From award-winning author Nina McConigley comes How to Commit a Postcolonial Murder, a brilliantly original standalone literary mystery that blends dark humor, family drama, coming-of-age storytelling, and a compelling murder mystery into an unforgettable debut novel. Set in rural Wyoming during the summer of 1986, this inventive story explores identity, history, trauma, and sisterhood with wit, heart, and surprising twists.

When twelve-year-old Georgie Ayyar confides that she and her sister killed their uncle—and insists the British are to blame—readers are immediately drawn into an extraordinary tale unlike any other.

As Georgie recounts the events leading up to that shocking confession, she introduces her extended Indian-American family, newly reunited under one Wyoming roof after relatives arrive from India. Beneath the surface of everyday family life lie buried tensions, painful histories, and secrets that slowly unravel into something far more complicated than anyone could imagine.

Told through Georgie's sharp, funny, and deeply honest perspective, the novel combines childhood nostalgia, 1980s pop culture, magazine-style quizzes, and layered storytelling with profound reflections on colonialism, generational trauma, language, identity, and healing.

Part literary fiction, part family saga, part coming-of-age novel, and part murder mystery, How to Commit a Postcolonial Murder delivers an emotionally rich and wholly original reading experience that lingers long after the final page.

How to Commit a Postcolonial Murder – A Standalone Literary Mystery

Perfect for readers who enjoy literary mysteries, contemporary fiction, family dramas, and character-driven novels by Celeste Ng, Megha Majumdar, Brit Bennett, and Jesmyn Ward, How to Commit a Postcolonial Murder is an inventive standalone novel filled with humor, heart, and unforgettable storytelling.

Product Details

Title: How to Commit a Postcolonial Murder

Author: Nina McConigley

Format: Hardcover

Series: Standalone Novel

Genre:

• Literary Fiction
• Mystery
• Family Drama
• Historical Fiction
• Coming-of-Age Fiction

Pages: 224

Dimensions: 0.96 x 7.25 x 5.34 inches

Publication Date: January 20, 2026

Features:

• Standalone literary mystery
• Family saga
• Coming-of-age story
• Indian-American representation
• Dark humor
• 1980s setting
• Multi-generational family drama
• Themes of identity and colonialism
• Character-driven storytelling
• Thought-provoking literary fiction

Author Biography

Nina McConigley is the award-winning author of the acclaimed short story collection Cowboys and East Indians, winner of the PEN Open Book Award and the High Plains Book Award. She has received fellowships and grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Radcliffe Institute, Bread Loaf, the Vermont Studio Center, and the Sewanee Writers' Conference. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times, Orion, O: The Oprah Magazine, The Virginia Quarterly Review, Salon, and other major publications. Born in Singapore and raised in Wyoming, she now lives in Colorado.