Sioux City Reads 2027 Nominee: How to Commit a Postcolonial Murder by Nina McConigley

Now through November 30, cast your vote to help select the next Sioux City Reads title at SiouxCityLibrary.org/siouxcityreads.  

The chosen book will serve as inspiration for events, discussions, and challenges throughout the upcoming 2027 Sioux City Reads initiative.  

2027 Sioux City Reads Nominee How to Commit a Postcolonial Murder by Nina McConigley is 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. 

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. 

“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 

“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 

 “A love letter to the 1980s as a tragic reminder of the vulnerability of young girls.” —Elle 

The winner will be announced in December. Visit SiouxCityLibrary.org/siouxcityreads, the Library’s Facebook page, or sign-up for the Library’s e-newsletter at SiouxCityLibrary.org/news to get all the latest updates.