How to Commit a Postcolonial Murder - by Nina McConigley (Hardcover)

About the Book

"A bold, inventive, and fiercely original debut novel that begins with an uncle dead and his tween niece's private confession to the reader-she and her sister killed him, and they blame the British"--

Book Synopsis

A bold, inventive, and fiercely original debut novel that begins with an uncle dead and his tween niece's private confession to the reader--she and her sister killed him, and they blame the British.

"I have been waiting for Nina McConigley's debut novel for years and it's even better than I could have imagined." --Celeste Ng, New York Times bestselling author of Our Missing Hearts

"Spirited and witty, stylish and audacious...Its avid curiosity about the world, its alertness to history, and its enormously fun storytelling--with a twist at the end--held me in their spell." --Megha Majumdar, New York Times bestselling author of A Burning

Summer, 1986. The Creel sisters, Georgie Ayyar and Agatha Krishna, welcome their aunt, uncle and young cousin--newly arrived from India--into their house in rural Wyoming where they'll all live together. Because this is what families do. That is, until the sisters decide that it's time for their uncle to die.

According to Georgie, the British are to blame. And to understand why, you need to hear her story. She details the violence hiding in their house and history, her once-unshakeable bond with Agatha Krishna, and her understanding of herself as an Indian-American in the heart of the West. Her account is, at every turn, cheeky, unflinching, and infectiously inflected with the trappings of teendom, including the magazine quizzes that help her make sense of her life. At its heart, the tale she weaves is:
a) a vivid portrait of an extended family
b) a moving story of sisterhood
c) a playful ode to the 80s
d) a murder mystery (of sorts)
e) an unexpected and unwaveringly powerful meditation on history and language, trauma and healing, and the meaning of independence

Or maybe it's really:

f) all of the above.

Review Quotes

A Best Book of February from BookPage

A Most Anticipated Book of the Year from The New York Times, The Atlantic, Vulture, Parade, Ms. Magazine, The Millions, BookBrowse, Literary Hub, Kirkus, Alta, Book Riot, ShelfAwareness, The Culture Newspaper, Book and Film Globe, InformationToday, DNYUZ, Trill Magazine, and The Stylist

"I have been waiting for Nina McConigley's debut novel for years and it's even better than I could have imagined. How to Commit a Postcolonial Murder takes all the expected stories about growing up Indian American, slices them open with razor-sharp wit, and turns them inside out. A moving portrayal of sisterhood and a much-needed examination of how power is abused--over girls, over countries, over cultures--and the possibilities, and costs, of reclaiming that power."
--Celeste Ng, New York Times bestselling author of Our Missing Hearts

"How to Commit a Postcolonial Murder is the story of a fractured family and a portrait of an era and place, but it is also a deeply thoughtful meditation on the lingering effects of colonial violence. . . . The Ayyars, the Creels, the working-class Wyoming families, the displaced Arapahoe--all of them are hurt by colonial violence, a legacy claiming that might is right and one that inserts itself even in seemingly innocuous situations. McConigley offers no easy answers or neatly wrapped solutions, but some wisps of hope emerge. . . . [A] wise, insightful novel."
--The Washington Post

"A playfully experimental novel detailing how two out-of-place half-Indian sisters, Georgette Ayyar and Agatha Krishna Creel, living in mid-'80s Wyoming decide to poison their sexually abusive uncle. But the tone of the book is lighter than it sounds. McConigley slowly unravels its central promise--or threat--with patience and a dedication to scene-setting, carefully undercutting its lightness and humor with the macabre as she goes."
--Vulture

"A fierce and marvelous book with an utterly unique, brightly burning lifeforce."
--Maggie Shipstead, author of Great Circle

"A vivid portrait of an extended family, a moving story of sisterhood, and a playful ode to the 80s--all packaged as a murder mystery (of sorts)."
--People

