A lovely tapestry

Fijian writer makes charming debut with tropical mystery

by Jeffrey Mannix

The crime fiction genre is exploding and giving unheard-of opportunities to first-time authors and veteran novelists alike, en couraging police procedural se rials hoping for name recognition.

The results, at least in this moment, are multi-book contracts and big advances to established authors by publishing conglomerates. Debut writers, on the other hand, receive modest exposure with little to no advances. But they do get first-rate editing and dust cover design, and an outfield of sales reps and publicists sending out fulsome blurbs and advance-reader copies to a small army of reviewers like me.

But young writers with first books now have at least a modicum of hope of securing an agent with a cold call and a barely edited typescript, who can then pitch the big publishing houses with product they had never before dared to recruit.

In my experience, offshore and small publishers have been and are still discovering and publishing great crime fiction writers and genuinely literary crime fiction. Early crime fiction in the United States began as episodics in pulp magazines, then progressed to back-pocket paperbacks with lurid cover art sold in drug stores and newsstands. All the while, European and British publishers had been featuring true literary writers for decades with fictions that still set the standard for noir literature.

Currently in the United States, one small New York publisher has run alongside the big American crime imprints with early and steadfast dedication to exceptional crime fiction. Soho Press has fed “Murder the reader gets to stroll along with a proper 25-year-old rookie Indian police sergeant by the name of Akal Singh. The year is 1914, and Singh is on punishment duty for a nameless error he made policing in Hong Kong and is expecting to restore his status after a few days accompanying the Indian Delegation for India’s Relations with Fiji. He has come to review the Indian indentured servitude program and to perfunctorily look into missionary Father Hughes’ reported kidnapping of an indentured woman named Kunti at the Nabanigei plantation.

Ink” with a steady supply of outstanding mysteries over the years and now gives us a June 6 release, “A Disappearance in Fiji,” a debut by a young Fijian-born woman, Nilima Rao.

The British believed they controlled this primitive and warring archipelago, and the examination of the Nabanigei plantation was intended only to show British hegemony and provide make-work for the delegation of low-level bureaucrats. But Sergeant Singh is Indian, not British, and is young and aspires to higher ranks, so this overland visit was to be thoroughly investigated.

Rao obviously spent years researching and writing this book. And Soho Crime noticeably spent time and talent editing Rao’s lovely voice and unadorned storyline.

Singh is indefatigable in his investigation, probing and digging deeper into every clue, causing supervisors to chafe dumbstruck over Singh’s unveilings.

Fiji” is an easy, warm read that quickly establishes a charm and a hint of starchy humor to this far-away island. This palliates the debauchery behind a system fed lavishly by wealthy Britowned sugarcane plantations labored over by families tricked into indentured servitude and overseen like slaves.

With subtleties beyond Rao’s years,

And we have a story rich with place, culture, pathos and profound suspense amid a country unaccustomed to presumptuous civil servants.

You won’t forget this book, and remember to ask Maria’s Bookshop for your “Murder Ink” 15% discount. We’ll see awards coming Rao’s way, and I, for one, will be eagerly awaiting her next lovely tapestry.

Thursday01

Afrobeatniks play, 5 p.m., Ska Brewing, 225 Girard Ave.

Fiesta Days and Carnival, 5 p.m., La Plata County Fairgrounds, 2500 Main Ave.

Thursday Night Sitting Group, 5:30-6:15 p.m., Durango Dharma Center, 1800 E. 3rd Ave, Suite 109.

“Furniture as Art,” fundraiser for KDUR, 6 p.m., FLC’s Student Union.

Durango Climber Coalition General Meeting, 6 p.m., 11th St. Station.

Professor Andy Gulliford, presentation on Bears Ears, 6 p.m., San Juan National Forest Headquarters, 15 Burnett Ct.

Bluegrass jam, 6 p.m. weekly, Durango Beer & Ice, 3000 Main Ave. All levels welcome.

Howling Coyote Tour play, 6-9 p.m., 11th St. Station.

Jeff Solon Jazz Duo play, 6-8 p.m., Lola’s Place, 725 E. 2nd Ave.

Live music, 6-9 p.m., The Office & Diamond Belle, 699 Main Ave.

Trivia Night, 6:30 p.m., Powerhouse Science Center, 1330 Camino del Rio.

First Thursdays Songwriter Night, 7:30 p.m., The iNDIGO Room, 1315 Main Ave.

