Book of the Week January 29, 2026
In a classically framed and styled mystery set in India rather than the English countryside of classic novels past, readers start off with our wealthy head of family, Bhaskar Fernandez. He’s so sure that someone is trying to kill him he has written two wills: one if he dies of natural causes, the other if under suspicious circumstances. Athreya, famed solver of crimes, has been invited to the country house to be charged with the task of solving the murder should it occur. As the family is all gathered, there is a landslide that traps all within the compound and thick pea-soup fog that heightens confusion and adds to the intrigue. Confusion and intrigue are the least of it, though, and while murder does occur, it is not what or who was expected. In a lovely throwback to tradition, the book includes area maps and floorplans, and our investigator sorts things as methodically as Poirot might have. This is charming, character driven, and great fun to read.—Danise Hoover