"For the sisters in Nina McConigley's debut novel, How to Commit a Postcolonial Murder, their intimacy ebbs and flows as the strain of trauma both brings them together and wedges them apart. . . . McConigley has captured a unique narrative experience and shared it with an equally unique voice."
--Chicago Review of Books

"[A] striking debut. . . . Set against the crushing legacy of British colonialism and the isolation of life as a racial minority in rural America, McConigley's book interrogates sisterhood, otherness, and culpability in this coming-of-age tale."
--Bustle

"Cleverly twisted. . . . McConigley manages to both create a spot-on coming-of-age story and offer a close look at the pitfalls of growing up in the American West in the 1980s."
--The Center for Fiction

"Full of wit and wisdom, Nina McConigley unconventionally captures the intricacies of postcolonialism, and how they play out in the lives of everyday Americans."
--Ms. Magazine

"A love letter to the 1980s as a tragic reminder of the vulnerability of young girls."
--Elle

"A tale of girlhood, and sisterhood, and all the ways a family bond can fracture. [The] narration is wry and sharp, often speaking directly to the reader, and in this way, we are forced to reckon with her choices as if they were our own. How to Commit a Postcolonial Murder is the kind of book that is difficult to describe, but so very easy to recommend."
--Julia Quinn, TODAY

"Nina McConigley is a true original. With a wit so sharp that it makes you bleed as soon as it would make you laugh, she slices through the postcolonial dilemma with all of its complexities and absurdities. Heart-mending and heart-breaking--as only the truth can be."
--Tayari Jones, New York Times bestselling author of An American Marriage

"Spirited and witty, stylish and audacious, How to Commit a Postcolonial Murder is gorgeously in possession of itself. Its avid curiosity about the world, its alertness to history, and its enormously fun storytelling--with a twist at the end--held me in their spell."
--Megha Majumdar, New York Times bestselling author of A Burning

"A delightful read. McConigley's prose is sublime, and her storytelling is equally imaginative."
--Foreign Policy

"Daring. . . . How to Commit a Postcolonial Murder packs the kind of gut punch that leaves a reader breathless."
--Alta, "Split Self, Split Sisters"

"A witty and ultimately profound tale."
--The Millions

"Fiercely original. . . . Audacious and quirky. . . . A striking exploration of identity, belonging, and inherited trauma. . . . McConigley brings a fresh, fearless voice to the page. . . . Powerful in all the ways a story should be."
--Goop

"Tender, defiant, and formally daring, Nina McConigley's stunning debut novel How to Commit a Postcolonial Murder is 'not the expected brown person story' but rather a tale of sisterhood and survival, a child's yearning for safety and protection, and the search for wholeness in a world that wants to split you in half. I fell in love with McConigley's fierce, wry narrator Georgie Ayyar from the first page and couldn't stop reading. A powerful, groundbreaking book."
--Jessamine Chan, author of The School for Good Mothers

"This compulsive literary thriller uncovers a long-standing familial and historical collective violence, delivered with an incredible satisfying twist. Nina McConigley is daring and incredibly witty in her debut novel."
--The Culture Newspaper

"Darkly witty."
--Denver Life

"A bold, darkly clever novel. . . . with a wickedly sharp voice that blends teenage reality with biting social observation."
--Loaded Magazine

"Part thriller, part coming-of-age, part magazine quiz, Nina McConigley's inventive and captivating How to Commit a Postcolonial Murder boldly examines the often hidden and scary parts of childhood. Full of heart and soul, this is a knockout work that deftly tackles the complex bonds of friendship and family--offering up compelling questions for our notions of what it means to truly love."
--Aimee Nezhukumatathil, author of World of Wonders

"Playful yet cutting, silly but also deadly serious. . . . The narrator lays out what an average American reader reader of fiction by an Indian-American woman might expect: mangoes and saris and magical realism and colonialism. . . . British imperialism and American imperialism become so entangled that India's independence in 1947 resulted in a 'new line that scalped the country.' Everything is connected and we are all implicated, and in this mire Georgie must figure out how to live "a good life in spite of."
--The Maris Review

