The Shadows of Men: 'An unmissable series' The Times

This novel is set against the fiery, unstable backdrop that is Calcutta in the 1920's as British rule is slowly falling apart.
Immediately the reader is thrust into the story at full speed as Sergeant Banerjee is arrested for murder.
The two main leads are well thought out characters who have a friendship that is built on mutual respect despite diverging backgrounds and ideologies. Sam has come to realise that British rule is coming to an end and understands they should not be there. Suren , believes in his countries right to govern itself and this feeling is growing and shaping him.
Their friendship transcends this divide and is one of the main reasons this story is so strong.
Thoroughly enjoyed this novel, especially as the storyline is split between Sam and Surens viewpoints. Letting the reader to see what one of them is really thinking whilst the other is talking.
I am reading this as a stand alone book as I have not read the previous ones of this series but will definitely be remedying that.

The Shadows of Men is the 5th book in the series featuring Sam Wyndham and Suren Banerjee but can be enjoyed as a stand alone read (as I have done). This is a crime novel set in 1920s India with a good plot, engaging characters and even some humour. It paints a very vivid picture of imperial India and shows where the troubles we still see today originated. I really enjoyed this book and will definitely read the first 4 in the series.

I don’t know whether it is because I haven’t read any of the previous books in this series, but I just couldn’t get into this book. I found the language somewhat stilted and and two person narration disjointed. I did try and give it a second chance, but just didn’t connect with the characters or story.

I really enjoyed this book. It’s a detective story, but there’s nothing formulaic about it. It is based in Calcutta in 1923 – the independence movement is growing, and there is a precarious peace between the two main religious groups, Hindus and Muslims.
The chapters switch between two narrators who are both detectives in Calcutta CID. However, Suren is a native Indian and Sam is British. This is one of the most interesting things about the book, as their perspectives are very different and we get some insight into the culture of imperial India.
The plot was interesting, and centred around the religious tensions of the time, and the British attempts to control their Indian ‘subjects’. I felt that I learned a lot about imperial India and the early stages of the path to independence.
This is the fifth in a series, but worked very well as a standalone. I would strongly recommend this book, and am going to start reading the series from the start.

This book is set in Calcutta in 1923 and the British are firmly in control. Sam and Suren are both officers in the Imperial Police Force and they are are an unusual duo – Sam is British and Suren is an Indian Hindu and they are the best of friends, even sharing a flat together. As a partnership they have worked on many cases but this latest one promises to be a particular challenge. A Hindu theologian is found murdered in his home and tensions are running high, Muslim and Hindu factions fighting each other with the threat of all-out war on the cards. Sam and Suren are on the case and it needs to be solved quickly. But it was never going to be easy. Alternate chapters are narrated by Sam and Suren respectively.

I loved this book from the start. The characters are very well developed and they are likeable as people. The author is exceptionally good at evoking sights and sounds using the written word and I really felt as though I was there, in the midst of all the wonderful chaos and mayhem that is India. There are quite a few entertaining moments, often wry comments about the Raj and its influence, incompetence etc.
This is the 5th in a series featuring Sam and Suren but I have not read any of the others and found that it worked perfectly well as a stand-alone book in its own right.

I don’t think I have anything negative to say about this book.

I have never come across this author before but will definitely be reading more, starting with the first four books in the series featuring this police duo. Recommended to all readers who like a good crime novel set in foreign climes.

Thank you to @VintageBooks and @ReadingAgency for providing free copies of #ShadowsofMen for Macclesfield Library Reading Group to read and review.

Here is what our members thought of the book -

I have never read anything else by this author but I feel inspired to read the rest of the books in the series. The main draw for me was the two main characters and their relationship. I’d like to see what has happened in their pasts that has led to this point, some of which is alluded to in this book. I hope Suren can come to terms with having been part of the ‘system’ – working as a police officer for the British in British-occupied India and that there will be more books in this series to fully explore that storyline

I really enjoyed the split perspective of the two main characters and the initial time difference between them. It did take me a couple of chapters before I figured it out but I did enjoy this technique all the same. I thought this interrupted the flow a bit and made the narrative did feel a little disjointed until both storylines came together at the same time, but overall this was fast-paced and engaging, an easy to read book and I enjoyed it a lot

I learnt a lot about British imperial rule in India which I confess I didn’t know much about beforehand. I found the historical aspects of the novel more appealing than the crime storyline – crime novels aren’t usually my thing so I enjoyed the picture that the author painted of India more. I felt that the setting was nicely pitched and the characters well drawn but the plot got a bit far-fetched towards the end

I thought there would be a bigger focus on the crime drama but that storyline took a backseat to the historical setting which was not what I was expecting but it was very enjoyable all the same

I felt that the book took a while to get going – there was a lot of scene-setting and social commentary about the protests in India at the time, which was all valid and needed to be said, but my main draw was the crime thriller element of the story - I didn’t enjoy the social history quite as much so I thought the book’s first third was a bit drawn out. I very much enjoyed the crime drama storyline when it did get going though and the finale was well paced and exciting. I did come to care about both characters and I’d like to find out what will happen next for both of them

The premise of this book didn’t entirely grab me but overall it was a very easy read. Don’t think I’d read any further other books in the series but I’m glad to have read this one as I didn’t really know much about the time period so I feel I’ve learnt something!

I have read the other books by this author so I was pleased to get this book for reading group! The previous books are narrated by the character of Sam so it was nice to actually directly hear Surendranath’s thoughts, as he narrates half of this book alongside Sam. I enjoyed the evolution of Sam and Suren’s relationship in this book and the beginnings of Suren’s dilemma about working for the British in a very turbulent time. I hope there will be more books in this series and that Sam and Suren each get their happy endings

I was slighty confused at first as I have never read any other books in this saga but once I realised the story was being told by two characters with their own view point of the investigation I found the story engaging. It worked well how each of the characters are affected by status, race and class in a time when India was still majority white man driven.
A Good all round read.

I don’t know if it was because I haven’t read any of the other books in the series, but I found the story quite confusing at times and felt that it didn’t flow, and couldn’t engage with the two main characters. I did manage to finish it, however I nearly didn’t.