Rainbows over Goa is a story of blending cultures and attitudes about being gay in India and Australia. It’s a story of different men from different worlds finding common ground for love. The setting is a Bollywood film shoot in the tourist town of Colva Beach, Goa.
1998 between Mumbai, India and Sydney, Australia, two little boys meet and become not only brothers in a blended family but best friends for life. One always has the other’s back. Jump to 2019 and both boys have their own careers. Kane Pinto, a prominent lawyer and Mish Pinto, a journalist and writer for a travel magazine.
Kane takes over the family law firm in Mumbai. Mish ends up joining him as a writer for the magazine Finding India. Kane sends Mish to the family bungalow in Raia, Goa to see how many repairs it will need to please their beloved grandfather. It only takes a week for Mish to end up coaching the handsome Bollywood Star, Billy Singh, on the basics of the Australian English accent.
While Mish makes friends on the Bollywood crew, one of his new friends is given a date rape drug and assaulted after a pool party. One crime turns into several others and suddenly Mish finds himself in the center of a murder mystery. Lucky for him, he befriends the moody director of photography, Kumar Yesu, the former Indian army captain who covers his back and helps solve the crime.
Reviews for Rainbows Over Goa
5.0 out of 5 stars
Sun, sand, gorgeous setting. A murder and a love story. Terrific!
Jon Swank is one of my favorite authors. This new book of his is wonderful. I love the exotic setting of Mumbai, India and the characters are so identifiable in today's world. This book has a strong story line that kept me guessing. As soon as I thought I knew which way the story was going--Nope! It went a totally different way. I enjoyed the slice of life of the culture, ethics and mores of the Indian subcontinent. Mish and Kumar are a really interesting couple. Kane and Grandpa were great, too, and very necessary to the story. The sexy stuff is low key which really suits this book though the way the smoldering looks and secret hand signals are described there was no doubt of the love between the two men. So murder, danger, love, love lost and regained, a gorgeous setting and a strong story that keeps you guessing. What more could you want? Thanks for a great read.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Another great book by Jon Swank
It was a fascinating read from start to finish. The author does a tremendous job researching the background for the settings, both in Australia and India, places I have never been but easily felt like I was there with the characters. Clearly, he has done his research very well. The characters were so well described and portrayed that I felt I. knew them and thoroughly engaged in how they were affected by unfolding events. As a mystery novel it was excellent. I kept trying to guess what was coming next but was "outsmarted" every time. I highly recommend purchasing and reading this book. Kudos to the author!