Book Within a Book

 

 

A man is murdered, shot dead with a crossbow bolt through his neck, in an upscale gated community and all his neighbours have a motive (surprise, surprise). The man in question was loud, uncouth and had managed to tick off almost everyone in the community including the dog. The police call in Daniel Hawthorne to help them solve the murder.

Anthony Horowitz excels in the book-within-a-book format. While I really enjoyed Magpie Murders, this one didn’t have the same feel. I found real-life Anthony’s intrusion into the fictional verse a bit tiresome especially at times when I really wanted to get on with the story and find out who the killer was. In spite of the tiny flaws, it was an enjoyable read and the cast of characters were quite fascinating – from the grandmaster to the little old ladies who ran a crime bookstore. Not to mention Daniel Hawthorne himself.

If you like cozy mysteries that blend fiction with fact, this one is for you.

A Death in the Himalayas: Udayan Mukherjee

Clare Watson is murdered in an idyllic Himalayan village nestled in the Kumaon hills. The dead woman turns out to be an activist and author of a contentious book who has managed to ruffle a lot of feathers due to her work. The village is home to celebrated Parsi ex-cop Neville Wadia who has retired to the hills with his wife after near burnout over the tragic fallout of his last case. Still wrestling with the ghosts of his past, he is asked to help out with the investigation.
 
This novel has several things going for it. For one, Mukherjee makes the hills come alive through his writing. The pacing of the plot matches the unhurried pace of life in Birtola which comes to an abrupt halt due to the vicious murders. The good thing is that there aren’t too many characters to complicate the narrative. However one wishes the characters had more depth and backstories but Neville Wadia and wife Shernaz more than make up for it. 
 
The social commentary is nuanced taking into consideration the environmental toll of unbridled construction along with the perspective of the land grabbers, political mafia and villagers. Obvious political colour aside, A Death in the Himalayas is a story well told. Mukherjee has a simple but eloquent style. I had guessed who the killer might be early on in the novel but that is probably because I read far too many murder mysteries. There are enough red herrings to distract the lay reader before the final reveal.