Bombay Monsoon is a thriller set in post-Partition India in the mid 1970s. An ambitious young American journalist, Danny Jacobs, arrives in Bombay on a new assignment. He’s tossed into a maelstrom of events during which the prime minister, Indira Gandhi, fearing a coup, declares a “state of emergency” to save her office. On top of that, a police officer is assassinated by a Marxist extremist. Then Danny embarks on a hot, unexpected, yet very complicated romance with a lovely woman, Sushmita.
The novel is well-paced, and the setting, India, is well-described as are its foods and atmosphere. I spent time in that part of the world in 1977, close enough to the time frame of the book, and testify that the repercussions of Partition were—and are—still rebounding in Pakistan and India as well as the emotional fatigue brought on by days of endless rains during the monsoons. The weather is definitely a character in its own right; the descriptions of it are deeply atmospheric and evocative. Bombay Monsoon highlights the multiple prejudices of Indian society including the importance of light skin in India and the caste system and relating them to similar problems in American society. The characters are varied and quite interesting, ranging from drug dealers to policemen to US DEA agents, and their roles frequently shift, adding nuance to their personalities. Danny himself is an unreliable narrator and has his own misconceptions and mindsets to overcome. He is rather passive and allows things to happen to him rather than working toward a specific goal.
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Bombay Monsoon (Oceanview Publishing, December 6, 2022) is available through:
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