The Blue Monsoon – ARC Book Review

A ritual murder at a Mumbai temple exposes the city’s dark secrets and ravages the personal life of a detective in this sequel to The Blue Bar.

Amid incessant rains pounding down on Mumbai, Senior Inspector Arnav Singh Rajput is called to a shocking crime scene. A male body is found dismembered on the steps of a Kaali temple. Drawn into his flesh are symbols of a tantra cult. The desecration of a body at a Hindu place of worship puts the city on edge and divides Arnav’s priorities: stopping a fanatic from killing again and caring for his wife who’s struggling through a challenging pregnancy.

Then video footage of the murder is uploaded onto the account of a Bollywood social media influencer, triggering twists in the investigation Arnav didn’t see coming. Caste systems at war. A priest under suspicion. And an anonymous threat that puts his wife’s welfare at risk. When more bodies are found, the savagery of the city begins to surface—and Arnav fears that no one is safe from a bigger storm brewing.

This is the second book of the Blue Series by Damayanti Biswas.

PS. If you haven’t read the first book of the series, you may want to read that one before reading this book so you can have an idea of who the characters are and this book happens right after the incidents that happened in Book 1.

The story starts with a body of a dead man found in the temple of Kaali. The strangest of that was that the man’s body was castrated. Inspector Arnav Rajput starts investigating the case and is dwelled into the land of corruption, religious social circles and social media. Meanwhile, his pregnant wife, Tina is getting threatening messages sent through her phone which may or may not be related to the case.

I actually liked this book more than the first book. Like the previous book, the book is set in the city of Mumbai and can definitely see the division between the glamorous life and poverty. There is also the mention of underground mafia men who are deemed dangerous and who seem to be backbone of the story. This was a fast paced thriller, the story divided into Tara, Arnav and Sita’s POVs and there were some twists and turns along the way. The author must have done some research on the Indian police in general, outlining on how some police force like Arnav are trustworthy while other police officers can be corrupted and can be easily bribed. Overall if you like a thriller that is set in the streets of Mumbai and India, then check this book out! Worth 4.5 stars.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Thomas and Mercer for the ARC. The review is based on my honest opinion only.