The Blue Monsoon is the second book in the Mumbai Blue crime thriller series. In this installment of the series Senior Inspector Arnav Singh Rajput has to find a serial killer who leaves his victims spreadeagle and castrated at the entrance to Hindu temples with their faces cut beyond recognition. Drawn into their flesh are symbols of a tantra cult. He also must deal with friction within the caste system. His own associate will not investigate premises that are owned by lower castes. While the victims are from different castes so are the suspects and none of them want to be associated with each other. A video of the first murder is uploaded onto the account of a Bollywood social media influencer and millions of people had viewed it before her social media accounts were suspended. 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. If you’ve read the first book in the series, The Blue Bar, you will remember that Arnav Singh Rajput married his wife Tara, after she became paralyzed.

The setting was the weather. The story takes place during monsoon season and the rain is mentioned on almost every page. I never knew much about monsoons but have learned that they are flash flood rains where the flood waters can reach up to a person's knees. It is impossible to remain dry when you walk from a car to inside a building and the characters' clothes stayed damp all day with mud splattered all over them. Of course, this makes keeping a crime scene dry near impossible. However, Arnav and his fellow inspectors had no problems reading the crime scenes. The monsoon atmosphere takes the reader to Mumbai in July and I could almost feel my arthritis kicking in when I read about the characters always being damp from coming inside from the rain.

I love the main character Arnav. He seems to be a realistic guy. Arnav's relationship with his wife and daughter resemble families we all know. While he has a good relationship with both he feels the usual aggravation from them that all couples must deal with. Arnav makes mistakes but doesn't become angry when they happen and he always admits making mistakes when he is called on the carpet. When he gets caught speaking white lies, he always admits doing so and you think that these admissions will result in a change in the plot. Instead, after the admission of guilt, Arnav takes the plot somewhere else. I also love that he chose an outspoken woman as his wife. Tara continues to push all his buttons even though she is totally dependent on him for care and support.

Mystery lovers who have not read the series yet should begin with the first book, The Blue Bar. It was just as good as this one and I highly recommend it. ( )

crime-fiction, thriller, suspense, spinal-cord-injury, pregnancy, cultural-differences, cultural-exploration, cultural-heritage, caste-system, relationship-issues, relatives, religious-differences, religious-practices, religious-symbolism, family, family-dynamics, friendship, India, ritual-killing, social-justice, multiple-murder, noir, unputdownable*****

Due to my cultural ignorance, I kept stopping the read to investigate things I wanted to know more about. One theme is the pregnancy of the wheelchair bound wife of Senior Inspector Arnav Singh Rajput of Mumbai. The murder investigation involves a murder with ritualistic brutality and involves many inroads into the cultural realities of Mumbai. I couldn't really put the book down, but I find that I can't condense the story. I loved it and hope it will be in audio format soon!
I requested and received an EARC from Thomas & Mercer via NetGalley. Thank you. ( )

When a mutilated body, with a cult tantric symbol, was found in a sacred Mumbai temple during this gloomy and depressing monsoon rain, it is just the beginning of a series of horrific and harrowing investigations for Senior inspector Arnav.

When the body count of the same MO increases, and the fierce torrential rain further complicates the investigations, Senior Inspector Arnav is racing against time to catch the killer before more harm is being done!

Damyanti Biswas has said that sequels are tricky beasts, but she has outdone herself in THE BLUE MONSOON, the sequel to The Blue Bar! THE BLUE MONSOON is gripping, tense, spine-chilling, and the suspense intensifies as I turn pages until the end! The excellent Biswas also gives me an insight into Mumbai's corrupted political and police system and the unsavory caste system.

I enjoyed THE BLUE MONSOON tremendously, and I highly recommend it to anyone who loves a dark, twisty and gripping thriller! Now, I am looking forward to Biswas’s next thriller!! ( )