Book: Killing of Ashish Karve
Author: Salil Desai
Pages: 260
Read on: Kindle (via our Kindle Unlimited subscription)
Read in: 2-3 hours
Plot Summary: Senior Inspector Saralkar is back at his desk after spending a rather annoying week at a Secrets of Living course, especially for police officers and he is itching for some action now. Luckily, an exciting new case turns up right away!
The body of Ashish Karve, a local businessman has been found in the back seat of his car. To PSI Motkar, Saralkar's diminutive assistant, it seems to be a straightforward case of suicide. But Saralkar's sharp mind is agog with the dark possibility of murder. As the case unfolds Saralkar finds enough motives for people, be it Ashishs business partner, his wife, his brother, his friend, his brother-in-law or even strangers to want to do away with him! Is the senior inspector becoming too fanciful in his imagination or is he on the right track in assuming that Ashish was killed?
Review: We tried these two books by Salil Desai because it came as a recommendation from Kindle Unlimited. Surprisingly, the books were quite well written and the murder mysteries were well crafted. In case of Killing Ashish Karve, the story builds very well and there are enough bread crumbs dropped by the author to hint at what the issue could be that led to Ashish Karve's death.
The characters of Inspector Saralkar and Motkar and their interesting professional dynamic are pretty well crafted and you grow to like these hardworking and methodical police officers.
The motive for the crime is slightly predictable but quite interesting, nonetheless. Also, the twisted family dynamics in the Karve family as well as Ashish's relationships at work all give us plenty of motive and potential killers.
In sum, a quick and engrossing read.
Rating: 3.5/5
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Book: The Murder of Sonia Raikkonen
Author: Salil Desai
Pages: 336
Read on: Kindle
Read in: 2-3 hours
Plot Summary: Late one November night, the mutilated corpse of a young Finnish tourist is found in a public garden in Pune. It looks like a case of brutal rape and murder, but Senior Inspector Saralkar and PSI Motkar find themselves probing further....delving deeper.
Standing virtually clueless, except for a single white sandal found on the scene of the crime, the policemen duo start looking for suspects.
Things get murkier when Saralkar's old friend and colleague, Inspector Patange, seeks his help to establish the identity of another murder victim - an old man found by a wooded hillside on the outskirts of Pune. Not only do the old man's injuries match the wounds inflicted on the Finnish girl, but he is also found wearing the other white sandal.
As Saralkar and Motkar struggle to find the link that connects the two murders, nothing is what it seems....The emerging truth seems far more dangerous and the motive far more bizarre!
Who murdered Sonia , and why?
Review: This is a very nicely crafted mystery book. The story is built up very well and there are multiple motives and suspects, so the real killer is not made too obvious. There are a few red herrings thrown in for good measure as well and I really liked that. The author also uses some amount of misdirection, which was quite good in keep the reader from getting too close to the real perpetrator.
This is a pretty taut and engrossing read, which won't let you down.
Rating: 4/5
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