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A Necessary Evil
- Narrated by: Simon Bubb
- Series: Sam Wyndham, Book 2
- Length: 11 hrs and 12 mins
- Categories: Mystery, Thriller & Suspense, Mystery
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Summary
The fabulously wealthy kingdom of Sambalpore: home to tigers, elephants, diamond mines and the beautiful Palace of the Sun. When the heir to the throne of Sambalpore is assassinated in Calcutta in the presence of Captain Sam Wyndham and his colleague 'Surrender-Not' Banerjee, Wyndham works to uncover the reasons behind Prince Punit's death, despite the opposition of his commanding officers. Travelling to Sambalpore, he discovers a kingdom riven with suppressed conflict. Prince Punit was a moderniser whose attitudes - and romantic relationship - may have upset the more religious elements of his country while his brother appears to be a feckless playboy. And when Annie Grant, the first woman to capture Wyndham's heart since the death of his wife, arrives in the kingdom, Wyndham knows this is going to be a case that is as challenging personally as it is professionally.
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What listeners say about A Necessary Evil
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- G. Williams
- 04-06-17
Another Great Book
Another great book, good story and great characters and just as well written as the first. Really enjoyed it and can not wait until the next one!
2 people found this helpful
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- Amazon Customer
- 12-02-21
Recommended
Second in the series and continues to get better
Definitely worth a listen. Great characters and interesting story lines
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- Anonymous User
- 05-09-20
Nail biting story beautifully read
Another excellent book in the Sam Wyndham series, with colourful evocations of Indian princely life mixed with dark intrigue and a gripping storyline. The reader does a superb job and I really enjoyed listening to him.
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- NickiMags
- 22-06-20
Brilliant Second Book!
I loved A Rising Man but I love this book even more!
s the above synopsis says this book is set in the ‘fabulously wealthy kingdom of Sambalpore home to tigers, elephants, diamond mines, and the beautiful Palace of the Sun.’ Right from the beginning of the book there were wonderful descriptions of the opulence of the kingdom and of the princes wearing jewel encrusted outfits, including their beards!
This was a fantastic murder mystery that tied me up in knots, as I tried to work out who the murderer was and what the motive was behind the killing. The murder trail took Sam and Banerjee right into the heart of the Sambalpore, where they got caught up in the intrigue of the goings on of the Maharaja and his court, and they really didn’t know if anyone could be trusted.
The relationship between Sam and Banerjee is definitely warmer in this book, and it was nice to see that Sam took the Sargeant more seriously as they investigated the murder. This was a welcome change, as Banerjee is a very clever policeman, and definitely more on the ball than his boss!
Simon Bubb’s narration was brilliant again, definitely making him one of my new favourite narrators! He’s become the voice of Sam and Banerjee, and I can’t wait to hear him bring them to life once again in the next book, Smoke and Ashes!
I definitely recommend this story on audiobook, especially if you enjoy historical crime fiction.
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- Roberta
- 08-10-19
Interesting and Well Written
This is my second book in this series and I found it very enjoyable. The Indian history was especially interesting.
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- Mr R V Ayer
- 11-09-19
addicted
loved it. complex, twisting, gripping story and supreme narration. Simon Bubb's high class Indian accent is perfect!
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- daisyrock
- 20-05-19
Excellent second outing
I preferred this to Rising Man as it's less wordy and more of a page turner. Narration is very good but there is a degree of wit and dry humour in Sam's voice that I think the narrator misses.
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- helen
- 08-04-19
A very Good Sequel
Once again the narration is perfect. This story has more twists in it than book 1, when you think the murder is solved, there is a further twist.
I like that the characters are imperfect and flawed, which makes everything more real. The hypocrisy and wry dry humour is very well done.
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- Anonymous User
- 31-10-18
Everything a Great Novel Should be
A great story with pace, engaging detail and tension. This skilled writer comes highly recommended
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- Lovemykindle
- 09-09-18
So sad when the Audio book ended ...
My favourite of the 3 (so far?) Sam Wyndham Audio books ... engrossing story, wonderful narration and very atmospheric setting.
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- GB
- 18-10-17
Another great story
Abir spins a great yarn. It is exotic and fascinating all at once.
It is also captivating and well read. There are a few stylistic ticks that it would be churlish to harp on
For the author: Annie and Surrender Not are great characters that are under-utilised . I hope the next book gives Annie especially more space.
Other than that this is my favourite series at the moment I’m dying to read the next adventure.
1 person found this helpful
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- Vaidyanathan
- 03-09-18
Leaves you craving for more !
Abir Mukherjee and Simon Bubb continue the magic in their second novel of the series - this novel deals with a little bit more sophisticated plot with multiple characters coming in the fray of the classic whodunnit. The novel also portrays some of the beautiful cultural symbols of India which are still existent today (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ratha_Yatra_(Puri)). Narration is again really enjoyable. Before you read this, make sure you read the first novel since some characters are continued from the first novel.
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- Crescentman
- 30-09-17
Fascinating Insight...
... into early 20th century India. Well read and the characters soon become omorganisering to one. The plot is pretty good, the protagonist was guessable but that didn't spoil my enjoyment.