"McConigley's [How to Commit a Postcolonial Murder] is caustic in its observation of American more, and laced with wit and compassion."
--Financial Times

"Though framed like a funny, ferociously allusive grown-up version of a YA whodunit, McConigley's debut novel carries deeper, knottier mysteries than the curious crime at its center. Wittily observant and achingly tender."
--Kirkus, starred review

"McConigley confronts post-colonialism with a novel full of twists. . . . [How to Commit a Postcolonial Murder] spans the experiences of biracial Asian Americans, rural white life, and the intricacies of South Asian Indian and American Indian identity complexes. . . . [A] bold and unique contribution to post-colonial literature."
--Brown Girl Bookshelf

"Punchy, bold, honest. . . .McConigley cleverly blends the thrill of a murder novel with the tragedy of real life, creating a story that feels wholly unique. . . . With vivid characters who stand tall upon the pages and evoke emotions that go straight to the gut. . . . A standout novel."
--Zimmer Magazine

"Genre-defying. . . . Direct, quirky, sometimes playful, even when it's talking about the pain. . . . McConigley isn't giving you clean answers or easy solace, she's giving you texture. The laughter that bubbles up alongside the sorrow, the comic relief that sits right alongside the trauma, the inexplicable draw of belonging and not belonging at the same time. . . . A taut, funny, tragic and fresh approach to how lives are lead--the messiness of it all, how families are all over the world, the guilt we live with, the redemption we seek, the wounds we hide, and how we ultimately heal."
--The Hungry Reader

"Fierce, funny. . . . McConigley's coming-of-age story tackles weighty themes with the lightest of touches. . . . A compelling story of sisterhood and survival, it also ponders the legacies of stolen lives, lands and culture."
--The Daily Mail

"McConigley's nervy debut. . . . [takes] unexpected turn[s]."
--Alta, "The Best New Books for 2026"

"Praised for her 'razor-sharp wit, ' McConigley takes a story about what it means to be Indian American and flips it on its head, dealing with issues of British colonialism, generational abuse, and life out West during the 1980s."
--Story Exchange

"Set in the late 1980s and exploring the impacts of colonization and immigration, this fierce portrait of sisterhood is ultimately a life-affirming tale."
--Real Simple

"Lyrical and surprisingly humorous. . . . A story about the all-too-fragile bonds between sisters and the near-universal awkwardness of finding one's place while coming of age."
--BookReporter.com

"Cheeky, unflinching, and infectiously inflected with the trappings of teendom."
--Daily Kos

"Witty and ultimately profound...McConigley blends the macabre material with clever stylistic devices...This thrilling bildungsroman is perfect for fans of Celeste Ng."
--Publishers Weekly, starred review

"Refreshing...In addition to describing growing up Indian American in 1980s Wyoming, McConigley's debut novel artfully shares universalizing details of Georgie's and Agatha's everyday lives, like cheerleading and watching TV...McConigley's impactful work will linger. Interspersed with details of the U.S. in the late 20th century, this is a book for all collections."
--Library Journal, starred review

"A bracing story of abuse and protection bolstered by virtuosic writing that is simultaneously spare and poetic, subtle and brutal. . . . Addictive and formidable, Nina McConigley's novel demands to be devoured in a single sitting but will stay on your mind long after you put it down."
--BookPage, starred review

About the Author

NINA McCONIGLEY is the author of the story collection Cowboys and East Indians, which was the winner of the PEN Open Book Award and the High Plains Book Award. She has received grants and fellowships from the NEA, the Radcliffe Institute, Bread Loaf, Vermont Studio Center, and the Sewanee Writers' Conference. She was a recipient of the Wyoming Arts Council's Frank Nelson Doubleday Memorial Writing Award and a finalist for a National Magazine Award for her columns in High Country News. Her work has also appeared in The New York Times, Orion, O: The Oprah Magazine, The Virginia Quarterly Review, Salon, among other outlets. Born in Singapore and raised in Wyoming, she now lives in Colorado.