Murder in Amaravati
Murder in Amaravati
104 copies bought in the last 30 days
In a small village set on the bank of the river Krishna, a staunch Brahmin priest investigates the murder of a prostitute. Things come to a head when, suddenly, all clues point to him being the killer.
This title is part of the Crime Fiction Bundle, a hand-picked 4-book collection that you can grab for just ₹599 (Save 50%). [See the Bundle]
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Product Information
In a small South Indian village, a Brahmin priest investigates the murder of a prostitute.
Padmavati, the village hostess, is found dead in the inner sanctum of the Kali temple. Men were ashamed of her; women hated her.
But who had the motive, the means and opportunity to kill her?
Padmavati charged by the hour - her laughs, her understanding, her empathy, her advice - everything was available only in return for payment, which made her, in the Sarpanch's eyes, a little more than a trader.
Shekhar, Seetaramaiah, Satyam - how many men did she have in her grasp?
The case puts head constable Venkat Reddy in a quandary. He finds an unlikely ally in Krishna Shastri, the village priest.
They must together tease out the solution to this little puzzle, and they must realize that they cannot trust anyone – not even each other.
A must-read for all mystery lovers.
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I've been a big fan of Sharath Komarraju's work, starting with his Hastinapur novels, but I never got around to reading this. It's his first but easily his best I would say. I felt like I was drawn into a nostalgic world of the past. And the ending is top-notch. Even with all my experience reading crime novels, I couldn't see this coming. Give it a try!
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?