https://indianpedia.org/index.php?action=history&feed=atom&title=How_to_Commit_a_Postcolonial_MurderHow to Commit a Postcolonial Murder - Revision history2026-07-31T18:26:55ZRevision history for this page on the wikiMediaWiki 1.45.4https://indianpedia.org/index.php?title=How_to_Commit_a_Postcolonial_Murder&diff=503154&oldid=prevLucasRowan at 11:10, 8 May 20262026-05-08T11:10:51Z<p></p>
<p><b>New page</b></p><div>{{Short description|2026 novel by Nina McConigley}}{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2026}}<br />
{{Infobox book<br />
| italic title = <!-- (see above) --><br />
| name = How to Commit a Postcolonial Murder<br />
| image = McConigley How to Commit a Postcolonial Murder.jpg<br />
| image_size = <br />
| border = <br />
| alt = 2026 book jacket image of an illustrated gallon of green antifreeze in a plastic container<br />
| caption = 2026 book jacket<br />
| author = Nina McConigley<br />
| audio_read_by = Reena Dutt<br />
| title_orig = <br />
| orig_lang_code = <br />
| title_working = <br />
| translator = <br />
| illustrator = <br />
| cover_artist = <br />
| country = United States<br />
| language = <br />
| series = <br />
| release_number = <br />
| subject = [[Postcolonialism]], [[Abuse]]<br />
| genre = [[Literary fiction]]<br />
| set_in = [[Wyoming]], United States<br />
| publisher = [[Pantheon Books]]<br />
| publisher2 = <br />
| pub_date = January 20, 2026<br />
| english_pub_date = <br />
| published = <br />
| media_type = Print, E-book, Audio<br />
| pages = 224<br />
| awards = <br />
| isbn = 9780593702246<br />
| isbn_note = 9798217007035<br />
| oclc = 1482188541<br />
| dewey = <br />
| congress = <br />
| preceded_by = <!-- for books in a series --><br />
| followed_by = <!-- for books in a series --><br />
| native_wikisource = <br />
| wikisource = <br />
| notes = <br />
| exclude_cover = <br />
| website = {{Official website|https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/779107/how-to-commit-a-postcolonial-murder-by-nina-mcconigley/}}<br />
| module = <br />
}}<br />
'''''How to Commit a Postcolonial Murder''''' is a novel by American author [[Nina McConigley]], published by [[Pantheon Books]] on January 20, 2026.<ref name=Kirkus><br />
{{cite web<br />
| url = https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/nina-mcconigley/how-to-commit-a-postcolonial-murder/<br />
| title = Review: How to Commit a Postcolonial Murder<br />
| last = Staff<br />
| date = October 25, 2025<br />
| website = Kirkus Reviews<br />
| quote = Bildungsroman, Literary fiction <br />
| access-date = January 15, 2026}}</ref><ref name=PubW><br />
{{cite web<br />
| url = https://www.publishersweekly.com/9780593702246<br />
| title = Review: How to Commit a Postcolonial Murder<br />
| last = Katherine Fausset <br />
| first = Curtis Brown<br />
| date = September 24, 2025<br />
| website = Publishers Weekly<br />
| access-date = January 15, 2026}} 978-0-349-72535-2</ref><ref name=Laura><br />
{{cite news<br />
| last = Laura Thompson<br />
| first = Miguel Salazar <br />
| title = The Novels Everyone Will Be Talking About in 2026<br />
| newspaper = The New York Times<br />
| date = January 7, 2026<br />
| url = https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/07/books/review/new-fiction-books-2026.html?searchResultPosition=3<br />
| access-date = January 15, 2026}}</ref><ref name=MacAllen>{{cite web<br />
| url = https://chireviewofbooks.com/2026/01/20/the-shared-traumas-in-nina-mcconigleys-how-to-commit-a-postcolonial-murder/<br />
| title = The Shared Traumas in Nina McConigley's Novel<br />
| last = MacAllen<br />
| first = Ian<br />
| date = January 20, 2026<br />
| website = Chicago Review of Books<br />
| access-date =February 1, 2026}}</ref><ref name=Mark><br />
{{cite news<br />
| last = Mark <br />
| first = <br />
| title = Review: How to Commit a Postcolonial Murder<br />
| newspaper = Medium Magazine<br />
| location = Melbourne, Australia <br />
| date = July 22, 2025<br />
| url = https://mabroms.medium.com/how-to-commit-a-postcolonial-murder-by-nina-mcconigley-c017da3d2d8d<br />
