Ritual: Uttaran Das Gupta

The crows were making a racket, and a municipal truck was sprinkling water on the streets in an attempt to wash away the dirt of the city.
 
In Uttaran Das Gupta’s Ritual, bodies of pre-teen girls are turning up all over the city of Kolkata with their hearts surgically removed. The unsolved crimes are soon consigned to the dusty archives until Rukmini Bose, a woman who runs an NGO in the city pushes college flame ACP Ashutosh to investigate. Together with his trusted deputy Pradeep Batabyal, the two policemen tumble across a diabolical scheme involving a religious cult headed by a sinister Yogi called Premananda.
 
Since I love reading stories set in Kolkata, obviously I was fascinated by the blurb. Crime thriller plus Kolkata. What’s not to love? While the plot - at times - tended towards the macabre, it was one hell of an enjoyable ride. Let’s just say I willingly suspended disbelief to read the novel. The narrative was gripping and the atmospheric descriptions of the city and the weather kept pace with the ominous goings on.
 
The protagonist ACP Ashutosh, his deputy Pradeep Batabyal and the supporting characters were well fleshed out with fascinating back stories and there were enough twists and turns to keep me guessing. Parallels could be drawn between the fictitious yogi in saffron and his violent followers and real-life figures. To sum it up, Ritual was one hell of a roller coaster ride with an exciting climax. The ending left me wanting more, many questions unanswered. But that is what a good novel does to a reader, right?

Murders in Kolkata 26: Anisha Bhaduri

A young police officer, Satyadeb Halder, is tasked with the job of solving two murders in the neighbourhood he has grown up in. One of the daughters of the wealthy Mitra household has been killed, garroted viciously in her bed. A few days later, the family's maid meets with the same fate. As he dives deeper into the investigation, Satyadeb discovers many unexplained deaths and a link between his own family and that of the dead women. The police officer must journey back into the past to join the dots and find the killer.

Murders in Kolkata 26 by Anisha Bhaduri, available on the Juggernaut Books app and Amazon Kindle, is an interesting, short read.  What I really really liked about the novella are the descriptions of a part of Kolkata I am familiar with. The author takes readers through the lanes and by lanes of Bhowanipore drawing vivid word pictures of the lifestyles of the rich and the not-so-rich with their quirks and oddities. 
 
A few typos aside, the language has a lyrical quality about it. While the climax felt a bit rushed (I’d have liked more of a suspense build-up and a better understanding of the characters’ motives and backstories), there was just the right amount of surprise thrown in. There was a lot in the novella that I could personally relate to – so full marks for convincing characterization and creation of atmosphere.