Pages: 296
Genre: Fiction
Available in: Paperback and E-book Format
The Plot: Prachand Tripathi lives in a joint family, along with their cow, Hirwa. His father never fails to share his disappointment that Prachand ‘did not clear IIT’.
To disappoint him further, Prachand is a detective and proprietor of Kanpur Khoofiya Pvt Ltd. The cases that have come to him so far have been tracking down missing pets, people, and objects and spying on cheating lovers, sorely disappointing him and his partner in life and the agency, his wife Vidya.
One morning a mysterious man walks into Kanpur Khoofiya with a wad of money and a case, assigning them the job of tailing actress Shailaja Kapoor. What seems like a prestigious and exciting assignment turns out to have a murder involved, followed by the abduction of the actress.
Prachand and his wife are on the run, dodging the suspicious glare of the police, with the fear of being treated as criminals. The only person who can help them prove their innocence is Shailaja Kapoor, but to do that Prachand has to find Shailaja. What will Prachand do next?
My Thoughts: A juicy mystery is always an interesting genre for a reader. When coupled with a set in a small town, it creates its own charm. The eye-catching cover of this book, and the novel title, made me want to pick up the book and read it immediately. I wanted to solve the mystery along with Prachand Tripathi.
Richa S Mukherjee is a gifted writer. Her crisp writing manages to hold your attention, despite a weak plot. Her words recreate Kanpur for you and bring to life all the characters of the Tripathi family. However, too many characters spoil the plot.
The mystery and the protagonist are buried between numerous characters, all described in great detail by the author. You wait to see how the characters would link to the story until you find out that they don’t, instead, they take away from it, not allowing Prachand, or the mystery he has to solve, to shine through.
What starts off as endearing eccentricities of the characters soon turn into annoyance as you want to know more about Prachand and what he is up to.
Kanpur Khoofiya Pvt Ltd by Richa S Mukherjee is a quick read. Even though it left me disappointed, I won’t be surprised if it I see it being adapted for the big screen or for a web series.
***3 stars for Kanpur Khoofiya Pvt Ltd by Richa S. Mukherjee.
My rating chart;
*Use it as a doorstop.
**Read it if you have nothing better to do.
***You may like it if you like this particular genre.
****Must read!
*****What! You haven’t read it YET?!
I received this Book as part of the Blogchatter Book Review Program
The plot in indeed interesting and it was fun in parts. However I do agree that it could’ve been better. Richa sure is a gifted writer. Good review, M.