The death by gunshot of a powerful and controversial District Magistrate brings in the idealistic and puritanical DSP Arjun Iyer to the District Magistrate's residence, where his large joint family lives. It seems like a suicide at first glance, but is it really one?
And if it isn't, then..
Along with his assistant, the deeply loyal but irascible, devil-may-care Inspecter Munuswamy, DSP Arjun leaves no stone unturned in the investigating the case where surprise upon labyrinthine surprise awaits them until they arrive at the final conclusion.
The story starts with the death of District Magistrate of Tamilnadu, Mr.Govind Pratap which falls upon our protagonist DSP Arjun Iyer and his sidekick Inspector Munnu to investigate. Both the officers initially conclude that it is a suicide by gunshot but as they carry on with their investigations they find out that its a Pandora's box giving way to new angles to the death. All the family members and the househelp come under the radar of suspicion- the question remains who is the murderer after all?
The story mainly focuses on the investigation that is carried out in this case- a meticulous one at that, with even the most minute details explained. The writer has tried to set up scenes which gives the readers a very detailed experience of police investigations. The question- answer session between the officers and the suspects are on point thereby building up a case layer by layer where its revealed that most of the characters have a motive for murder. DSP Arjun Iyer's quirky analogies and his constant bickering with his sidekick Munnu makes the plot more enjoyable at certain places. A lot of family secrets are exposed one by one- which somehow reflects the lives of politicians in real lives too. Also the theories that each of the investigating officers come up as the investigation progresses are not only smart but also completely out-worldly at times.
All said, as a lover of thrillers or detective stories i feel this story had a lot of potential which went unused because in the initial half of the book, the story is almost painfully over detailed, leaving very little to the reader's derivation- the suspense of "who is the murderer?" remained till the end but a big chunk of the story felt irrelevant thus deviating the readers instead of taking them deeper in the mystery. Also the second half, in contrast was equally rushed.The characters in the first half seemed to over-share their thoughts and deductions but in the later half were tight lipped only to reveal the murderer and their motive in the end. The second half was crisp and more engaging. Had the first half been similar the story overall would have been more engaging thus making it a much more interesting read.
Characters-
DSP Arjun Iyer- he is the protagonist of our story, a well mannered, intelligent, observant and head strong character for whom justice matters more than anything else. At places there are instances from his past which help the readers to understand his overwhelming passion for his work. A smart and quirky character who is highlighted because of the contrast between him and his teammates.
INSPECTOR Munnuswamy- also known as Munnu, he is the Watson to Arjun Iyer's Sherlock. An obnoxious, devil may care attitude, but smart nonetheless. More than Arjun's partner, he was his friend and confidant, who always had his best interest.
GOVIND PRATAP AND HIS FAMILY- Govind Pratap, the DM who was brutally murdered was perhaps the filthiest character of the entire story. Corrupt, power hungry and a pervert- it was his actions that had brought upon his death and was the cause of sorrow to most of his family members.
His wife was Sudha Pratap, his elder son Sushant, younger son Sujay and a daughter Suhasini. His daughter in-laws were Pramila and Asma, elder and younger respectively. Along with them his nephew Amartya and their housekeeper- Shalini played crucial roles in the investigation.
Other characters include the gardener- Mayavi, cook- Khaleel, maid- Amudha, driver- Ravi and gatekeeper Kabali.
Throughout the story all these characters have complex interactions with each other which propels the plotline forward and adds to the murder- mystery.
Writing style-
The story progression is very slow in the beginning and too fast towards the end. The language though easy to comprehend doesn't have that captivating nature of a murder mystery. This being a debut novel is pretty good but it lacks a certain crispness expected from thrillers. Perhaps the over-sharing or under-sharing at different parts has disrupted the flow thus not invoking a response that was due after the last twist- i personally feel that the build up to the end was not at all adequate, the twist at the end should have been mind boggling cause of its unsuspecting nature but it totally fell flat.
Final Verdict-
Being a debut novel it was a decent attempt and pretty enjoyable too- the plot was very intriguing with some glimpses of Bollywood influence, however the execution has dampened the effect of the climax. This book would be suitable for readers who are starting off with thriller genre, but those who are well versed with the genre- not so much, probably a light or one-time read for them.
I would like to thank Writers Melon and Narasimhan Eswar sir for providing me a review copy of the book.
About the author-
Narasimhan Eswar a.k.a Nachi, until very recently, was the CEO of an FMGG multinational in India. Over the last twenty-seven years, Nachi has worked and lived in India, South Africa, Switzerland, England, Spain, Hong Kong and Thailand, accumulating wonderful friends and experiences around the world. While on sabbatical from work, Nachi grabbed the opportunity to fulfill his long cherished ambition of writing a murder mystery. He now lives in Gurugram with his wife, Meenakshi, son Arjun and their Golden retriever. This is his first fiction novel.
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