Murder on the Sacred River by Tasha Alexander Publishes 9/22/26

 


Another interesting addition to this series.  What I love about these books is that it is always a historical fiction story within a historical fiction mystery story. 

In the first timeline we have Lady Emily trying to solve a mystery about the death of an Englishman a the Ahilya Fort in India.  There are a variety of characters each with their own interesting backstory.  Emily is a force to be reckoned with and even though it is 1908, she doesn't let anyone get in the way of her getting to the truth.  I love that she is the main character and her husband is more of the side piece.  My favorite part of the book was the secondary story.  This was of Ahilya in 1740.  She is married to the future ruler but he loves alcohol more than he loves being an effective ruler in India.  Ahilya wants to be a good wife, and mother but she also is extremely intelligent and wants to do right by the people of India.  She must overcome the issues in her marriage to become an instrument of change especially for the women in India. 

Both stories were interesting and I had no idea who the murderer was until the very end.  However I am a true historical fiction fan more than a mystery fan and I loved learning about Ahilya.  Her story was fascinating.  I also learned so much more about the history of India.  A truly fascinating read!  Even though this is book 20 in the series, one does not have to read the 19 that came before this.  I have only read one other in this series and I completely understood all that was happening. 

4 out of 5 stars

Thank you to Minotaur Books and NetGalley for this ARC.  All thoughts and opinions are my own. 

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