Book Review: Murder in Amaravati by Sharath Komarraju
Murder in Amaravati is a brilliantly crafted novel I
finished reading this weekend. Two weeks ago, Rajesh (of Destination Infinity)
mentioned meeting the author of this book, Sharath Komarraju in facebook. When
I checked the book title, ‘Murder in Amaravati’ in flipkart, it showed a crazy
pricing of Rs 950 for WS Retail (now down to Rs 188). When I complained of very high pricing, Rajesh indicated that
there are other sellers selling the book for cheaper. Amazon had even sweeter
deal, Rs 134 with free delivery. I wonder what made WS Retail to list this book
at 4 times its MRP, anyway, I placed an order in Amazon and got it delivered
within 48 hours.
Coming back to the book, the plot revolves around the murder
of a woman, named Padmavati, in an Andhra village named Amaravati, on the banks
of River Krishna. The dead woman practiced world’s oldest profession and no one
had any regrets for her death, nor there was any quest to find out who the
murderer was. But then the head constable, Venkat Reddy from the other town,
couldn’t let the matter die. As it was very obvious that Padmavati didn’t die a
natural death, Venkat Reddy starts his own investigation, by questioning key
people in the village.
Coming back to the book, the plot revolves around the murder
of a woman, named Padmavati, in an Andhra village named Amaravati, on the banks
of River Krishna. The dead woman practiced world’s oldest profession and no one
had any regrets for her death, nor there was any quest to find out who the
murderer was. But then the head constable, Venkat Reddy from the other town,
couldn’t let the matter die. As it was very obvious that Padmavati didn’t die a
natural death, Venkat Reddy starts his own investigation, by questioning key
people in the village.
The whole 209 page novel progresses slowly towards solving
this murder mystery, from one evidence to another, from one person’s
perspective/account to another. It emerges that several people had varied
levels of interest in Padmavati and a possible hand in the murder. Head priest,
sanpanch, postmaster and many other characters have their own sub stories and a
possible connection to the murder, which head constable must uncover without
much of external support.
For those interested in suspense, the novel is a gold mine-
keeps them hooked as new threads open up page after page. Murder in Amaravati
is Sharath’s first novel and is a brilliant one at that.
Priced affordably well, this book is good entertainer. It
also explains how to uncover murder investigations, from a point where there
seems to be no clue or leads.
Summary:
Title: Murder in Amaravati
Publisher: Amaryllis
Author: Sharath Komarraju
Genre: Thriller
ISBN: 978-93-81506-10-3
MRP: 250
I too liked this book. I've liked a few good mystery books written by English authors, but this is the first Indian author's work that impressed me as much!
ReplyDeleteDestination Infinity
Nice post!
ReplyDeleteThank You For the post. Will surely read it.
ReplyDeleteLooks interesting...
ReplyDeleteWhat would be your rating on a scale of 10?
8/10
ReplyDelete