Vikram Investigates Tales of Murder and Detection in Hyderabad by Sharmishtha Shenoy is a collection of novellas or rather say, two cases that includes suspense, thriller, mystery, murder, illicit relationships and many such elements. This book highlights the secrets behind the high profile society. Let us go deep into the details:
Cover- The cover of the book has dark blackish grey colour and we notice a man and a woman there. It is a perfect scene of investigation and it intrigues the readers by minor backgrounds of Delhi and Hyderabad’s monuments.
Title- The title perfectly matches the novellas as the story revovles around the ex- officer, Vikram Rana who sets up his private investigating agency.
Plot- The plots of the two novellas are identical as they focus on murder mysteries, though the scenarios are same. One is the murder of a celebrity while the other is the murder of a property developer. Both these plots are well knit and beautifully woven. the author has done a fantastic job in plot construction.
Characterisation- The author has artistically portrayed her characters. Vikram Rana, Inspector Reddy and Veena were present in both the novellas. Vikram Rana is an ex officer who is loyal towards his work. He is a foody and has a very sharp mind. He knows the knack of reading between the lines as he could see those things which others seem to ignore. The clues he found during Richa’s murder case and Sonia Sinha case were beyond other’s imagination.
Inspector Reddy is the cop who is a dear friend of Vikram Rana and helps him in every way possible. The duo’s friendship is strong and with each other’s support they solve the cases.
Style- Honestly speaking, I loved the frank style of writing used by the author. The dialogic delineation was simply superb. The narrative technique was good. Some of the sentences were witty which is the strength of the novel. The author throughout maintained the elements of suspense and mystery in both the novellas.
Coming to the flip side, The editing needed attention and some of the sub headings were bit long but all these negatives could not overshadow the positives of the book and I am sure suspense lovers would instantly fall for this book and as a first timer, Sharmishtha Shenoy has done a great job.
Availability- http://www.amazon.in/Vikram-Rana-Investigates-Deception-Hyderabad/dp/B01FG6WIKW?ie=UTF8&qid=&ref_=tmm_pap_swatch_0&sr=
About the Author
Sharmishtha Shenoy loves writing murder mysteries, the kind of books that she herself likes to read. Her favorite authors are Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Agatha Christie. She also likes the work of Satyajit Ray – especially the Feluda Series. She was born in Calcutta and has done her post-graduation from University of Reading, Great Britain. She lives in Hyderabad.
[…] Also Read my review of her book : /2016/08/22/book-review-of-vikram-rana-investigates/ […]