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Summary and Reviews of A Disappearance in Fiji by Nilima Rao

A Disappearance in Fiji by Nilima Rao

A Disappearance in Fiji

by Nilima Rao
  • BookBrowse Review:
  • Critics' Consensus (5):
  • Readers' Rating (2):
  • First Published:
  • Jun 6, 2023, 288 pages
  • Paperback:
  • May 2024, 288 pages
  • Rate this book

About This Book

Book Summary

A charming and atmospheric debut mystery featuring a 25-year-old Indian police sergeant investigating a missing persons case in colonial Fiji

1914, Fiji: Akal Singh, 25, would rather be anywhere but this tropical paradise—or, as he calls it, "this godforsaken island." After a promising start to his police career in Hong Kong, Akal has been sent to Fiji as punishment for a humiliating professional mistake. Lonely and grumpy, Akal plods through his work and dreams of getting back to Hong Kong or his native India.

When an indentured Indian woman goes missing from a sugarcane plantation and Fiji's newspapers scream "kidnapping," the inspector-general reluctantly assigns Akal the case. Akal, eager to achieve redemption, agrees—but soon finds himself far more invested than he could have expected.

Now not only is he investigating a disappearance, but also confronting the brutal realities of the indentured workers' existence and the racism of the British colonizers in Fiji—along with his own thorny notions of personhood and caste. Early interrogations of the white plantation owners, Indian indentured laborers, and native Fijians yield only one conclusion: there is far more to this case than meets the eye.

Nilima Rao's sparkling debut mystery offers an unflinching look at the evils of colonialism, even as it brims with wit, vibrant characters, and fascinating historical detail.

CHAPTER ONE

"THE NIGHT PROWLER WAS out again last night."

This portent of doom first thing in the morning made Sergeant Akal Singh once again forget to duck as he walked through the door of the Totogo Police Station in central Suva.

"Arre yaar," he muttered with feeling. In the six months he had been in Fiji, Akal had knocked his head on that very door any number of times. It wasn't a particularly low door, but his turban added inches to his already formidable height. Akal smoothed his hands over the turban, cursing the lack of mirror in the sparsely furnished front room of the station, or indeed any of the police buildings. One had been ordered for the European officers' barracks, but the ship from Sydney had been delayed. There was no talk of ordering one for the Indian and Fijian barracks.

"Is my turban correct?" he asked Taviti. The Fijian corporal was manning the front desk, and had been the one to deliver the news about Akal's current nemesis.

"Ah, I think it's all right, sir...

Please be aware that this discussion guide will contain spoilers!
  1. The following quote reveals Akal's prejudices at the start of the novel: "He had not created the situation, and it had nothing to do with him, really. The Indians being brought over as girmityas were not the kind he would have ever dealt with in India. They were not his people, even if they were his countrymen" (p. 22). Discuss Akal's attitude about the indentured Indians and his lack of personal responsibility on the matter. Do you think he goes through a moral awakening in this novel? Why? If not, do you think he will in future books?
  2. Akal considers himself to be different from the Indian indentured servants because of his Sikh background, his standing in the police force, and the colonialist society that dominates the setting of the ...
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Reviews

BookBrowse Review

BookBrowse

Rao develops the mystery of Kunti's disappearance slowly, building up tension through the racist scorn Singh endures from the plantation owners, Henry and Susan Parkins, as well as his own biases. Singh is a soft-spoken observer in the uncomfortable exchanges Rao so realistically depicts. As he moves between the worlds of the planter aristocracy with its overt racism and the quiet, bleak despair of the workers, Singh senses that Kunti's disappearance may portend a darker reality on the Parkins plantation. The abuses of colonialism are on full display in the novel's depiction of indentured Indian women's experiences, which force Singh to grapple with the ripples of the system's evil...continued

Full Review (650 words)

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(Reviewed by Peggy Kurkowski).

Media Reviews

Historical Novels Review
A vivid read ... [Akal is] an endearing and iconic hero.

Booklist (starred review)
An absorbing mystery...An insightful, determined main character, the unearthing of the wrongs of indentured servitude, and a compelling plot make this a promising start to a new series. Fans of Harini Nagendra's The Bangalore Detectives Club (2022), also about the wrongs inflicted under British colonialism, should love this mystery.

Publishers Weekly (starred review)
Rao skillfully weaves descriptions of the treatment and living conditions of Indian workers into the propulsive plot and draws a host of vibrant characters. This is an exceptionally promising debut.

Kirkus Reviews
[A] debut with a relatable heart. A complex and engaging mystery given even greater weight by its important historical backdrop.

Author Blurb Alexander McCall Smith, bestselling author of the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series
This is an utterly charming novel. The setting is exotic and the characters are intriguing. Nilima Rao is an author well worth discovering."

Author Blurb Ovidia Yu, author of the Aunty Lee Singaporean Mysteries
A poignant and entertaining read...Sergeant Akal Singh is a charmingly imperfect and captivating protagonist. I love Akal and hope we'll be seeing a lot more of him!

Author Blurb Sujata Massey, Agatha Award–winning author of The Widows of Malabar Hill
Meet Sergeant Akal Singh, the complex and charming hero of a thoroughly original mystery set in 1914 Fiji. Fans of Golden Age mysteries will relish this debut novel by a compelling new talent, Nilima Rao. More, please!

Reader Reviews

Jorenej

An Indian policeman uncovers secrets on Fiji
This novel gives us a mystery but in a historical setting- the Island of Fiji, part of the British Empire at the turn of the century. Akal, an Indian native who joined the British-Indian Police services is abruptly transferred from a great ...   Read More
Elizabeth

Excellent historical mystery
This author focuses on character development, the mystery, and a great deal of Fijian history. His skillful use of language makes the reader (in my case listener) feel as if they were in Fiji! I learned quite a bit of history about a part of the ...   Read More

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Beyond the Book



Fiji and the Girmit System

Albumen silver print photo with glossy finish showing landscape with coastal view and mountains in background near Suva, Fiji in 1884 The country and archipelago of Fiji is in the South Pacific Ocean, approximately 1,300 miles north of Auckland, New Zealand and 2700 miles southwest of Hawaii. It consists of more than 300 islands, about 100 of which are inhabited. The largest island, at approximately 66 miles long and 91 miles wide, is Viti Levu, or "Great Fiji." The country's capital of Suva—where part of the action takes place in Nilima Rao's novel A Disappearance in Fiji—is located on its southeast coast.

At the time of the novel's events—1914—Fiji had been a British Crown Colony for 40 years. A conducive climate for such high-demand products as cotton, tea and sugar made it an initially attractive target for planters looking to raise cash...

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