Murder on the Sacred River by Tasha Alexander

Murder on the Sacred River
by Tasha Alexander

ISBN-13: 9781250375018
Hardcover: 368 pages
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Released: September 22, 2026

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
1908: Lady Emily and her husband Colin Hargreaves, along with an eccentric group of English tourists, are vacationing in India at Ahilya Fort, the old home to the Maharaja’s family, when a man is found shot along the Narmada River. Emily and Colin jump into action, but their suspect list is large, including a wonderful spinster and her not-so-wonderful companion; a local doctor; a widow who lives nearby; an English explorer; and an Englishman who now runs a tea plantation near Darjeeling.

1740: Fifteen-year-old Ahilyabai has been married to the son of Malharrao Holkar, the Lord of the Malwa territory, for seven years. Now the time has finally come to produce an heir. But though Ahilya’s in-laws have shown her nothing but kindness, her notoriously-drunken husband remains a mystery to her, having rarely spoken to Ahilya since their wedding as children. Faced with this tortured and distant man, Ahilya’s sense of loyalty is tested as she attempts to balance fulfilling her duty with forging her own destiny.

Lady Emily’s case takes a dramatic turn when a shocking new person arrives at the fort—and when the killer strikes again shortly afterwards, she and Colin must race to uncover the villain’s identity before it’s too late.


My Review:
Murder on the Sacred River is a mystery set in 1908 in India. There's also a secondary story going on in the 1740's that explained the origin of the treasure legend referenced in the 1908 story. The secondary story could have been completely removed without needing to change anything in the main story, but I did enjoy Ahilya's story nonetheless. This book is the 20th in a series. You can understand this book without reading the previous ones, and this story didn't spoil the mysteries of the previous books.

Historical and setting details were woven into the story without slowing the pacing. The main characters were engaging and reacted realistically to events. Emily and Colin asked good questions, but due to several people lying or omitting useful information, they had trouble knowing what information really needed to be uncovered. Once they got the initial confusions straightened out, the clues needed to narrow down whodunit came pretty quickly.

There were no sex scenes, though married sex was implied. There were only a few uses of bad language. Overall, I'd recommend this interesting mystery.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.