Singh would have it, the 'god forsaken island'} of Fiji during a time of colonial rule, using the story to educate its readers as to the attitudes prevalent within the British Empire at the beginning of WW1 when casual racism and slavery were the norm especially when it came to the appalling attitudes of Australians towards the local Fijian people and indentured Indian workers. 

Nilima Rao is a Fijian Indian Australian who has always referred to herself as 'culturally confused'. She has since learned that we are all confused in some way and now feels better about the whole thing. When she isn't writing, Nilima can be found wrangling data (the dreaded day job) or wandering around Melbourne laneways in search of the next new wine bar. A Disappearance in Fiji is her first novel and she is currently working on a second.

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With thanks to Rachel of Rachel's Random Resources for another well organised Blog Tour. Agree or disagree with me, all opinions are my own. No financial compensation was asked for nor given. Threats of violence towards my favourite teddy bear went unheeded as did promises of chocolate.

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