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About the author
Madhulika Liddle is a prolific short fiction, travel, and vintage film writer. Madhulika completed her education in New Delhi after Liddle was relocated there in 1985.
She continued her education by enrolling in the IHMCN, a New Delhi-based institute of hotel management, catering, and nutrition. Her books with the Mughal investigator Muzaffar Jang from the 17th century are her best-known works.
About the book
Since it is an imagined story set in the distant past and must accurately, convincingly, and deeply describe the selected period and its civilizations, historical fiction is a challenging genre for authors to undertake.
It necessitates intensive, creative rebuilding and significant investigation. The author must be familiar with the period in question before imagining it and building a plausible setting for it.
And it is in this area that the literature of Madhulika Liddle excels. Her Muzaffar Jang series books stand out as outstanding instances of excellent historical fiction. We are taken on a tour of 17th-century Delhi, Dilli, or Shahjahanabad as Muzaffar Jang, a nobleman, investigates a variety of crimes, some minor and some more serious.
While it is still difficult to write a credible crime thriller set in modern times, the fact that this book deals with such a series of murders planned in Delhi in Mughal times, well before Aurangazeb, makes it all the more interesting.
This is because it is difficult to write a book in this genre set in a period that the author has only "theoretical" knowledge of. And believe me when I say that Madhulika Liddle's Crimson City does not let down on the fronts of either crime thriller or authenticity (as it is set during the Mughal era) (in that it is an extremely competent book in this genre).
Plot
Crimson City, her most recent book, is no exception. As we encounter a subdued and controlled Muzaffar Jang, Dilli comes to life. After three months of marriage to the attractive Shireen, he is gradually adjusting to her existence in his life.
These are tumultuous times, and the greater macrocosmic events are having an impact on everyday Dilli-wala life by causing ripples and disturbance. Several seemingly unrelated killings and a few disappearances have shaken the city of Dilli, but are they truly unrelated?
Muzaffar Jang is fascinated by the deaths going on around him and eager to get involved, but he is also hesitant to conduct his research without restriction because of the simmering conflict he has with Khan Sahib, his brother-in-law who serves as a father figure to him.
Muzaffar Jang resolves the straightforward story through basic deduction and intelligence. Through his insightful conversations with Shireen and his friend Akram, in which the author leaves many hints, we get a glimpse inside the detective's mind and how it functions.
Shireen also plays a bigger part in Crimson City, just as Muzaffar Jang's character did between the last novel and this one. She pokes him, prods him, speaks to him, and is feisty enough to go outside and conduct some of her research.
Even in the detailed passages that reproduce the city going about its daily business, there are tense muscles to the story. Short phrases that say a lot are abundant, and the grammar and structure are excellent.
After finishing this book, I spent a considerable amount of time becoming lost in Muzaffar Jang's Dilli.
Crimson City is strongly recommended for admirers of historical fiction and historical detective fiction because it is vivid, colourful, and compelling.
Conclusion
The novel is the ideal fusion of detective fiction and history. Although being the fourth book in the series, the characters and plot are not complicated to grasp. You can read it without having read any of the other chapters because it stands alone as a stand-alone novel.
The book is going to make you fall in love with Muzaffar who was quite ahead of his time i.e. respected and appreciated women with brains. He loved his wife because she was smart and helped him solve mysteries. Go ahead and peruse the novel before going to Purani Dilli if you want to become infatuated with it.
Reviews- 4.5/5
Written By- Kirti Garg
Edited By- Rumela Gupta
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