In Plain Sight-Mohamed Thaver

Book: In Plain Sight
Author: Mohamed Thaver
Publisher: HarperCollins India

What is the best crime thriller you have read?

In Plain Sight by Mohamed Thaver tells the take of Mumbai being under siege of an unlikely killer, and the investigation of the case by an ace investigator. When the cases of rapes and murders of three minors remain unsolved for a long time, DCP Sawant decides to bring in Police Inspector Waghmare. Known as the “Investigation Machine” among the Mumbai Police, he takes on the case, only to find lead after lead turning into a dead end. With an eerie feeling that the perpetrator is watching them, Waghmare turns up the heat when one of their own loses his life. A police procedural told from the eyes of a rookie reporter, this is a well told whodunnit tale.

The plot of the book finds its roots in Mohamed’s background as a journalist and the authenticity it provides to the narrative is excellent. From the very first page, the perspectives in the story alternate between a reporter and a journalist and it shows how a situation is viewed differently by both. The procedural is quite detailed, and rather than focusing and dwelling on the crime, Thaver puts the spotlight on the investigation, the inter-service rivalries and how things take time to unravel. This is the best part about the narrative. It is not the story of a supercop who jumps in to save the day or a master investigator who takes just a few days to examine the clues, rather it is the story of an policeman who, armed with investigative skills and the grit to persist, gets results. The climax is interesting and difficult to predict, specially with the twists that come towards the later part of the book. The language is easy to understand, and he has used Marathi to accentuate and establish certain  events, along with translations that help the reader.

The plot is intrinsically character driven and there is no dearth of interesting ones in the story. Rohan as a budding reporter, new to the world and trying to make his space is impressive as he faces the ups and downs of being a crime reporter is impressive. Waghmare is another character that elevates the plot with his quirks and investigative methods. Malhotra added a bit of some humour with his tea and the subsequent reactions to it. Overall, the characters seem to be drawn from real life experiences as they were easy to connect to, and it helped that each of them had a unique identity which helped me connect to them. I would have expected a bit more of detailing which could have helped paid a clearer picture of them.

Overall, a definite recommendation to people who love reading police procedurals. This one scores a 4.25/5 for me.

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