The Bangalore Detectives Club by Harini NagendraMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
Hooter: A murder mystery set in 1920s Bengaluru part of the Mysore state
In the backdrop of whispers of civil disobedience in the quest of freedom, Harini sets up the environment of 1920s Bangalore at the juncture of British colonialism and a newly awakening India. Leveraging her expertise in Indian history specifically around Bengaluru , she does delve into the social, geographical and political context of those times. Kaveri as the protagonist has to deal with the social construct of the times whilst she yearns for more - something as simple as finishing off her studies so she can work outside her home - a concept we seemingly find alien as society opens up slow and steady to celebrate the individual - irrespective of their background.
Though those are the frills because the main storyline is supposed to be a whodunnit where an infamous pimp is murdered in the lawns of a prestigious Century club that allows non-whites. The character development seems a lighter touch and you go through the drills of a murder mystery to land up with the eventual suspect with a lot of clues just simply landing into the hands of our detective who is steps ahead of the sympathetic police. With contemporaries like Sujata Massey, this becomes a tough comparison where the character development has been deeper, the BDC makes for a light reading- probably better suited for young adult fiction audiences.
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