Dharma: A Rekha Rao Mystery

Set in Southern California, Kumari’s fascinating debut and series launch introduces art history professor Rekha Rao, who failed to get tenure at UC Irvine and is now struggling with a part-time position elsewhere. The Pasadena police need Rekha’s help determining who used a statue to batter in the head of archaeology professor Joseph Faust, who was her mentor as well as a father figure. Rao easily identifies the murder weapon as an image of the Hindu goddess Durga, “the most powerful female deity in the Hindu pantheon.” But figuring out why that particular idol was used to kill Faust is trickier, and Rekha’s shaken when she sees a photo of the dead man that reminds her of the bludgeoning murder of her own father, a killing that the police, but not Rao, deemed solved. The mystery deepens when she learns that there were rumors that the Durga statue was stolen by Faust from its excavation site in India. Rheka, a domestic violence survivor with PTSD, is a well-developed lead more than capable of sustaining a series. Kumari is off to a strong start. (Self-published)