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y separately published work icon A Disappearance in Fiji single work   novel   historical fiction   mystery  
Issue Details: First known date: 2023... 2023 A Disappearance in Fiji
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

'A charming and atmospheric debut mystery featuring a young Indian police sergeant investigating a missing persons case in colonial Fiji

'1914, Fiji: 25-year-old Akal Singh 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 his native India and 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.

'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, giving him strict instructions to view this investigation as nothing more than cursory. Akal, eager to achieve redemption, agrees--but soon finds himself far more invested than he ever 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. And 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 debut is full of sparkling wit, vibrant characters, intriguing mystery-solving, and fascinating historical detail, both unflinching in its treatment of the atrocities of colonialism and hopeful for a better future.' (Publication summary)

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

    • Richmond, East Melbourne - Richmond area, Melbourne, Victoria,: Echo Publishing , 2023 .
      image of person or book cover 7983572674765528965.jpg
      Image courtesy of publisher's website.
      Extent: 280p.
      Note/s:
      • Published 6 June 2023
      ISBN: 9781760688271

Works about this Work

Book Review : A Disappearance in Fiji, Nilima Rao Lisette Drew , 2023 single work review
— Appears in: ArtsHub , July 2023;

— Review of A Disappearance in Fiji Nilima Rao , 2023 single work novel

'This debut novel is a classic mystery story with cultural importance.'

“A Disappearance in Fiji” by Nilima Rao Susan Blumberg-Kason , 2023 single work review
— Appears in: The Asian Review of Books 2023;

— Review of A Disappearance in Fiji Nilima Rao , 2023 single work novel
'During the 1910s, Hong Kong’s new Governor Francis Henry May seconded a delegation of Sikh police officers to Fiji. May had had a recent stint as Governor of Fiji and before that Captain Superintendent of the Hong Kong Police Force. He felt that Hong Kong’s police force could teach Fiji a thing or two. While it was by no means unusual for the British to employ Sikh policemen in their imperial possessions, Fiji differed in that it already had a population of Indian indentured servants who worked the sugarcane fields on a contract for five years.' 

(Introduction)

“A Disappearance in Fiji” by Nilima Rao Susan Blumberg-Kason , 2023 single work review
— Appears in: The Asian Review of Books 2023;

— Review of A Disappearance in Fiji Nilima Rao , 2023 single work novel
'During the 1910s, Hong Kong’s new Governor Francis Henry May seconded a delegation of Sikh police officers to Fiji. May had had a recent stint as Governor of Fiji and before that Captain Superintendent of the Hong Kong Police Force. He felt that Hong Kong’s police force could teach Fiji a thing or two. While it was by no means unusual for the British to employ Sikh policemen in their imperial possessions, Fiji differed in that it already had a population of Indian indentured servants who worked the sugarcane fields on a contract for five years.' 

(Introduction)

Book Review : A Disappearance in Fiji, Nilima Rao Lisette Drew , 2023 single work review
— Appears in: ArtsHub , July 2023;

— Review of A Disappearance in Fiji Nilima Rao , 2023 single work novel

'This debut novel is a classic mystery story with cultural importance.'

Last amended 23 Jun 2023 09:07:59
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