Alison Wonderland- Helen Smith

                                        (SORRY- NO IMAGE OF BOOK COVER)

This was an off beat quircky title and book that I met on whichbooks.com. The blurb said many things- cult status, deadpan humour, Thelma and Louis meets Agatha Christie adventure- all irresistable stuff. Then I made the mistake of believing it and I acctually bought the book

What can I see- I lost the plot almost as soon as the book began, the protaganiost a little while after that, the writing was too stylised and I  never got into it. I am sure it was funny, only I never reached the funny bits.

I lasted nearly hundred pages which is half the book if you think  about it and then I gave up. I don't know what happened to Alison> it didin't matter because I had no iidea what had happened to her till then anyway.

If some one has read it and has different view, I would love to know what I missed.
Maya

The Shape of Water- Andrea Camilleri



Of all the books, murder mysteries are the hardest to resist. More so if the blurb talks of ‘wit’,’ high-comedy of corruption’, ‘the landscapes of Sicily’, and ‘delicious meals’. I have set you up for the ‘but’; so now I can talk of other things.


The story- Crime- murder of the powerful Luparello, found in a disgraceful condition in a disgraceful part of the town.

The detective- The honest and street smart cop, Mountalbano.

Suspects- None as the corner’s verdict death from natural causes.

The detective smells something fouler than fish and sets on the trail of truth. There are the usual clutch of corrupt officials, false clues and true testimonies. The story is interesting but not great- this is the first but and the second one - final twist is not really a surprise.

The other buts are that the characters are just a shade above stereotypes and the motives are pedestrian. Oh and the book is a bit too, er, earthy for my palate.

Verdict- Definitely not Christie, read if you want a quick, not entirely boring , murder story.

© Maya,

The Monochrome Madonna – Kalpana Swaminathan

There comes a time when the writer you follow, arcs over the curves and rises to a new, higher level, delighting and greatly satisfying the faithful reader. That is what Kalpana Swaminathan does in her new book, the latest in the Lalli Mystery series.


Sita gets a call from her friend, Sitara declaring she is dying. Sita reaches her house to find a body, only it’s not Sitara but a strange man. Who is the man? What was he doing there? Why is Sita drugged? Why is there a Madonna hanging in the living room, that bears Sita’s face and is in monochrome? Why does Ramona turn nasty? And how did Sitara’s gleaming gold toe- nails become plain and grimy? Most importantly who really murdered him? Is Sitara’s husband who she claims he really is?

Swaminathan takes you on a journey that is highly readable; where the tale is well--plotted with a slice of psychology that will satisfy even the most stringent of the readers. The regular Lalli readers will find the characters more finely etched the crime more sophisticated and the narrative more assured. Swaminathan travels from humour to emotional to gritty with ease, keeping the interest hooked to the end.



Read it- one of the best detective books of Indian writing.



©Maya

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie- Alan Bradley

                                                                       

This one is going to be tough to write about because the book consumed me. And now I have to make sense of it. So I am going to do this the old- fashioned way- talk about the story a little bit and tell you what works and all that.


11 -year- old Flavia is obnoxious, precocious and a nightmare as a sibling. Her passion is chemistry and her specialty poisons. She lives her enigmatic father and two annoying sisters. Then there is the colourful odd jobs man, Dogger.

A stranger dies in their cucumber patch and no points for guessing who finds the body. The police arrest her father but Flavia is sure her dad is innocent. So she does some sleuthing on her own and we have a brush with poisons, prestidigitators, and philately and past- murders. And of course pie.

Tight plot, quirky characters, quiet humour and taut narrative. Original, fresh voice and characters you will fall love with. And an absolutely delicious murder

Read it- the pie’s crust is flaky, the stuffing perfectly tart and there is definitely a sweetness at the bottom. As perfect a murder novel as one can get post Christie.

©Maya

A Most Peculiar Malaysian Murder- Shamini Flint

Okay, I admit. I am having a run of bad luck. Another damp squib. I picked it up because it’s a murder mystery and I write murders too- so far short stories and flash fiction. So what? Murder is murder. The narrative is clichéd, plot convoluted and the reading – tiresome. I skip- read only to find a tame ending.


Verdict- not even on a loose- end day.

© Maya

The Mandala Of Sherlock Holmes- Jamyang Norbu

Why did I pick up the book- because I cut my milk teeth on Holmes and if someone somewhere is talking about his missing years, I want in.

 Interest zones- the various Holmisms, including ‘Elementary My Dear- replace Watson with his Desi counterpart, the seemingly wild observations that end being uncannily true which remain a little fuzzy to us even after the detailed observations, the few Holmsian incidents. The glimpses of the familiar landmarks of Bombay in early nineteenth century make me sit up and let out an ‘aaaahhh’ of curiosity.

And the book- has some good crimes. The narrative is not superb but does not grate that it takes away from the story. The Indian Watson is interesting.

But- the story has too many melodramatic moments, the villain is almost Bollywood like near the end- perhaps you can’t escape the Bollywood experience if you belong to the subcontinent and the interest wanes in the middle.

Pick it up- if you are Holmes fan or if you want a non-demanding reasonably well written crime read.

©Maya