The Tree Bears Witness (Birbal, #2)

Sharath Komarraju was new to me before I tried this bundle of books, and now I want to read more of his work. I feel that we have a dearth of Indian authors who write well-plotted popular fiction. These books fit perfectly into that space. I believe we should all support such authors and their books. Murder in Amaravati was such a treat to read! So were the Birbal books. Anyone who likes well-written books will appreciate these. No hesitation at all, highly recommended!

This book made me nostalgic for the old Akbar-Birbal Amar Chitra Katha books. I went out and bought some again - Birbal the Wise, Birbal the Clever and all!

I was a little annoyed at the start at the historical inaccuracies, but then I remembered Birbal is not a historical character. Once I made the switch, I was able to enjoy the novel for what it is - a well-crafted, tightly plotted mystery with a historical flavour. A good mix of history and folklore, as long as you don't read it as a text on how the Mughals lived.

Perfect collection of mysteries to while away a weekend. For one of them I saw the ending coming, but the book was still fun to read. I hope Sharath writes many more mysteries like these.

I had read one of Sharath Komarraju's Hastinapur novels long ago (Rise of Hastinapur), but never knew he wrote mysteries too. Found him on my feed, and took a chance on Crows of Agra. I was a little disappointed that a regular paperback was not available, but the printable PDF did its job. The novel itself is very engrossing. Keep a lookout for the scene where Akbar gets one of his cousins thrown off the balcony. Chilling!

I am a big Agatha Christie fan, so these books were no-brainers for me. But sometimes you get a book in your genre and end up hating it. That was definitely not the case here. The four novels show a great variety in plots and character and setting. Even the two Birbal novels were refreshingly different from one another. Will pick up the Hastinapur series next!

What I liked: creative use of folklore to tell a crime story. The writing style is fluid without being too caught up. Reminded me of the old mysteries of the golden age. What I did not like: too many liberties taken with the historical record. Here and there, the language becomes modern and takes you out of the story. But despite all this, I enjoyed the book. Worth trying.

Taking off one star because there are four books in the bundle, and I didn't like all four equally. Maybe I am in the minority here, I enjoyed Murder in Amaravati and Banquet on the Dead more than the Birbal novels. But overall, easy to recommend these books to all mystery lovers at this price. A whole weekend of reading for the price of a meal, at the convenience of your home. Go for it!

Must read for crime fiction fans! Bonus points if you also enjoy historical fiction and have a nostalgic love for Agatha Christie's Poirot and Marple. Finished all the books in one sitting. Two thumbs up!

I was initially worried that loading the book into my Kindle would be difficult. But the instructions post order are very clear. I did not even know Kindle had a 'send to Kindle' feature? Be that as it may, I am glad I gave Crows of Agra and Sharath Komarraju a chance. More than anything I enjoyed the scenes in which Akbar and Birbal banter about how many crows there are in Agra. Brought back memories of the old Akbar-Birbal stories!

I had read one of Sharath Komarraju's standalone novels a while back, but never tried his crime fiction. I thought I'd take a chance on Crows of Agra. I found the premise of Birbal interesting. I found the writing immersive, and the plot believable yet with enough twists and turns. Historical accuracy was a bit off, but that is expected - because Birbal himself is not historically accurate. Still, there was just enough historical flavour in it to make it enjoyable. Highly recommended!

I was a little hesitant in purchasing these books because I had not heard of Sharath Komarraju before. But I needn't have worried. The stories and writing are top class! Each of the four books have different themes, different plots, and different resolutions. No repetition of writing style or words. I am so happy to have discovered a new Indian writer!

Good books, good price, buying direct from the author, convenience to read in any form I want, any device I want. Where is the cause for complaint? I liked Murder in Amaravati the most in this bundle, Banquet on the Dead the least.

Loved this imagining of how Birbal and Akbar met. Want to read more Birbal stories. Sharath, please write more!

I had read one of Sharath Komarraju's Hastinapur novels, but I did not know he wrote mysteries too. I am a big crime fiction nerd, and the premise of this book sounded so interesting. I picked it up on a whim, I am so glad I did! The way the folktale was incorporated into the novel was really clever.

All four books are great, but Crows of Agra is my favourite, if for no other reason that it introduces Birbal as detective. I hope there are many more Birbal novels to come!

