Inspector Singh Investigates: A Curious Indian Cadaver

Superintendent Chen is only too happy to put Inspector Singh on extended sick leave after the detective sustains injuries in A Deadly Cambodian Crime Spree, and Singh’s wife is equally happy to transport him from Singapore to Mumbai for a family wedding, but Flint’s satisfying fifth series entry soon provides the wily sleuth with a mystery to solve in India, in the form of a Sikh bride’s puzzling death. Ashu Kaur apparently set herself on fire a few days before her wedding, but no one who knew her can believe she would have committed suicide. In the meantime, questions arise from the discovery of Ashu’s secret, non-Sikh boyfriend, Sameer Khan, and of her research into the strange epidemic raging in the slums near her grandfather’s factory. Yet again, Flint delivers an atmospheric whodunit that also provides insights into the historic traumas casting shadows upon a country’s psyche. (Aug.)