Let me introduce you to the books filling my Kindle this month. Click the book image to visit the books on Amazon.com.
The Blue Bar (Blue Mumbai Thriller Book 1), by Damyanti Biswas
My Recommendation: The Blue Bar is a gripping psychological thriller, featuring an unusual setting in Mumbai, India. We’re introduced to Arnav Singh Rajput, a police inspector investigating a case where women are found murdered, wearing a blue dress decorated with blue sequins.
To complicate matters, Arnav is haunted by the disappearance of Tara Mondal fourteen years ago. He loved her. She was the young woman who danced to Bollywood songs in the smoky, flashing, colored lights of The Blue Bar. Whatever became of her? He had to find out!
Add to this, an overworked police department, corruption in high places of city government, the charm of Bollywood, a few organized crime bosses, and a deranger killer, and you have the makings for a spectacular crime novel.
The descriptions of Mumbai boggled my mind. From the horrors found in the slums to the flashiness of Bollywood movie sets, the darker side of Mumbai is exposed. There’s a murky underworld here, where dance bars employ women trying to make their way in the world.
I couldn’t put this book down. The plot kept me engaged from beginning to the end. There are numerous clues to help you piece together who the killer really is—I never totally figured out who he was. Yet, the ending is full of shocking revelations.
This was a fabulous read! I was thrilled to learn there was another book! So, I was off to book 2: The Blue Monsoon (Blue Mumbai Thriller Book 2)… The story continues!
The Blue Monsoon (Blue Mumbai Thriller Book 2), by Damyanti Biswas
My Recommendation: In the second book in the series, The Blue Monsoon, Senior Inspector Arnav Singh Rajput is called to the scene of a murder at a Mumbai temple where a dismembered male body is found near the Kaali temple.
The murder seems to be ritualistic. The fact that it occured at a Hindu temple puts the city on edge. Who would do such a thing?
To make matters worse, it’s been raining for days in Mumbai. Many of the streets are flooded, complicating an already complicated investivation. The bureaucracy in the police department doesn’t help much either.
Arnav seems to work his cases in such a way as to be at cross-purposes with his superiors’ objectives and his subordinates’ agendas. He is always one misstep away from getting fired.
Arnav battles to keep the investigation moving forward. Meanwhile, he is also caring for his pregnant wife, who is trying to get through a difficult pregnancy.
Tara’s story in this book takes center stage. She is the light of Arnav’s life. He will do everything to protect her, their daughter, and their unborn baby… but at what cost?
This book was as engaging as the first book! Once again, Biswas shows us the gritty underbelly of Mumbai along with the caste politics, organized crime, and women so desperate, they will sell their hair to feed their families. The contradictions are staggering!
If you are looking for an unusual crime series, the Blue Mumbai Thriller (2 book series) is for you!
I read both of these books on Kindle Unlimited!
Story Chat Online Literary Conversations: Series of Short Stories And Ruminations, by Marsha Ingrao
Story Chat is a compilation of short stories and comments from the AlwaysWrite.blog.
The author explains:
“More than a typical blog challenge that many bloggers enjoy, Story Chat is a unique online writing program. Twelve authors per year submit their short stories for publication on AlwaysWrite.blog for a community of bloggers to read and analyze together.”
Story Chat: Amazon.com
It’s a great concept. Blog visitors read the story and respond to each other with constructive comments. Interestingly, the same visitors came back to read more comments and to add their additional thoughts to the mix.
I thought the writers who submitted stories were brave, offering their stories up for examination. It’s not always easy to take criticism in a public forum.
It was fun to read the stories, and then the comments. After reading the comments, I found myself going back to the original story to see if I agreed with the comments.
I would have liked to see the suggested changes in a re-write of the stories to see if the suggestions made the stories better or not. However, this was a thought provoking read by many writers whose stories I’ve come to love.
This was a Kindle Unlimited read.
The Rat In The Python: Book 1 The Home, by Alex Craigie
My Recommendation: I enjoyed this humorous but also informative look back at life in the UK during the 1950s and 1960s. In fact, I lived in the UK for a few years in the late 1970s and early 1980s… I’ll never forget the smell of the coal fireplace in the freezing cold bungalow we rented, something this American had never experienced before.
Craigie’s descriptions fit many of my early UK experiences. From miniature refrigerators, to electric meters you had to feed with 50 pence each time you wanted to heat water for a bath (we had no showers), to Calor heaters—gas-powered heaters on wheels you moved from room to room… all brought back so many memories of my time in a country I grew to love. (Now, I’m craving a cup of British tea with a dash of milk from a silver-topped bottle delivered by the milkman).
There are numerous photos and drawings to help illustrate the different gagets available in the UK during the baby boomer years. Everything you want to know about a British home is discussed with humor and even a bit of nostalgia.
The Rat in the Python is a fun, enjoyable read! There is another book in the series. I’ll make sure and read that next!
This was a Kindle Unlimited Read!
These are all great reads I highly recommend!
🪻 Colleen Chesebro, Author & Poet 🪻 
Thanks for your comments ❣️