The season is pouring its heart out in the form of rain. I recommend picking A Matrimonial Murder by Meeti Shroff-Shah if you are picking up your hot cup of chai and pakoras. This second book from her Temple Hill Mystery Series will keep you hooked right from the start. There are a few reasons to suggest mystery book readers grab a copy and spend their free time discovering the mystery that awaits them.
Radhika Jhaveri is a writer with a detective hidden within her. She has returned from the USA with a broken marriage outside her community and a much-pending book to her world in Temple Hill in Mumbai. Her high-profile Gujarati community wants her to hook her up again with a nice Gujju boy. Her writing career depends on her book on the matchmaking business that’s huge in India. She meets her family friend and mother figure Sarla Seth, who runs the very much-in-demand matrimonial bureau – Soul Harmony – for the affluent. But no sooner Radhika or Radhi comes to do her research, the dead body of an employee is found and thus starts the race to find the killer. There are many players in the ring – Sarla who wants to avoid a scandal damaging her firm, her partner Hansa’s fear, Hansa’s daughter who wants to change things in the firm and more. Radhi discreetly starts her investigations while dealing with family dynamics, a rival out to destroy Sarla Ben, Radhika’s dating scene and a book that might be impossible.
The fun aspect of A Matrimonial Murder is that Meeti has not dropped the beat at any moment. You keep turning the page to know what happens next. It is what you call an easy read. The writing is deftly engaging while revealing the mysterious drama happening in the locales of the very upmarket Temple Hill. You might find it in this book if you have heard of Mumbai’s fabled Malabar Hill. The storyline is engaging and has a whole lot of characters that you feel you might have seen somewhere.
You also notice the social interactions and how the Gujarati elite might function. Of course, you see the mystery unfolding one by one in all of the events. Meeti has kept the book tight. But you still go on a journey with the characters. You can build each character in your mind with ease. There is also no moment of boredom. There is also humour interspersed while Radhi tries to figure out the case.
I recommend picking A Matrimonial Murder by Meeti Shroff-Shah if you feel murder mystery is your cup of tea. P.S.: The food mentioned in the book was quite tempting.
Book: A Matrimonial Murder
Author: Meeti Shroff-Shah
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Pages: 288
Price: Rs 499
