Club You To Death-Anuja Chauhan

Book: Club You To Death
Author: Anuja Chauhan
Publisher: HarperCollins India

Would you kill someone to keep your secret buried?

Club You To Death by Anuja Chauhan is set in the posh area of Lutyens’s Delhi where a hunky personal trainer is found asphyxiated to death under a barbell at the Delhi Turf Club, on the eve of the elections for the President of the Club. Initially identified as an accident, facts emerge soon that points to the fact that one of the posh Dilliwallahs, a member of the club, is a cold-blooded killer. As the conspiracies rage through the lanes of Delhi, ACP Bhavani Singh is handed the case to investigate, and he enlists Akash Dogra, who despises all that the club stands for, and Bambi Todi, a girl who loves DTC almost like a second home, to help him make inroads with the members. A bloody good romance, the question is whether Bhavani Singh would be able to solve the case, or would the story stay unfinished.

The book is quite well-plotted, and the idea of meshing romance and a murder mystery is very well executed by Anuja. The story has a dynamic plot which twists and turns with each page, and each of the chapters is a revelation in itself. The romance angle and the murder mystery move independently, yet coincide at just the right moments to add substance to the story. The language of the story is something that is a signature of Anuja’s. The very Dilliwallah accent, and writing the words as the characters would pronounce it bring out the class difference extremely well. From Bhavani Singh’s “we” to the posh Delhi “Dipping Sauce” and not chutney, the nuances that Anuja has built in just help paint a wonderful picture of events as they occur. The idea of a murder at a posh Delhi club and how each member’s motivations are explored almost makes it as good as a Christie Mystery. Another aspect that stands out is how each detail of the story comes together in the end, no matter how insignificant it seems in the beginning. A good mystery is only as good as its climax and the author nails it perfectly. The way all threads join together and weave the events that lead to the crime is ingenious.

CYTD is a very character driven story, and it is made what it is by the details that the characters bring to it. Akash “Kashi” Dogra impressed me with his no-nonsense attitude and the very non-posh manner in which he was created. I loved the way his equations with other characters were explores, especially Bambi Todi. Coming to her, I loved the way she has been crafted like a typical Posh-Delhi girl, but there are shades of her that highlight that she is more than what meets the eye. This, infact, is an undertone that can be seen throughout the story. Be it Behra Mehra or Cookie Katoch. Another thing that catches the attention of the reader is the creatively designed names each of the character has and even the good ACP hasn’t been spared who becomes ACP Brownie. Picked up from people around us, the relativity factor is very high, and this is what keeps the reader hooked to the story all along. All of us have had one or more of these people in our lives.

Overall, Club You To Death is a story that is inherently Delhi and its story as well as the characters ooze the myriad shades of what makes Delhi what it is. A book that scores a 4.63/5 from me, it is a definite recommendation from me if you love to sit and enjoy a bloody good romance and a gripping murder mystery.

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