Book Review: Three Men and A Strange Murder
Reading makes a writer. I am a prolific reader, and happy to declare one. I am a sucker for thrillers. My reading journey of crime thrillers started with Arthur Conan Doyle and then Agatha Christie. I read many in this journey, and my list is long enough that I would exhaust the reminder of my life writing about it.
This year itself, I had finished 3 books of Vineet Bajpai, 2 of Ashwin Sanghi, and another non-fiction piece on theology, which I did not subscribe to. I am in awe with the Indian fiction in general. It took sometime for me to adjust to read Indian fiction. Then, my mind opened slowly to the thinking process of Indian fiction writers. For one, I am part of the flock. Second, reading is a journey of discovery that one should embrace with an open mind.
Lastly, I do not write book reviews normally — partly because I love poems, and partly because I am struggling to make time to meet my poem review commitments.
But there are exceptions. Last year, I wrote my first book review. It was a unique experience, but I will stick to my preferences.
This brings us to my second book review. I picked Chitrangada Mukherjee’s ‘ Three Men and a Strange Murder’, as my 6th fiction read of 2021. I finished the book in two sittings over two days.
The Author:
I know Author Chitrangada Mukherjee through social networks. We have occasional chat on her writing style and views. She was born and brought up in Agartala. I read her book ‘Besotted’, which was a riveting yet breezy romance book. So ‘Three Men and A Strange Murder’ ( TMAASM) is my second read among her numerous titles.
She is a prolific writer and an excellent cover designer. Here is here LinkedIn blurb. www.hersecretbluebook.com is her website.
Chitrangada Mukherjee writes thrillers and romance. Her romance novels have been published by Fingerprint publishers and Treeshade books and are indie novellas have been bestsellers on Amazon.
When she is not writing, she is fooling around with her daughter who is the centre of her universe. You can connect with her here, facebook — writeandeditchitrangada or on Instagram — chitrangadaitis.
Cover & Title:
First the cover. The cover is a hand art with vibrant colors. The woman is the protagonist. The half face indicates the mystery of the story, and there is something hidden in the invisible half. The color red mostly indicates blood or murder. The single flower on her visible side reflects the vibrancy of Rituparna Bagdi’s personality. She was a woman who wanted to live.
The three leaves indicate the three suspects. Leaves surround the flower, and are part of the same plant system. The yellow branches indicate the interconnects. The red-rose or half purple color of the leaves might indicate that this could be a crime of passion.
If you don’t look at it as book cover, this painting could easily adorn the walls of a Kolkata museum. The color choices are purposeful and eye catching.
Now the title. Title is simple and creates a sense of anticipation as one turns to page number 1. Why a ‘strange murder’? I took sometime to figure that out. Let us leave that question in the air. That is the mystery of this review.
Plot Summary:
The author’s blurb is the best summary I can find.
“Not all that’s nurtured blooms.”
In the sleepy town of Agartala, a honeymooning couple stumbles upon the dead body of a woman buried in their backyard.
The corpse is found to be that of a woman named Rituparna Bagdi. A popular English teacher who gave Mathematics tuitions to her senior students.
The principal of Rituparna’s school is shocked to hear of her demise. She had resigned only a month ago — rather abruptly through an email. And vanished without warning.
As Inspector Jui Roy investigates her first big case after being side-lined for years, she stumbles upon Rituparna’s diary. In her diary, the young, brilliant and popular school teacher mentions three men.
One, her ex-husband Mrinal Chatterjee. An alcoholic and a fledgling actor who had a love-hate relationship with his wife.
Two, her colleague, the Mathematics teacher Virendra Jha who was losing a chunk of his tuitions to the new English teacher.
Three, Paul Jamatia, an eighteen-year-old, poor tribal student who is a Maths genius in the making.
While Inspector Roy and SI Das investigate the murder, the three men reveal why they loved, hated and wanted Rituparna.
Only one of them is a murderer.
But, the question is who and why?
With this book, we see the rise of Inspector Jui Roy and her partner in solving crime, SI Pritam Das.
The choice of location, Agartala, is interesting. A small town, but a town the author has lived and known so well. A bit of Marple-esque setting. A tiny town brings out its own dynamics. Everybody knows everybody. It is hard for somebody to remain anonymous. Little snippets about the city makes us live through the tiny moments of such revelations.
What wins- Plot, Narrative or Language?
If you are an avid reader of crime thrillers, then the plot is relatively mild on the suspense scale. It was easy to figure out the killer, in fact, that whodunnit is simple. If you read with an open mind, the plot settles well as a simple mystery, without many twists.
The ‘ who’ was easy, but the ‘why’ was difficult.
That is why, narrative is the big winner of the novel. The diary opens the story alternating with the progress of the investigation. This narrative, even if common, is pacy. The dialogues are well constructed and are definitive. Some gems that I noted remained in my mind after reading the novel. I will quote couple of them here.
‘Trust is an invaluable gem. Mind you, if you lose it twice, it loses its charm and shine.’
‘Isn’t it always? A woman is declared guilty even before the crime is committed.’
The language is simple yet classic. The choice of adjectives to narrate situations, feelings or surroundings are apt and precise. That made the reading more mellifluous.
The diary. It opens with a sense of foreboding. An impending sense of doom, when the victim is at unease for a week. She jumps at sounds and has a brain freeze, literally. She knows the inevitable moment might come any time. It ends with ‘A scream undulates in my chest and erupts as a strangled squeal.’ This is about a secret that the victim knew about the killer.
The diary points the direction. But…that brings me to the strange part.
The ‘Strange’ part:
Dead bodies tell tales. Add dead people’s diaries to that.
The comment of Bimal, the honeymooning husband, that the body was not injured or harmed while buried was the first point that stuck to my mind. Then Inspector Roy points out the fact that the finger and toenails are missing. The much delayed autopsy report reveals the cause of death ( I won’t reveal much, dear reader, you have to read to figure it out).
The person was alive when buried. ( Stay with me here though). Did the killer notice? Or was he unaware?
When Inspector Roy breaks the news that the victim was alive when buried, the perpetrator’s ‘jaws drop’. To emote like that, and then turning back later say that he was aware and heard the hissing and slithering of the victim. The killer deliberately left her behind, alive under two feet of mud. How cruel!
The answer stuns the Inspector. ‘Flicker of sinister darkness that peered through his eyes — something feral, animal like’. With that sentence, the layers of truth and the killer stand peeled and that is the moment, as a reader, I fell for. This is the stunning part of the revelation.
This is a clear victory for the narrative.
Let us move to diary. The diary is an interesting read. Like Inspector Roy, who saves a photocopy to read after the case is closed, I read the diary alone twice. ‘Not all that’s nurtured blooms’.
The ‘Strange’ part is that it was not a murder first time, when Rituparna Bagdi was hit on the head, but the second time, when the killer walked away from the grave knowing that she was alive. THAT is STRANGE.
Questions to the Author:
I have some questions to the author. These questions are prompted by the blurb itself, and the end.
a) Is a Jui Roy sequel or franchise in the making?
b) What happened to the romance of SI Pritam Das?
c) Is Agartala going to give us another dose of suspense?
Well, let us wait for more from the Author. A possible Ms. Marple in the making, Ms. Jui Roy.
I loved the book. It made me think of how ordinary situations and people cross lines when their masks peel, and how they cross lines when their true identities are discovered.
~Ashok Subramanian
‘Three Men and a Strange Murder’ is available in this link.
Follow Author Chitrangada Mukherjee here.
