Barnabas –Book Review

This book review is a part of the Book Reviews program at BlogAdda

Barnabas – Bombay’s first detective is all set  out to solve the murder mystery of  an English lady. He is all set to take on the English people and undauntingly solve the mystery murder case. The story is set up in the pre Independence era where India was still under the British rule. But does Barnabas solve the mystery case or ends up being a suspect in the murder .Does Barnabas deserve to  be called as Bombay’s first detective...? Does the culprit get caught ? its for you to read and find out ...

In author’s words:  British India. The summer of 1942. Bombay. From the leafy lanes of Wodehouse Road, a British woman goes missing from her home. Her husband Thomas Stanton, wants to keep the police out of the loop, and thus calls in Bombay’s first Private Detective, Barnabas Mehta. The son of a cook, Barnabas, has been brought up under the tutelage of his father’s employer, Francis Curtis, and knows the ways of the British. But that isn’t enough to solve the mystery for him. His search for Rose leads him to the bylanes of Girgaum where he finds a murder to solve and webs of deceit to traverse. Who would murder Rose so brutally? Family secrets and the machinations of an evil mind – they are all there for Barnabas Mehta to unveil!

Characters:

 The story revolves around the characters Rose Stanton – An English Lady ,her Husband :Thomas Stanton – a shipping magnate. Francis Curtis: A respectable English  man  Chetan  Mehta : Francis’cook  Barnabas:Chetan’s son. The characters are so well etched out. There are certain characters who are not found during most of the reading in the book but still their characters come out so strong in the end.Every single character has been given due importance and every character comes to life as you flip the pages.The characters portrayed seem so real that they can actually be visualized.

Story : The story revolves around  Rose Stanton the protagonist and her tragic end after she ends up leaving her abusive husband .She has something in her mind when she preplans her escape from the Stanton household with the help of her maid. Surprisingly the plan fails and Rose Stanton is found dead.How?Who did it ? What was the motive? Thrilling and Engrossing to the core.This book keeps you guessing th e murderer till the end  and you are going to end up guessing wrong. I even tried going to the last page trying to know who the murdered was but I had to come back and read the entire stuff to know the culprit behind the cold blooded murder.

Sangeeta Nambiar gets a thumbs up for her fresh simple writing.Her creativity lies In the way she created a web of characters involving each and everyone  at every point in the story.The book gives you a feeling of watching  old television detective serials. Detective Tele serials always give you sleepless nights till the night you find who the murderer was. The book gives you a similar feeling. Dont worry !! you will definitely be able to sleep. The story keeps you hooked till the last page. Not a single moment when you feel like giving the book a miss.

On the whole A book one must read if you are a fan of detective crime stories.Trust me!! The book is going to keep you hooked and booked till you end up finishing the last page. The book cover could have been a  bit more attractive. But then as it is said “Don’t judge a book by its cover”, it actually gets proved after reading the book

Rating : 4/5

Go grab yourself a copy and be engrossed in the coming weekend.