BOOK REVIEW : DEATH OF A DISTRICT MAGISTRATE

 

A general question to everyone who reads a lot of books – what is the first thing you look whenever you read a book from a new author? There are going to be a lot of answers – plot outline, genre, etc etc.

 

For me, it always was and it will always be the author's command over language. And that is why I loved Nachi's debut novel "Death of a District Magistrate".

 

PLOT

It is a murder mystery just as the synopsis promises. There has been the death of a renowned district magistrate and it most likely appears to be a suicide. Or is it?

As the story unfolds, we realize that things are murkier than what they appear. Watch how the protagonist "DSP Arjun Iyer" solves the case.

 

WRITING STYLE

Narasimhan Eswar chooses to use the pseudonym "Nachi". I still remember that time when this author known as Chetan Bhagat made his debut. And everyone was gaga over the fact that he wrote a book so relatable, he was an investment banker who quit his job and became a writer, and so on.

So far, so good.

However, Chetan opened up a Pandora's box with there emerging a plethora of writers who were brimming with ideas but hardly knew the ABC of english grammar. And so we started having shitty books from shittier authors who had glaring and jarring grammatical errors right from page 1. There were times when I would stop reading or reviewing a novel out of sheer frustration, wondering how the hell did this thing get published.

 

The key word here is "BASICS" – of your English grammar. And that is where Nachi scores. I was so impressed with his writing style, his impeccable command over the language, his ability to effortlessly be witty and his ability to make the novel nail biting and interesting.

He infuses dallops of humour in the proceedings. I especially loved the chemistry between DSP Arjun & Munnuswamy. It is awesome. Also, Nachi presents both their point of view, which is interesting. The analogies which Arjun keeps on inserting are superb. I noticed how Nachi has smartly used many such analogies at various other instances, thus displaying his prowess at that – indirectly making me believe that this particular trait of cracking analogies is present in the nature of both the author and his fictional character.

 

I had identified the killer long time back, somewhere around when I was halfway. So it wasn't a big surprise to me. Even the motive was easily obvious. Nachi does give a "Prestige-like" Nolan twist to the climax which was well done.

 

OVERALL, I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. It gives me kind of a kick when I find the author to be so well-versed with the English language and grammar. I hope Nachi writes more. I don't care what genre he chooses – he can easily continue with DSP Arjun Iyer's character and make a series out of it. He can write something else. Whatever he writes, I will read it, because I know it would be definitely good. Call me a grammar nazi, but I loved that thing the most about the entire book.

 

Do give this book a read if you are in the mood for a murder mystery with some great subtle humour.