Nadishka Aloysius

Sri Lankan English teacher Kiyama Fernando catches her husband of ten years cheating and goes to visit her friend Vinodhini (“Vino”) Dias in the small town of Parkaduwa to try to wrap her head around what happened and figure out her next move. Vino and Kiyama were school friends in Colombo, where Kiyama and her husband still live; Vino inherited a rubber plantation from uncle in Parkaduwa. Shortly after Kiyama arrives, the body of the local English teacher is found in a paddy field, and Vino becomes the prime suspect. To clear Vino’s name, the two women decide to solve the murder mystery themselves and become amateur sleuths, eventually putting their own lives in danger. I enjoyed the cast of quirky characters from the two friends to a sinister loan shark, a handsome hotel owner, a bank manager, and a gossipy cook. Quick, fun read.… (mais)

Kiyama Fernando and Vinodhini (“Vino”) Dias continue their amateur sleuthing in the second book in this Sri Lankan Mystery series during a weekend at the local hotel, where they have signed up for a wedding-themed murder mystery weekend. They are looking forward to the event but also to a short vacation utilizing the beautiful pool and spa at the hotel. But in addition to the staged death of the bride, one of the “wedding guests” turns up actually dead. Strangled. And the two university friends are hired by the new hotel owner to investigate while the police under Inspector de Silva conduct their own investigation. Another well-written cozy mystery.… (mais)

In this third book in Nadishka Aloysius’s Sri Lankan Mystery series, Vino was asked to judge a beauty pageant at the local Sri Lankan New Year’s festival where someone turns up dead. Ms. Aloysius provides plenty of local color and flavor, and the main characters remain vibrant in interesting. Perhaps I should not have binge-read these books because a few things became a little repetitive, and the author was a bit heavy-handed in the LGBTQ message at the end, but still enjoyed the further investigative adventures of Kiyami and Vino.… (mais)