Season of Sacrifice

September 1, 2017

Maya Malick, who recently opened the first American branch of a women's boutique detective agency from India, spots two women setting themselves on fire in front of the residence of a visiting Chinese official in Seattle. Maya unsuccessfully tries to stop the immolations; one of the victims, Sylvie, is a malaria research scientist and the sister of Maya's best friend. The news reports that the women were protesting the Chinese occupation of Tibet. Maya's first case is to discover the truth behind the deaths. Her investigation involves malaria research and families from Russia and India and could endanger Maya and her mother. VERDICT Kirchner's (Goddess of Fire) series opener introduces a determined Asian American sleuth who uses her skills and draws on her mother's firsthand knowledge of India. While the plot pulls together a few too many disparate elements, the strong supporting cast may appeal to readers of Gigi Pandian's "Jaya Jones Treasure Hunt" mysteries.--LH

Copyright 2017 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2016
Kirchner's (Darjeeling, 2007) sweeping historical novel is set in seventeenth-century India and tells the story of Moorti, a teenage widow about to be martyred as a sati on her husband's funeral pyre. She is rescued by Job Charnock, a chief administrator for the English East India Company. Renamed Maria, the young woman becomes a cook at the company's estate in Cossimbazaar. But Maria craves more than servanthood and begins taking English lessons, hoping to become an interpreter for Charnock. Their mutual respect develops into love, and despite their class and racial differences, they marry. With Maria's vision and advice, Charnock founds the settlement that will eventually become Calcutta. Kirchner imagines the life of the strong and ambitious woman behind Charnock, an historical English trader, weaving in a great deal of historical and cultural background and detail to create this tale of barrier-crashing love. What actually shines the brightest is not the romance but rather Kirchner's rich portrayal of the Indians who toil for British colonialists.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)

July 3, 2017
PI Maya Mallick, the intriguing heroine of this uneven series launch set in Seattle from Kirchner (Goddess of Fire), has renounced her work as a nutrition consultant to join the India-based Detectives Unlimited of Kolkata as their first operative in the U.S. One bright morning, Maya is out for a stroll when she hears chanting and sees several people in white robes clustered around two women also draped in white, apparently protesting against China’s intervention in Tibet. As she watches in horror, a man in dark glasses hands each woman a match and—whoosh—they go up in flames. Though only their eyes were visible, Maya is certain that she knew one of the women: a scientist researching a vaccine for malaria. After this dramatic incident, Maya is determined to find out why these two women chose to take their own lives. Kirchner puts an original spin on motive, but the villain’s elaborate plot has too many logic holes. Readers will look forward to seeing more of the astute Maya, but they’ll hope she’ll be matched by more worthy adversaries. Agent: Priya Doraswamy, Lotus Lane Literary.