The second of his murder series, succeeding “The Girl in Room 105” sees the same protagonists, Keshav and Saurabh as they set out to
solve yet another murder mystery of a loved one.
The Storyline
The story revolves around the death of Saurabh’s Fiancé,
Prerna Malhotra as she falls off the terrace of her house on the auspicious
night of Karva Chauth. The probe into her death reveals the deep secrets
encompassing the picture perfect Malhotra family. The family brimming with secrets
and enigmatic members, hold the thrilling suspense till the very end.
The detectives, Saurabh and Keshav take it upon
themselves to bring the truth to light with or without the police, and eventually
succeed in their endeavour.
Thus, the story of a one arranged marriage turns into the
story of a “one arranged murder”
Analysis
Chetan Bhagat known for his Indian-centred dramatic
stories, cheesy romance and light hearted humour, this time also touches upon
social ideologies prevalent in the Indian society namely corruption, children
out of wed-lock, superfluously lavish weddings, the idea of an ideal wife,
patriarchy, unethical ways of running businesses, safeguarding family honour at
the cost of justice and most of all, the relations or rather messy relations in
a close-knit family.
The writing style closely resembles every other book of
the author, with use of Hindi jargon and sloppy language full of drama. It is
an easy, fast paced book to read and should take you a few sittings to get
through it.
Coming to the climax of the book, it indeed holds you in
suspense right till the end when they reveal the real murderer. Suspense builds
up with every chapter and that’s what keeps you motivated to read the book.
The mentality and behaviour of several characters brings
authenticity to the plot. I am no supporter of patriarchy but in-order to
showcase the truth of Indian society, the plot employing all such aspects does
justice to the story and puts on display the backward narrow thought process
even in the 21st century.
The one thing that would resonate with most readers is the
relatability to the characters. Every character not only brings zing to the
plot but also represents the aspirations of a common man, like pursuing passion
or commencing your start-up.
A unique concept of dual-narration has been harbored by
the author, the book begins with Keshav’s side of the story but also embodies
Saurabh’s take on things. This experiment could have been a disastrous one
causing ambiguity and confusion but it was an interesting approach to accustom
the reader to both perspectives.
One thing I did not like
One thing that particularly draws my attention and bothers me to the core, is the constant body shaming that Keshav subjects the victim, Prerna to.
The author must bear in mind that Fat Shaming is not cool
and may mentally devastate the morale of a person. When he uses words like
“Fat” and “Cow” he is stereotyping, categorizing and judging people on how they
look, which is so not okay given the changing times and perspectives of the 21st
century.
Not only Prerna but also Anjali, another character in the
book undergoes shaming for being too skinny, preferring short hair, having
body-tattoos and dressing unlike a girl.
Final verdict
Barring a few things that I felt were superfluous and
could be avoided, I think the book is a decent fast-paced one-time read with
wit and light humour.
It certainly isn’t the best thriller book out there, but
does justice by building up suspense, keeping you at the edge of your seat and
finally delivering the suspense as the climax closes in.
It’s a book that would definitely make it to the
multiplexes given the drama, entertainment and mystery it harbours.
Written by - Tushna Choksey
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