| access-date = January 15, 2026}}</ref><ref name=Bell>Bell, Carole V. "How to Commit a Postcolonial Murder." ''BookPage'', February 2026, p. 19. ''Gale Academic OneFile'', {{GALE|A870859002}}, Accessed 15 January 2026.</ref><br />
<br />
==Plot summary==<br />
In 1980s [[Wyoming]], two sisters, Georgie age 12 and Agatha age 13, have to deal with growing up as children of [[Indian immigrant]]s in a small rural American town. Their lives are changed when their uncle, Vinny, his wife and his son, move in from India. After Vinny brutally abuses them, the sisters decide he must die. They collaborate and plan to kill him by adding small amounts of [[antifreeze]] to his drinks. As the murder plot unfolds, Georgie continues her daily life such as attending [[summer camp]] or watching the [[Wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer]] (1981). <br />
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At the same time, she is dealing with the effects of her trauma, the damage done to her identity, and the heavy legacy of [[British colonialism in India|British colonialism]].<ref name=Kirkus/><ref name=PubW/><ref name=Laura/> Following their uncle's death, Georgie and Agatha admit their involvement to the reader, but whoever has the most culpability remains unclear. Agatha attributes the root cause to British influence.<ref name=Cox/> McConigley utilizes directly addressing the reader in alternating chapters written in the second person. This narrative technique pulls the reader into the text more closely to the subsequent events that describe the sisters' experiences over several months.<ref name=Cox>Cox, Toni. "McConigley, Nina. How To Commit a Postcolonial Murder." ''Library Journal'', vol. 150, no. 11, Nov. 2025, pp. 64+. ''Gale Academic OneFile'', {{GALE|A867262889}}</ref><br />
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However, the story is initially told through Georgie's [[first-person perspective]] that is noted for contrasting stylized writing with [[dark humor]].<ref name=Kirkus/><ref name=PubW/><ref name=Laura/> Also, [[teen magazine]]-style quizzes are part of the narrative. For example, "Is He Bad for You?" and "Do You Have What It Takes to Kill?" which reflects Georgie's plot progressions during the story. The book narrates the experience of being of an ethnic minority in rural America, and the closeness that develops between the sisters as they protect themselves when the adults fail to do so.<ref name=Kirkus/><ref name=PubW/><ref name=Laura/><br />
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==Reception==<br />
According to Ian MacAllen of the [[Chicago Review of Books]], "... the book succeeds at capturing complex emotions. [The novel] will resonate strongly with a specific type of reader who wants to explore the intimacies of sisterhood, particularly through the [[Other (philosophy)|lens of otherness]]. McConigley has captured a unique [[narratology|narrative experience]] and shared it with an equally unique voice.<ref name=MacAllen/><br />
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== References ==<br />
{{Reflist}}<br />
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== External links ==<br />
*{{Official website|https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/779107/how-to-commit-a-postcolonial-murder-by-nina-mcconigley/}}<br />
*[https://ninamcconigley.com/fiction/how-to-commit-a-post-colonial-murder/ Author webpage]. <br />
*[https://msmagazine.com/2026/01/12/anticipated-new-feminist-books-2026-reads-for-the-rest-of-us-women-feminist-lgbtq-writers/ Reads for the Rest of Us].<br />
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{{Authority control}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:2026 American novels]]<br />
[[Category:Fiction about Indian diaspora]]<br />
[[Category:Works about sexual abuse]]<br />
[[Category:Postcolonial novels]]<br />
[[Category:Novels about murder]]<br />
[[Category:Novels about post-traumatic stress disorder]]<br />
[[Category:Novels about Indian women]]<br />
[[Category:Pantheon Books books]]<br />
[[Category:Novels set in Wyoming]]<br />
[[Category:Upcoming books]]<br />
[[Category:Women's fiction]]<br />
[[Category:Novels about sisters]]</div>LucasRowan