Harini Nagendra
Author Interview - Harini Nagendra
Author of The Bangalore Detectives Club
Solving crimes isn’t easy. Add a jealous mother-in-law and having to wear a flowing sari into the mix, and you’ve got a problem. When clever, headstrong Kaveri moves to Bangalore in 1921, to marry young, upcoming doctor Ramu, she’s resigned herself to a quiet life. But that all changes the night of the party at the Century Club, where she escapes to the garden for some peace – and instead spots an uninvited guest in the shadows. Half an hour later, the party turns into a murder scene. When a vulnerable woman is connected to the crime, Kaveri becomes determined to save her and launches a private investigation to find the killer, tracing his steps from an illustrious brothel to an Englishman’s mansion. She soon finds that sleuthing in a sari isn’t as hard as it seems when you have a talent for maths, a head for logic and a doctor for a husband. And she’s going to need them all as the case leads her deeper into a hotbed of danger, sedition and intrigue in Bangalore’s darkest alleyways... The Bangalore Detectives Club is a cosy historical mystery set in the 1920s Golden Age, perfect for fans of Agatha Christie, Alexander McCall Smith and Nancy Drew
Author Interview - Harini Nagendra
Author I draw inspiration from: Agatha Christie
Author Interview - Harini Nagendra | Author I Draw Inspiration From
Favorite place to read a book: Under the shade of a lovely tree
Book character I’d like to be stuck in an elevator with: Nancy Drew! I'd love to strike up a conversation with her about the latest intriguing mystery in town, and join her and her gang of intrepid friends to go sleuthing. They seem to have so much fun and adventure along the way!
Author Interview - Harini Nagendra | Book Character I’d Like to be Stuck in an Elevator With
The moment I knew I wanted to become an author: As far back as I could speak or read, I've wanted to tell stories! I used to talk the ears off anyone who could be convinced to listen to me, and write little stories for my father to keep him company when he traveled. I think it just took off from there.
Hardback, paperback, ebook or audiobook: Nothing can beat the feel of a hardback in my hands. But these days it's largely ebooks, since I can fit so many onto my kindle reader, or audiobooks, which I listen to as I walk.
The last book I read: Scot Mist, by Catriona McPherson - it's the fourth in her absolutely hilarious Last Ditch mystery series. This one is set in California, at the time of the first lockdown, and she really hits the mood we were all in two years ago. I couldn't put it down.
Author Interview - Harini Nagendra | The Last Book I Read
Pen & paper or computer: Computer... my handwriting is terrible, and I can't write as fast as I think, but I can type (two-fingered, very bad for my wrist) to keep up the right speed
Book character I think I’d be best friends with: Tuppence, from the Tommy and Tuppence series of books by Agatha Christie. She's intelligent, fearless and fun, and completely defies all societal expectations of women to blaze her own path. My favourites in the series are the last two, By the Pricking of My Thumbs, and Postern of Fate - where she's retired and elderly, expected to spend her time knitting and looking after the house, and yet continues to sleuth. I'm going to be fifty soon, and debuting my first fiction novel - and I think we live in a very different world now, where advancing age doesn't mean necessarily giving up on the things we want to do - but women like Tuppence, from a very different time, are such an inspiration. I'd love hanging out with Tuppence.
Author Interview - Harini Nagendra | Book Character I’d be Best Friends With
If I weren’t an author, I’d be a: An ecologist - which is my alter life in any case - but I'd also love to be an archeologist, excavating layers of history to uncover the secrets of the Indus Valley civilization, or pottering around in ancient Egypt!
Favorite decade in fashion history: 1920s, with the stylish cloche hats, flattering drop waists, sparkly cocktail dresses, and gorgeous long beaded necklaces. Such romantic, gorgeous outfits.
Place I’d most like to travel: Egypt - never been there, but I hope to, some day
My signature drink: A hot cup of Indian chai, with milk, ginger and loads of sugar. My favourite beverage of choice when I write. (And then I need to walk, to burn off all that sugar).
Favorite artist: Simon and Garfunkel
Number one on my bucket list: To learn how to swim (I'm terrified of water). Maybe that's why my heroine, Kaveri, is such a good swimmer!
Anything else you'd like to add: The Bangalore Detectives Club includes a bonus chapter of delicious Indian recipes. Perfect for book clubs who love good food and unusual settings.
Find more from the author:
twitter @HariniNagendra
instagram @harini.nagendra
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100008345929330
Author Bio: Harini Nagendra is a Professor of Sustainability at Azim Premji University, and an award winning author of books on ecology. The Bangalore Detectives Club is her first crime fiction novel. She lives in Bangalore with her family, in a home filled with maps. She loves trees, mysteries, and traditional recipes.