Mystery lovers will love these! Not giving 5 stars because I did not like one of the books as much as the others. But worth buying. The two Birbal books and Murder in Amaravati more than make up for the price and value. The writing style is easy and immersive. The plots are tight, and are all different from one another. You don't get the 'read one, read all' feeling. Go for it!

Fun book that I enjoyed reading in an afternoon! Got it onto my Kindle and began reading in five minutes after placing the order. Don't read this for historical accuracies, it's more of a 'mystery vibe' book with some historical touch to it. That said, the author does a good job of following the general arc of historical events. Well done.

I had not bought books direct from an author before, so I was a bit hesitant about getting these. But since the genre is my favourite, I thought of going for it. There is a money back guarantee, so what could I lose? The process was so smooth: the payment went through, the books were delivered instantly via download link, and the instructions to load onto my Kindle were detailed. Now I have discovered a way to read all sorts of files on my Kindle, which is a great plus! The books themselves are lovely. My favourite of the bundle is Crows of Agra, for the way the author has blended history and mystery. Good purchases!

I am new to Sharath Komarraju's work, I had not heard from him before, but I am glad I took a chance on Crows of Agra. I am also a big mythology fiction lover, so I am definitely going to try his Hastinapur novels too.

Crows of Agra and Tree Bears witness make such a great book pair. I hope Sharath Komarraju writes many more in the Birbal series. Perfect for a cozy mystery lover like me!

I had vaguely heard of Sharath Komarraju before. I remember seeing his books in bookstores way back in the day. I had never read any of his books though. So when I saw him pop up on my feed recently, I thought I should take a chance with Crows of Agra. Such a beautiful blend of history and folklore and of course mystery! Some liberties are taken with historical details, but when you think about it, Birbal is the main character so you won't be reading this for historical accuracy. A good story, well told!

I was a little hesitant at first because these were eBooks, but the documentation along with the downloads was top notch. It gave me all the steps needed to load them onto my Kindle. I am also glad I have the printable with me, in case I want to read on paper. The story itself is very riveting, with Birbal doing Birbal things and catching the murderer. While I had some inkling about the 'who' as I was reading it, the 'how' caught me by surprise. Excellent book!

I had not heard of Sharath Komarraju before, but because I am a big fan of mystery fiction, I thought I will give him a chance. Got the full bundle. I liked three of the books immensely, and the fourth was okay. So accordingly I am giving the four-book bundle a 4 star rating. The best of them is Murder in Amaravati. I felt amost transported to the village. Easy recommend to all mystery fans.

Tree Bears Witness is my absolute favourite among the four. Worth the price of entire bundle by itself. As a long term reader of golden age crime fiction, these books reminded me of my Agatha Christie phase. Sharath's writing style is vivid without getting too descriptive, and the story moves along with just the right amount of character detail. No hesitation, go for it!

Birbal as detective? Sign me up! Loved it, though in the middle of the book it got a little slow for my taste. Had not heard of Sharath Komarraju before this. But will now try more of his books.

If you're a mystery lover (Agatha Christie, Sherlock Holmes) etc, these books will be right up your alley. Crows of Agra and Tree Bears Witness are more in the classical mould. I enjoyed the historical parallels in Crows of Agra, whereas in Tree Bears Witness the author leans more heavily into the folklore. (Expect another Mughal-era character to make an appearance!) Overall, very satisfying reads.

I had read one other book of Sharath Komarraju's before, Murder in Amaravati. When I saw an ad for Crows of Agra, I had to get it. I love the Birbal and Tenali Rama Krishna stories from my childhood, and I must say the way the author weaved the 'Crows of Agra' story into this mystery is quite interesting. The pace continues beautifully throughout the novel, and I did not see the ending coming! I also liked a not-so-serious look at all the historical characters like Maham Anga, Gulbadan Begum and Bairam Khan. Definitely recommend.

I've been a big fan of Sharath Komarraju's work, starting with his Hastinapur novels, but I never got around to reading this. It's his first but easily his best I would say. I felt like I was drawn into a nostalgic world of the past. And the ending is top-notch. Even with all my experience reading crime novels, I couldn't see this coming. Give it a try!

Four murder mysteries in a bundle is a wonderful gift for someone like me, who is an avid crime fiction reader. I liked three of these puzzles more than the fourth. Banquet on the Dead did not appeal to me... I could guess the solution from a few pages away, and once that happened, I could spot all the red herrings too. Your mileage may vary. The other three books are great. Especially Tree Bears Witness - ingenious plotting!