1914, Fiji: Akal Singh, twenty-five, would rather be anywhere but 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 grumpy, Akal plods through his work and dreams of a return to Hong Kong, or even his native India.
An indentured Indian woman goes missing from a sugarcane plantation and Fiji’s newspapers scream ‘kidnapping’, just as the Indian indentured servitude program is being scrutinised for alleged abuses. Fiji’s inspector-general reluctantly assigns Akal the case, as the senior Indian police officer available. Akal, eager to achieve redemption, agrees – but soon finds himself far more invested than he could have ever expected.
When he arrives at the plantation to investigate, Akal must confront the brutal realities of the indentured workers’ existence and the racism of the British colonisers in Fiji – along with his own thorny notions of identity and class. His interrogations of the white plantation owners, Indian indentured labourers and local Fijians yield only one conclusion: there is far more to this case than meets the eye.
The mystery that Akal is desperate to solve is rife with politics and conflicting agendas that he’d rather not get involved in – he just wants to prove himself as an officer. But he quickly learns that he cannot ignore the broader context of the case; not least because he finds himself to be a target for racism from his European and Fijian counterparts. And so it is for Nilima Rao’s readers: her sparkling debut mystery offers an unflinching look at the impact of colonialism, even as it brims with wit, vibrant characters and fascinating historical detail.
Before reading Rao’s remarkable novel, I was largely unfamiliar with this particular slice of history – as I think many readers will be. There is a lot to take in. The book covers shocking themes, bedded in the colonial racism that underpinned the Fijian labour regime of the time. But Rao manages to bring us along with her characters on this journey in such a way that the education is both charming and thought-provoking, cosy and confronting.
Each chapter starts with a snippet from the Fiji Times. In an illuminating author’s note at the back of the book, Rao confirms that these are indeed real snippets taken from newspapers of the era. Emblematic of the meticulous research that has gone into this remarkable work, these excerpts do a wonderful job of framing the book in historical and social context. BR’s Cheryl Akle recorded a podcast episode with Nilima Rao, which you can listen to here.
I fell in love with the flawed yet golden-hearted Akal, along with his comrades Taviti and Robert, and I have a feeling you will, too! If, like me, you find yourself a little sad to say goodbye to this cast of characters that have come to feel like friends, I have good news for you! Rumour has it that Rao is working on a sequel…
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