A Murder is Fixed-Madhav Nayak

Book: A Murder is Fixed
Author: Madhav Nayak
Publisher: HarperCollins India

I was provided a media copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Have you heard of the phrase “Quis custodiet ipsos custodes”?

Late on a Sunday night, Shreya Ved, an investigator of a commission probing match-fixing in the Mega Cricket League, is found murdered in her office. Even as Inspector Vichare and Constable Lobo of Dhobi Talao Police Station begin their investigation, Russi Batliwala, the one-eyed, indefatigably curious Parsi cricket umpire (now retired), manages to wriggle his way onto the team. As clues tumble out, the trio discovers a rather long list of people who had the motive and the opportunity to kill Shreya that night, including India's beloved cricket star - Rishi Girhotra. But with their prime suspects dying mysteriously around them and a deadly cat-and-mouse game afoot, can Russi employ his keen eye for detail and unravel the bewildering puzzle before all their leads are stumped out? A Murder Is Fixed is a rollicking murder mystery that takes readers on a ride through the posh cricket clubs, vada-pav stalls and chawls of Mumbai into the murky depths of a nefarious scandal.

A mark of a good crime thriller is a plethora of red herrings and the reason to suspect everyone, but at the same time keep the reader guessing as to who could be behind it all. A Murder is Fixed performs extremely well on this test of mine. Madhav’s debut book explores the murky world of the glitz and glamour of a cricketing league, along with a side serving of the match fixing scandal, and how that leads to the murder of an investigator. What works in the book is the constant state of tension that prevails between the characters as they run across Mumbai to explore various aspects of the investigation. Not for a moment you feel that there is a dull moment. Another thing that makes the book such a good thriller is the fact that he has used the city like a character and there are aspects of the city that blend into the storytelling effortlessly, be it the missal pav and the vada pav to the chawls of the city or the high-profile club. The investigation has been explored nicely, and the local flavor is not lost that is inherent to our systems. The cricketing jargon is very well placed and keeps you amused as well because of the quips turning up just at the right moment. The writing is crisp and very well edited. There are no loose ends, and no thread in the story seems unexplored. The research of the book is on point, and I must say the modus operandi of how the same thing works in multiple ways. The climax of the book was surprising, and intriguing, and I must say that this shows some excellent writing from Madhav.

Coming to the characters, Russi Batliwala as an ex-umpire, current investigator is a wonderfully penned character that keeps you hooked to the pages. His powers of deduction and observation have been very well explored and that is one reason why the book keeps you hooked. I would really like to see more cases being investigated by him, if this turns out to be a series. Another character I loved was that of Constable Lobo, and how he complements the investigation team, and has some really great ideas. Apart from these, the other characters such as Gopal, Vichare, Kajal and Brajesh were equally well written and they manage to keep you interested in their actions as well.

This is a definite recommendation for fans of crime thrillers and if you like to read a well written and crisp crime thriller, then pick up a copy. The book scores a 4.94/5 for me.

Get a copy of the book from your nearest Bookstore or on Amazon India.

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Cauldron, Sword and Victory: The Rise of Sikhs-Sarbpreet Singh

Book: Cauldron, Sword and Victory: The Rise of Sikhs (The Story of the Sikhs II)
Author: Sarbpreet Singh
Publisher: Penguin India

I was provided a media copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Have you read the history of the Sikhs?

In Cauldron, Sword and Victory, author Sarbpreet Singh takes the reader on a journey through the fiery crucible in which the character of the Sikhs was forged. Seers and mystics, conquerors and kings rub shoulders in this heady tale of history and politics, embarking on never-ending quests for land, power and glory. Singh’s first volume on Sikh history told the story of the venerated Sikh Gurus. Starting with the rebellion of Banda Singh Bahadur, he now turns his attention to Nawab Kapur Singh and his cohort of doughty Sikh chiefs who became the masters of Punjab as the weakened Mughals of Delhi clashed with the powerful Ahmad Shah Abdali of Afghanistan. Bringing these swashbuckling characters to life in a manner most vivid and compelling, Singh transports us to the eighteenth-century Indian subcontinent as the Sikh chiefs engage with the British, the Marathas, the Jats and the Rohillas, sometimes as allies and sometimes as adversaries. Based on a unique mix of eyewitness accounts, secondary sources as well as translations from Braj and Punjabi poetry, Singh’s narrative is both erudite and engaging―a true saga of resilience, faith and power.

The book is very well researched and well written. The author has explored the various aspects of the history of the Sikhs. In this volume, the narrative takes off a few years before the passing of Guru Gobind Singh, and then explores how the people stood up against the atrocities by the rulers of those times, and how the quest for land, power and glory shaped the characters of the people. The book highlights the struggles that the Sikhs had to face, and also the various feats of bravery that form the bedrock of the community as well. The book is not just a recollection through prose, but the author has also included relevant sections and translations of Braj and Punjabi poetry which helps the reader understand the importance and the impact of the various events through the people who witnessed them and lived them. While the book is a bit long and can become tedious to grasp at times due to a plethora of people, names and places, that is also the USP of this book. The writing is detailed oriented and when you read the book, you are transported to the time when it happened and you can actually visualize the situations described. Another thing that stood out for me in the book is that it not just talks about the period in the context of the Sikhs, but also of the overall political atmosphere and how the alliances across the sub-continent were being made and unmade, and ultimately their impact on the Sikhs.

The book is a definite recommendation for people who like to read historical accounts, especially ones that are from a multiple POV and supported not just by artifacts, but also through other mediums such as poetry. Sarbpreet’s inclusion of the transliterated and translated poetry was one of the most amazing things in the book. There is a certain eloquence that poetry brings to history and that helped me quite a lot in contextualizing events and people.

The book scores a 4.5/5 for me.

Get a copy of the book from your nearest bookstore or on Amazon India