Book Review-Happily Murdered

HAPPILY MURDERED-RASLEEN SYAL

“I have no will to weep or sing,

No least desire to pray or curse;

The loss of love is a terrible thing;

They lie who say that death is worse.”

The above lines are quoted from “The Loss of Love” by Countee Cullen. Well not a connoisseur of poems, these were the lines quoted in the book “Happily Murdered”. What I loved about the author is that she has acknowledged Agatha Christie at the start of the book. (You are going to hear a lot of love and praise for Rasleen-shes not paid me to do so but this book has made me an absolute sucker for her work) Well ma’am if Agatha Christie would be alive she would have devoured her ardent reader’s work.

“Happily Murdered” is a story about the murder of the intelligent and vivacious Gulab Sarin. There are two families involved-The Mehtas and The Dullas. Gulab Sarin’s murder involved an insider albeit one member from the Mehta’s or the Dullas. Somewhere everyone had a motive to get her killed due to the manner in which Gulab’s character is entwined with everyone. How the mystery unfolds and the real murderer is revealed is the story of Rasleen Syal’s murder mystery.

It gets a tad bit confusing in the very beginning with the plethora of characters and the elaborate descriptions, which is the only hiccup I felt in the entire book. Ofcourse later on everything falls in place and you are clear with the events and proceedings. The story also has a version where Gulab is unfolding her own story right from the beginning. Those chapters are attention grabbing and completely stimulating. To hear the story from the horse’s mouth was a masterstroke by the author. You almost linger to hear her side of the story. So in normal circumstances you get to hear one side of the story and then towards the end you get to know what is in the mind of the protagonist. But in this book you read from one angle and then immediately Gulab narrates her side of the story. I think this is the USP of the book. It keeps the reader engaged and urging for more. There are instances when you actually crib (in a good way) that the chapter is over, cause you want to know more and the chapter has concluded. All the chapters have page spinner ends which do not allow you to put the book down even for a minute.

The author has this brilliant capability of keeping you engaged and making you a part of the The Royal Hill in Ratnagiri. (Mehta’s Palace). You almost feel each and every character as your very own and the urge to be a part of the brain storming investigation. Each and every character is pertinent to the narrative. Everyone has a role to play including the servants. Towards the end you realise that none of the characters are futile and everybody and every description mentioned in the chapters are of utmost importance including the title of the book. But above all it is Gulab Sarin’s character that gets engraved in your heart forever. Her vulnerability and simplicity aches your heart. It’s only after you finish reading the book, do you actually understand the multifarious Gulab Sarin.”Love has many definitions” -the deep meaning of this statement and the understanding of this statement in Gulab’s Narrative is my most absolute favorite part in the book.

There are so many quotes that almost instantly get imprinted deep in your heart-a place where you can never forget them from. This book is a journey-a passage of understanding convoluted emotions in a very naive manner. A book in which the characters will endure long after the story has concluded.

I just absolutely love the book,love Gulab and the mother of them-Rasleen. A splendid job done. You almost make me feel guilty for not picking up a mystery tale since so long and you have made me fall in “love” with the genre all over again.

So grab a copy now!!! “Happily Murdered” by Rasleen Syal.

Stars-4/5