The Killer Close By

A TALENT FOR MURDER  | Peter Swanson | Faber & Faber | 72 pages | ₹1,392

This one is a take on Patricia Highsmith’s The Talented Mr Ripley. Martha is a librarian newly married to Travis, a travelling salesman. But she feels she does not know him well when one day from her bedroom win­dow she sees him return, and as he gets out of the car, she catches a cold ruthless look on his face and then a careful smile he practices before entering the house. Later, when she finds a blood stain on his cuff, she checks the internet for reports on crimes at the conference he had attended where he sells T-shirts with clever logos and other paraphernalia to teachers. To her horror, she finds five unsolved homicides, all women, all youngish, and all occurring in cities that Travis had been in for work.

Martha reaches out to Lily Kintner, her friend from graduate school who had helped Martha out of a scary relationship. “And what she remembered of that time was that Lily had been utterly practical, almost cold­hearted, about the whole thing. She hadn’t been emotional or judgmental. And that was exactly what Martha was looking for now.”

When Lily begins to investigate, she finds their shared past threading through to the present. With twist upon twist, which Swanson excels at, we move into serial killer Ripley territory. We deep dive into the killer’s perspective, and soon Lily finds herself playing a cat-and-mouse game with the killer in a game where to lose is to die.

Swanson narrates with ease and demonstrates mastery over how he tells the story. We begin with a victim’s point of view, then Martha’s and later Lily’s in first person.

It is an absorbing tale, though quite unbelievable if one stopped

and examined the logic carefully, but the fact that we do not, re­veals Swanson’s mastery as a crime writer. We read on because we do not know if Martha has indeed hooked up with a serial killer, a likely possibility considering the deviant she dated in college.

VOYAGE OF THE DAMNED| Frances White | Michael Joseph | 496 pages ₹499

This is another take of Agatha Christie’s And Then there Were None, this time set in a fantasy world. For a thousand years, Concordia has maintained peace between its provinces, and to mark the occasion, the emperor’s ship embarks on a twelve-day voyage to the sacred Goddess’ mountain.

On board are the heirs of the 12 provinces, each graced with a unique and secret magical ability known as a Blessing. Except one: Ganymedes Piscero — gay, clownish, a slacker with a snarky voice who knows he is an all-round disappointment, and who is only pretending to be blessed. His province, the fish province, is on the bottom rung of the hierarchy.

Desperate to end the subterfuge, the snarky Ganymedes does his best to be unpleasant to the others. His hope is that when they return, he will be banished and a regent will be appointed in his stead. But when the most beloved heir is murdered, Ganymedes finds himself stuck at sea with a powerful set of people with mysterious and deadly Blessings, while he has no Blessing to protect him. Only his curiosity, intelligence and determination not to be the killer’s next victim could save him, that is, if he finds the murderer.

The narrative in murder at the monastery switches between the village and the monastery. The mystery becomes secondary to Daniel’s personal problems and the goings on in the village, which cosy mystery readers won’t mind. However, the monastery sections could be a bit too ecclesiastical for some

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On his quest, he needs a wingman. Who better than the love of his life, Ravi, who is one of the heirs? But Ravi refuses to help, and much to Ganymede’s anguish, announces his marriage to Cordelia (another heir). Then one by one, the heirs are killed, starting with the more powerful ones. Ganymede finds himself stuck with an unlikely team consisting of a six-year-old and a dying man.

This is a well-written debut full of tension and twists. The angst-filled hero charms us with his vulnerabilities and low self esteem, and we root for him and the adorable six-year-old grasshopper-heir whom the hero protects as they race to find the murderer. With an Agatha Christie touch, Voyage of the Damned is a delightful read.

MURDER AT THE MONASTERY| Richard Coles | Orion | 416 pages | ₹999

Richard Coles’ third book in the Canon Clement Mystery series has shades of Umberto Eco’s The Name of the Rose. Canon Daniel Clement flees to a monastery, heartsick from finding out that the person he loved didn’t love him in that way. However things are not quite peaceful in the monastery where he had once been a novice.

Meanwhile, in Champton where Daniel is the Rector, his widowed and opinionated mother is up to some new tricks. Ensconced in the De Fleury mansion because the Rectory is being made habitable, Audrey gets a new job at a dress shop. Daniel is the subject of the village gossip and in the De Fleury home. Soon they realise what and who caused Daniel’s sudden disappearance.

Meanwhile in the monastery, Daniel doesn’t quite find the sanctuary he had been expecting. When a novice is found dead in the turbine room, Daniel suspects it is murder. Can he crack the case without Detective Sergeant Neil Vanloo?

The narrative switches between the village and the mon­astery. The mystery becomes secondary to Daniel’s personal problems and the goings on in the village, which cosy mystery readers won’t mind. However, the monastery sections could be a bit too ecclesiastical for some who may not warm to debates in the Church of England about women being ordained and about homosexuality among priests. The ending though, is definitely marmite—you’ll either love it or hate it.

A NEST OF VIPERS| Harini Nagendra | Constable | 352 pages | ₹499

Another old favourite is back with a new outing for Kaveri Murthy in the Bangalore Detective Club series set in1922 India. Kaveri and Ramu attend a performance at the circus and during an act with orientalist elements — snake charmers and a disappearing rope trick — a master magician disappears. His assistant-son, Suman, is carted away by a group of masked men, some of whom systematically loot the patrons in the first class seats. Kaveri’s knowledge of kalaripayattu comes in handy, and she manages to save a young girl from be­ing robbed. Suman is huddled in a dead faint in the aisle.

The next day, Suman begs her to find his father, Das, who has disappeared and may have been kidnapped. As the intrepid Kaveri, helped by her husband, Ramu, and the trusty gang of ladies in the Bangalore Detective Club gets going, she realises that Das and possibly Suman are involved in a more nefarious plot against the visiting Prince of Wales. The heir to the British throne has faced angry crowds in Bombay and Calcutta demand­ing independence from Britain, so Inspector Ismail and Major Wilks have been told to increase their vigilance.

As Kaveri, despite her husband’s pleas, delves deeper into the mystery of the masked gang and the disappearance of Suman’s father, she realises that the prince’s life is in grave danger. This time, she doesn’t have her friend, Inspector Ismail, by her side. He, in fact, coldly warns her to stay out of the matter, leaving Kaveri bemused and stunned.

Solving the mystery will require Kaveri to take terrible risks, and risk alienating those she loves. The series, which is written with ease and much warmth, will endear itself to fans. The story deftly blends historical events with a heroine who man­ages to be intelligent, brave, and resourceful.

About The Author

Shylashri Shankar

Shylashri Shankar is the author of Turmeric Nation - A Passage Through India's Tastes