Crime Fiction Bundle
Crime Fiction Bundle
Read four mysteries for the price of two: Murder in Amaravati, shortlisted for the Commonwealth Book Prize; Banquet on the Dead, a chilling family mystery involving a dead matriarch; The Crows of Agra, in which Birbal saves Akbar's life, and The Tree Bears Witness, where a mango tree is called upon to save an innocent man's life.
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The bundle contains four novels:
- Murder in Amaravati
Welcome to the riverside village of Amaravati, where the Krishna's murmur is always heard. The well-known hostess, Padmavati, is found dead at the feet of Mother Kali in the temple one morning, and it falls to Krishna Shastri, the village priest, to find the killer.
Longlisted for the Commonwealth Book Prize.
(Check out the Murder in Amaravati Product Page for more info.)
- Banquet on the Dead
Kauveramma, the head of the family, does not like water. Nor does she know how to swim. So when her body is found in the well, it comes as a jolt to everyone in the house. Inspector Valmiki Nagarajan is on the case, but he might need the help of an old friend to crack this one.
(Check out the Banquet on the Dead Product Page for more info.)
- The Crows of Agra
The year is 1650 A.D. Barely into his sixteenth year, Akbar is all set to ascend the Mughal throne. But there are forces at work in his family that want to keep him at bay. It is only after he meets the imitable Mahesh Das from Tikawanpur that Akbar learns how to safeguard his inheritance.
(Check out the Crows of Agra Product Page for more info.)
- The Tree Bears Witness
When Azgher Abbasi sees a murder take place between the two mango trees in the emperor's garden, he is convinced that a spectral force is behind it all. Birbal himself is stumped by the facts of the case - how might a man be killed by an invisible marauder? Or is the actual explanation simpler than it looks?
(Check out the Tree Bears Witness Product Page for more info.)
Four gripping stories for the price of two in this delightful bundle.
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Four murder mysteries in a bundle is a wonderful gift for someone like me, who is an avid crime fiction reader. I liked three of these puzzles more than the fourth. Banquet on the Dead did not appeal to me... I could guess the solution from a few pages away, and once that happened, I could spot all the red herrings too. Your mileage may vary. The other three books are great. Especially Tree Bears Witness - ingenious plotting!
Excellent reads! I'm a long-time crime fiction reader, and I am impressed by the variety on offer in these four books. Even the two Birbal books are dissimilar enough from each other to keep the reader's interest. One of the big challenges of writing in the crime fiction genre is that after a while, your stories begin to sound like one another. Sharath Komarraju avoids that pitfall here. Murder in Amaravati is a slow-burn, Banquet on the Dead is urban and fast-paced, Crows of Agra is a historical, and Tree Bears Witness is an impossible murder. Something for everyone.
If you enjoy the old-style murder mysteries with a sleuth, a cast of characters and a bunch of red herrings leading to an implausible solution, you will enjoy these. I found these books to be a mixed bag. I didn't dislike them enough to ask for a refund, but didn't love them enough to think they're the best ever. They okay books. Not very good, not very bad.
I enjoyed all four of these books to varying degrees. I liked the old-world sentimentality of Murder in Amaravati. Banquet on the Dead is a straight-up mystery set in contemporary India. Probably the weakest of the lot, but still very good. Crows of Agra had more atmosphere and immersion than I expected: it read like a work of historical fiction, despite the author's insistence that it is not. The Tree Bears Witness is easily the most tightly plotted, well-executed novel of the four. I'm an avid reader of crime fiction, so I'm not easily impressed. But these proved to be far better than I expected. Why is this author not famous?
Great puzzles! Reminded me of my childhood reading Sherlock Holmes and Agatha Christie books. Only here it's Krishna Shastri and Birbal…