Customer Reviews

Season of The Monsoon

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Set in India, *Season of the Monsoon* is a police mystery filled with vivid imagery and wonderful descriptive language. Mann's ability to draw in his readers and keep them riveted is reminiscent of well-known mystery authors like Michael Connelly, and this is definitely high praise. Where writers like Connelly surpass Mann, however, is in their ability to construct a complex mystery that presents twists and turns that keep coming throughout the novel. Mann's story is intriguing, but ultimately, the resolution of the mystery (i.e., the identity of a serial killer) is (disappointingly) simple. The ending is a bit theatrical, which is also something of a flaw.

Overall, however, this novel is gorgeously written and once started is hard to put down. Maybe "gorgeously" is an inappropriate word here, since some of the book's descriptive vividness relates to horrifying imagery related to corpses and murders. This story is definitely NOT for the squeamish. Having greatly enjoyed *The Season of the Monsoon*, however, I definitely plan to read others in the Sansi mystery series.

Extremely well-written mystery introducing George Sansi,
the half-Indian, half-British inspector for a special divi-
sion within the Bombay Police Department. It shows not only
Sansi's frustration at having to deal with the system (and
I should point out that Sansi's "system" makes ours look
like a bunch of yes-men), but also provides a view of India
that is somewhat different from any other fictional account
I've read. A word of caution, however: some sections of
Mann's novel get unnecessarily gory (in description, not in
action; Sansi isn't a violent man), and while in hindsight
these parts are vital to the plot, I do wish that Mann could
have toned them down - I don't often get queasy reading a
book, but I did with this one. Thankfully, descriptions
like that are few and far between, and on the whole, this
is an extremely well-written book.

this is a great book and a great series. terrific mystery in an exotic locale. Can't wait for more of Paul Mann's George Sansi novels. Have a cup of Chai and enjoy!