A celebrity author-activist, Clare Watson, is found battered in a Himalayan forest spring. While it resounds internationally and puts pressure on the investigating officer, it also disrupts the peace of the inhabitants of the picturesque Birtola village.
The author with a two-decade-long career as a television anchor and editor, an occasional commentator and newspaper columnist, fluidly expresses both sides of a seemingly idyllic village and about the fangs of brusque urban concretization plans.
Also worth noting is the perspective of the villagers and the city dwellers towards each other and their habitats in a way that immediately makes sense to the reader.
A vivid picture of the Himalayas is painted and the impression of a battered body in that area only highlights the stark contrast of an occurrence like that. But after all, are humans any different?
A ‘Neville Wadia mystery’
(it’s the start of a series), it catches pace and then shows how investigations often reach dead ends and how the minds of the police can be marred with unforgettable scenes that they find difficult to overcome in the long run.
It conveys yet again how after all, they are humans too. It brought to the reader’s mind a Malayalam movie ‘Joseph’, which revolves around murder investigations too but with culprits of a different kind.
Who could have murdered Clare — a jealous lover, a dejected husband, a sharp land grabber, a wily politician or a disgruntled local? After all, ‘gori mems’ are the ones who come to a peaceful valley and disrupt the smooth functioning of the society with their ‘flawed morale’ or so believed the villagers. But Clare had friends and supporters too. In that divided society, will it be possible to find the murderer? Or was it a planned group attack?
It keeps the reader on tenterhooks until the end which makes it a fast-paced read. While slightly overpriced (available at a cheaper price online though. Kindle versions are even cheaper), it definitely is worth a read.
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