This debut has already won its first award and deservedly so. More than a standard police procedural, the author cleverly weaves serious themes, including racism, cultural identity, misogyny and female genital mutilation, into the story without the central plot of solving a murder becoming lost or diminished.

DI Diana Walker is called out to a suspicious scene of an abandoned filing cabinet sitting in the middle of a derelict site in Sheffield that was once a school and is now under development. The contractors are spooked and there’s a smell emanating from the cabinet. Inside is the dismembered body of the former Head of School, John Daniels. When it is revealed that the former Head of PE and the Gifted and Talented Program is also missing, the investigation takes a more urgent turn. Diana is under pressure to get a result.

Like many of her contemporary characters in the crime genre, Diana is a loner and married to her work, seemingly unable to sustain a relationship. However, the parallel story of Diana’s grandmother, MaMa, which runs alongside the narrative of the investigation, reveals a complexity and depth to Diana’s character. MaMa has arrived from Kenya to provide a deposition for the Kenyan Human Rights Commission into atrocities committed by the British in the 1950s as part of the Mau Mau Uprising. Her story and that of Diana’s mother, Rehema, provide layers of insight into Diana and shows us that we cannot escape the past that shapes us.

This is a multi layered, gripping read and is a welcome addition to the crime genre. I am looking forward to a return outing for DI Diana Walker.

Reviewed by Maryanne Vagg

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Nina Bhadreshwar trained and worked as a journalist in South Yorkshire before relocating to Watts, Los Angeles in the 1990s with her own magazine. While there, she was recruited to be the press officer and biographer of Death Row Records. She’s worked in woodland management, music journalism and as a high school teacher in England, Scotland and California as well as mentoring foster youth in LA. She paints murals, hikes, and self-publishes poetry and non-fiction.https://goodreadingmagazine.com.au/titlepage/the-day-of-the-roaring/

Nina won the 2022 Little, Brown UEA Crime Fiction Award with her debut novel, The Day of the Roaring.

Visit Nina Bhadreshwar’s website