Book Review: Death in Shambles by Stephen Alter.

 

Book: Death in Shambles 

Author: Stephen Alter 

Publisher: Aleph Book Company 

Pages: 216 

How Long it Took Me To Read: 3 days

Plot Summary: Lionel Carmichael, a retired police deputy inspector general, is looking forward to living a quiet, solitary life in the hill station of Debrakot, with an assortment of eccentric neighbours for occasional company. His plans are upended when he is asked by a former colleague, SHO Thapliyal, to help out in a double murder case. The scene of the crime is the ghostly Shambala Villa, or ‘Shambles’, as it is known to the residents of the town, named thus due to its decrepit appearance. The victims of the brutal crimes are Reuben Sabharwal, a self-styled god-man who dabbles in the mysterious and occult, and an unknown woman, dressed in a pale green sari, found hanging by a noose near Reuben’s body.

Trudging through the monsoon rains of Debrakot, Lionel embarks on his journey towards the truth, only to become more and more entangled in a web of deceit and lies. Even as a myriad powerful forces attempt to stop him, Lionel continues to push for the truth—until the sleepy little hill station finally gives up its grim secrets.

Review: Even though it's only February, Mumbai has been insufferably and unreasonably warm. We went from mild and kind days to days that feel like we are in May already. Not fun, not fun at all. 
I don't quite take to hot weather and I was in desperate need for some respite, since I couldn't physically take myself out of my city, I did the next best thing- travel far far away via a book. 

Aren't books just brilliant? 

One moment you are stewing in this unseasonable Mumbai heat and the next you find yourself walking a steep incline in the Himalayas. 

I love the mountains and any excuse to run to them, whether real or fictional is a welcome change. 

So the tagline of this book had me at hello. 

A Hill Station Mystery...why, YES PLEASE?! 

Take me money and sign me up. 

So off I went to Debrakot to tag along while our protagonist solved a couple of murders. 

And this book was just what I needed! 

Things I Loved: 

1. The atmosphere of this book was just spot on. The hills, the old derelict homes, the hint of cult and some suspicious individuals, this book capture all of these things so well and make you feel like you are right there. 

2. The writing is lovely, both the mystery elements and just the general musings and character and world building has been done so well. We've read Alter before, we in fact bought his books in Mussoorie when we were last there and we really enjoyed this work, this book is also very well-written. 

3. If you are in the mood for a cozy mystery, this is the book to run to/turn to now. It's cozy and the people and the place just add to the cozy murdery vibes. 

4. Well, while this is cozy, it doesn't mean that the murders or the mystery at hand is not gruesome or gory. There are three murders and the pace and the investigation is what you'd expect and want in a murder mystery. 

5. The characters in the book are so wonderful and especially the little community, of largely older people was just wonderful to get to know and spend time with. 

6. Lionel Carmichael, our leading man is just the kind of person you'd want to investigate your murder (if God forbid you were to meet a sticky end). He is honest and upright, kind and straight forward and he seems so utterly real that if you found yourself on a walk in Landour, you'd expect him to walking a few feet away from you. I hope there are more books with him solving cases, because we need more of him. 

7. If you like cults and the cons of Godmen, this book has both and I think you'd like reading about Reuben, one of our victims and resident conman. 

8. And finally, this book felt like a long due holiday to Landour, which if you know me you'd know that it's pretty much one of my favourite places on Earth. It's where I imagine I am when life feels too much. It's my escape and I cannot wait to go back. For now, reading about Debrakot and it's homes and gardens and shops and people and trees acted as a salve to my Landour craving heart. 

Here are some pictures of Landour that I clicked on my first trip there. 

Aaahh! Take me back! 

Rating: 4/5 

I highly recommend this book, especially if you find yourself in the mood for the hills, mysteries, cults and a murder or two.