Giveaway - A Shipwreck in Fiji by Nilima Rao
Time for a giveaway for our HNSA newsletter subscribers!
Thanks to Echo Publishing there are 5 copies on offer of Nilima Rao’s historical mystery, A Shipwreck in Fiji. Set in 1915, the novel continues the exploits of Sergeant Akal Singh as he investigates strange reports of Germans far from the Western Front in Fiji, while chaperoning two wayward European young ladies.
As an added bonus, Echo is also offering 5 copies of Nilima’s first book in the series, A Disappearance in Fiji.
About A Shipwreck in Fiji
Sergeant Akal Singh, an unwilling transplant to Fiji, is just starting to settle into his life in the capital city of Suva when he is sent to the island of Ovalau on a series of fool's errands. First: investigate strange reports of Germans, thousands of miles from the front of World War I. Second: chaperone two strong-willed European ladies, Mary and Katherine, on a sightseeing tour. And third: supervise the only police officer currently on Ovalau, an 18-year-old constable with a penchant for hysterics.
Accompanied by his friend Taviti, Akal sets off for what he thinks will be fairly straightforward tasks. Instead, they stumble upon a gruesome scene: the man who'd reported the Germans beaten to death in his own shop. Shortly after, the Germans - or are they Norwegians? - find themselves imprisoned in a local village for committing a taboo crime, and Katherine harbours an agenda of her own. Will Akal be able to keep her - and himself - out of trouble before anybody else gets killed?
About A Disappearance in 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 the farflung colony of Fiji as punishment for a humiliating professional mistake. Lonely and grumpy, Akal plods through his work and dreams of a return to Hong Kong, or even his native India.
An indentured Indian woman goes missing from a sugarcane plantation and Fiji’s newspapers scream ‘kidnapping’, just as the Indian indentured servitude program is being scrutinised for alleged abuses. Fiji’s inspector-general reluctantly assigns Akal the case, as the senior Indian police officer available. Akal, eager to achieve redemption, agrees – but soon finds himself far more invested than he could ever have expected.
When he arrives at the plantation to investigate, Akal must confront the brutal realities of the indentured workers’ existence and the racism of the British colonisers in Fiji – along with his own thorny notions of identity and class. His interrogations of the white plantation owners, Indian indentured labourers and local 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 impact of colonialism, even as it brims with wit, vibrant characters and fascinating historical detail.
About Nilima Rao
Nilima Rao is a Fijian Indian Australian who has always referred to herself as “culturally confused”. She has since learned that we are all confused in some way, has been published on the topic as part of the SBS Emerging Writers Competition and now feels better about the whole thing. When she isn’t writing, Nilima can be found wrangling data (the dreaded day job) or wandering around Melbourne laneways in search of the next new wine bar. A Disappearance in Fiji was her first novel.
How To Enter:
Ensure you are subscribed to the HNSA newsletter.
Leave a comment below to go into the draw.
5 winners will be drawn via random.com
Contest ends 13 May at 5pm AEST. Good luck!
The contest is limited to Australian and New Zealand readers only.