Author: Richa S. Mukherjee
Publisher: HarperCollins India
Do you think the paranormal beings exist and can affect our lives?
What can possibly go wrong when fame and fortune come knocking? Plenty!
We return to the charming and colorful lanes of Gwaltoli to revisit Prachand
Tripathi, our favorite desi detective and owner of Kanpur Khoofiya Pvt Ltd.
While he has progressed from locating lost pets and garments to problems of
gravitas, their moderate fame doesn't impress wife and CFO Vidya Tripathi who
still complains about wasted potential and the tepid life they lead. As if on
cue, an unusual but promising proposal comes their way, one they simply cannot
refuse. It's an invitation to oversee a film shoot based on their lives,
whisking them away to the resplendent deserts of Rajasthan. What follows is an
unbelievable and spine-chilling adventure that will drag them through a morass
of inexplicable events, dangerous secrets and a cursed, abandoned village that
wreaks havoc on the living and dead alike.
Richa brings back the eccentric detective Prachand Tripathi back in this
installment of Kanpur Khoofiya Pvt. Ltd, and this time the mystery seems to be
a bit out of the Tripathis’ league. The book starts on a wonderful note as it
opens to a scene in Kuldhara and we are introduced to a paranormal activity, and
as we meet Prachand again, it is in the lanes of Gwaltoli as he comes back
home, and true to Richa’s style, it is not just a narration, but a description
filled with audio, visual and olfactory cues as we step into his home. What
happens next in this book is something that I truly couldn’t have imagined. Creating
this detective in a small town, we see an office where peanuts are eaten and animals
found, yet there is an air of importance. The storytelling is filled with
sarcasm, wit and humor that keeps you smiling, grinning and at times on your
toes. I loved the fact that she builds in the local dialect with Ammaji and Arjun
specially. As you journey from the bylanes of Kanpur to the dusty dunes of
Rajasthan, we come across an urban legend of the haunted ruins where the Tripathis
have travelled for the film shoot. I loved how Richa weaves in the legend into
the plot of the book and keeps it relevant till the very last page of the book.
The characters that inhabit this world are as unique as the premise they are
developed to push forward. While we have met our local sleuth Prachand in the
previous book, this time, his character gets interesting as he uses his skills
to get to the bottom of a case where the primary suspect might just be otherworldly.
Vidya, once again, is the balancing act for Prachand and I loved the way she
drives the story forward with her sane arguments in this mad motley of people.
Bhutaari Baba was another character who stood out for me, specially with the
role he played in the story. Paramveer Khattar, Ramnarayan Rathod and his wife were
a set of characters who are crafted to perfection and specially the manner in
which the story unfolds, I was in awe of the minute attention to details Richa
has paid to create these people.
But Richa’s stories are not just about the plot or the characters, it is
the way she tells the story of these characters that attracts a reader. Right
from using the local dialect to put across the point, or creating characters
who are so absurd that you fall in love with them at the first instance. Another
important aspect of the story is food, and to be honest, it is a critical plot
point that comes to light quite late in the book. Right from the Rachna
Tripathi’s achaars to the Rajasthani cuisine in Kuldhara and Jaisalmer, the
descriptions are so vivid that you start drooling at some point. Having roots
in Kanpur as well, I could relate to the dhaniye ke aloo and Thaggoo
ke Laddoo that help set the tone of the book perfectly. Lastly, the research
that would have gone into telling this story is something I would really
commend Richa on. Right from the curse of Kuldhara, to the various ways of committing
the said crime, the police procedurals are very perfectly done which makes the
reading even better.
Also, Camels on a crime scene? Still cannot get that out of my mind.
The book was truly worth the wait and as is with a story this powerful
and specially with scenes that I have had to highlight to keep as memories,
Prachand Tripathi walks away with 5 Camels (or is it 5 jalebis?) and then some more.
I was provided a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review by the
publisher.
The book is available on Amazon India or your nearest bookstore.
Also, if you want to check out my review of Kanpur Khoofiya Pvt. Ltd. , check it out here.
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