Book: Best Served Cold (#4 in the Janardan Maity Series)
Author: Bhaskar Chattopadhyay
Pages: 217
Read on: Kindle (via Kindle Unlimited)
Read in: ~3 hours
Plot Summary: Twenty years ago, four boys were wronged by a vicious man in an idyllic tea estate. Now, they have returned to avenge the crimes committed against them.
His simplest case might just be the most challenging puzzle that detective Janardan Maity has ever faced.
General Thoughts: We have read and enjoyed most of the previous Janardan Maity books. Bhaskar Chattopadhyay writes a good crime thriller and his 'detective' is more interested in uncovering the truth than anything else; much like Byomkesh Bakshi. We highly recommend the previous three books in the Janardan Maity-Prakash Ray series. Reviews can be found by following the links to Penumbra, Here Falls the Shadow and The Disappearance of Sally Sequeira. So, when I noticed that a new Maity-Ray book was out and was available for free on Kindle Unlimited, I did not waste a single second in getting it!
Things I Liked:
1. The premise of the book, much like all of the author's previous books in the series, was very interesting. I love the idea of 'old sins cast long shadows' and the mere thought of four friends ganging up to extract vengeance upon an evil man was very thrilling! Plus, this seemed more like a case where Maity would have to talk these young men down and maybe do his best to avoid a murder. Also, if a murder did happen, then there was a huge moral dilemma facing the detective- would he try to save the killer? If the murdered man was a vile piece of garbage, who, perhaps, deserved death, would Janardan Maity let the killer get away with it? So, with revenge + the promise of a moral dilemma thrown in, this book had me at hello, so to speak.
2. Loved the tea garden setting of this book. This book is set in a fictitious tea garden in our neck of the woods here in West Bengal. So, reading a murder mystery unfold in familiar surroundings was very interesting and relatable. The world of a tea garden, much like any other large plantation-based business, is a rule of law unto itself. There is a lot of exploitation that happens and there is not much that happens in the way of justice. So, these four young boys', who were wronged by the tea garden own, feelings of frustration and anger was also very relatable. Plus, like all his books, even this one was very atmospheric. The tea gardens, bungalows, the large, looming forest and the general rustic nature of Dooars was brought to life very evocatively.
3. The mystery itself was decent. There were four potential killers. Each had a strong motive. One's dad was killed and his death was passed off as a suicide because he stood up to the powerful tea estate owner. Another's sister was gang raped by the man and his cronies in front of him. Another's mother was accused of stealing and, humiliated, she burnt herself. Another young boy was sexually abused by the same man. So, powerful motives all around. Plus, these boys had a made a pact to return to the tea estate 20 years later and kill the man. Even though the case was rather simple, there were some surprises and twists and turns, which made the book interesting.
4. We don't really get much time with the four primary wannabe killers in this book at all. In fact, once Maity takes the case, the whole matter is wrapped up in a little over 3 days. So, there was not much scope for character development, but even within that narrow time frame, we did learn a lot about all four boys- their pasts, the pain and what became of them once they left the tea estate. I wish there was more time for character development like we saw in Here Falls the Shadow but both these are fairly different stories with different timelines.
5. The final reveal was nicely done. Some of it you would see coming, some of it you won't. There is a nice little twist in the end, which I liked. Not going to reveal anything more here for the fear of spoiling the book!
Things I Didn't Like:
1. One of the little mysteries in the book was VERY predictable! I guessed it much before it was revealed that one of the friends had ditched the group and had not shown up to murder the tea garden owner. I wish it was not that obvious, but the two other twists made up for it.
Rating: 4/5
Comments