Chain Reaction by Malabika Ray

Secrets of the past blur with tragedies of the present in Chain Reaction by Malabika Ray, the inventive second entry in The Diary of a Sloppy Sleuth series.

When an aspiring model plunges to her death under decidedly suspicious circumstances, Sri, Matt, and Neil are pulled into a new mystery that is anything but open and shut. The unfortunate victim is not only Sri’s upstairs neighbor and one of Matt’s ex-lovers, but she also bears a striking resemblance to a legendary spy and opportunistic thief from another age. What begins as a curious case of an unlikely suicide becomes a time-bending plunge into quantum physics, Einstein’s legacy, the Nazi nuclear program, and the unsung heroines who changed the course of history.

With a chilling opening hook that echoes meaningfully today, the novel ties together past and present crises with ease, seamlessly weaving through the annals of historical fact and imaginative fiction, which also improves on the first book in the series. The intimately tangled team of private detectives has begun to make a name for themselves, which demands a new level of subtlety in their investigations, allowing readers to watch these young sleuths sharpen their skills in real time, while also managing their swirl of feelings towards one another. The pace is quick and satisfying, the dialogue and formatting give the story a contemporary feel, and the shifting romantic tensions create another layer of compelling intrigue to the suspense.

Smart, unpredictable, and page-turning from the very start, this headlong hunt for a clever killer by a brilliant trio of protagonists is a subtle but effective combination of mystery, romance, historical fiction, and even some hard science fiction, for a uniquely original thriller.