Friday02

Animas River Days, June 2-4, Santa Rita Park. www.animasriverdays.com.

Annual Adopt-a-Thon, 8 a.m., La Plata County Humane Society, 1111 Camino del Rio.

Girls Gone Golfing, 8:30 a.m., Hillcrest Golf Club, 2300 Rim Dr.

Conservation Easements 101 for Realtors, 9 a.m.-12 noon, Durango Public Library, lposc.org

Open Meditation, 12 noon-1 p.m., Durango Dharma Center, 1800 E. 3rd Ave, Suite 109.

First Friday Featured Artist: Lorna Meaden, 48 p.m., Studio & Gallery, 1027 Main Ave.

First Friday Art Crawl, 4-7 p.m., ArtRoom Collective, 1309 E. 3rd Ave.

Thee Fearless Peasants play, 5-8 p.m., Durango Craft Spirits, 1120 Main Ave.

Architecture of Durango Area Art Show, 5-8 p.m., Create Art and Tea, 1015 Main Ave.

Solitary Moments by Waldemar Winkler, opening reception, 5-8 p.m., Studio & Gallery, 1027 Main Ave.

Fiesta Days and Carnival, 5 p.m., La Plata County Fairgrounds, 2500 Main Ave.

Mesa Verde National Park Film Premiere, 6 p.m., FLC’s Student Ballroom.

The Assortment plays, 6 p.m., Fire Fox Farms, Ignacio.

Bo DePena plays, 7-10 p.m., 11th St. Station.

Live music, 6-9 p.m., The Office & Diamond Belle, 699 Main Ave.

Ru Paul’s Drag Race Watch Party, 6 p.m., Father’s Daughters Pizza, 640 Main Ave.

Hauntings & History Ghost Tour, 7:30 p.m., Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad Depot.

That’s So Durango, variety show, 7:30 p.m., Durango Arts Center, 802 E. 2nd Ave.

Drag Show, 8:30 p.m., Father’s Daughters Pizza, 640 Main Ave.

Saturday03

Animas River Days, June 2-4, Santa Rita Park. www.animasriverdays.com

Durango Farmers Market, 8 a.m., TBK Bank parking lot, 259 W. 9th St.

Annual Adopt-a-Thon, 8 a.m., La Plata County Humane Society, 1111 Camino del Rio.

Fiesta Days and Carnival, 2 p.m., La Plata County Fairgrounds, 2500 Main Ave.

100 Year Flood plays, 6 p.m., Gazpacho, 431 E. 2nd Ave.

Live music, 6-9 p.m., The Office & Diamond Belle, 699 Main Ave.

Community Yoga, 6-7 p.m., Yoga Durango, 1485 Florida Rd. Donations accepted.

StoneHall plays, 7-10 p.m., 11th St. Station.

Hip Hop Night, 7:30 p.m., 11th St. Station.

Nosotros plays, 7:30 p.m., FLC’s Community Concert Hall.

That’s So Durango, variety show, 7:30 p.m., Durango Arts Center, 802 E. 2nd Ave.

Animas River Days Late Night Party, 9 p.m., El Rancho Tavern, 975 Main Ave.

Silent Disco, 9-11:30 p.m., 11th St. Station.

Sunday04

Animas River Days, June 2-4, Santa Rita Park. www.animasriverdays.com.

Durango Flea Market, 8 a.m., La Plata County Fairgrounds, 2500 Main Ave.

Veteran Benefit Breakfast, 9 a.m., VFW Post 4031, 1550 Main Ave.

Terry Rickard plays, 12 noon-3 p.m., 11th St. Station.

Vinyl Sundaze, 12 noon, Lola’s Place, 725 E. 2nd Ave.

Fiesta Days and Carnival, 2 p.m., La Plata County Fairgrounds, 2500 Main Ave.

Feed the People! free mutual aid meal & gear drive for homeless community members, every Sunday, 2 p.m., Buckley Park.

Live music, 6-9 p.m., The Office & Diamond Belle, 699 Main Ave.

Sunday Funday, 6 p.m., Starlight Lounge, 937 Main Ave.

Monday05

Durango Chamber Music Festival, 12 noon, St. Marks Episcopal Church, 910 E. 3rd Ave.

Happy Hour Yoga, 5:30 p.m., Ska Brewing, 225 Girard St.

Meditation and Dharma Talk, 5:30 p.m., Durango Dharma Center, 1800 E. 3rd Ave, Suite 109.