Bhoot Bhavish Bartaman-Mehool Parekh

Book: Bhoot Bhavish Bartaman

Author: Mehool Parekh

Publisher: Leadstart Inkstate

What is something that you like to see in a crime detective story?

Bhoot Bhavish Bartaman by Mehool Parekh is the story of a beautiful woman, who has been found murdered in her bed. The usual suspects are arrested by the police, until the case catches the fancy of an amateur sleuth who is intrigued by the way Rupali is murdered. This amateur sleuth is Major Bartaman Bhowmick, Southern Command of the Indian Army. Crime detection is his hobby and passion and that is why he is valued by his cousin, an ACP in Pune. Is Bartaman able to solve the crime or is this case destined to become one of the cases to go into clod storage?

Bhoot Bhavish Bartaman by Mehool Parekh is one of the finest crime novels I have read. The plot of the book is well defined with twists and turns at each step of the way. They way Mehool picks up the Bhootkaal of Rupali and explores it to bring it to the conclusion is something I really admired about the plot. His background in films and finance has led to the introduction of a lot of credibility in the situations that are created by him. The descriptions of the scenes, characters and scenarios is quite vivid which helps in visualizing the words. The book is aptly named, with a wordplay on the name of the character and the fact that the book explores the concept that anything that happens in the past will affect your present and your future. The climax of the book was unexpected and kudos to Mehool for an intricate storytelling.

Coming to the characters, Major Bartaman Bhowmick has been created as an eccentric character who is an amateur sleuth but has crazy ideas which lead to breakthroughs in the case. While his talents are aptly described, his backstory is not detailed but we see glimpses of it at times. Robin Chowdhury, who’s a crime reporter in Pune, is shown as his sidekick and we do not get much of her character arc in this book, though I would love to read the adventures of Batty and Robin as a separate book someday. Other characters in the book have a certain layer of authenticity to them. Be it the Sub-inspector or the constable, they have the same attitude that one would see in a neighborhood cop.

Overall, this crime novel resonated with me and I would recommend it to anyone who loves this genre.

For me, this one scores a 4.5/5 for me.

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