Verdict: Maybe a mystery, but mostly not. A quick, light read for those who enjoy a hint of murder, but not so much the solving.
Rating: 1.5/5

Available at: Any leading bookstore
Publisher: Westland ltd
Price: 195 INR

Kanan Mehra, a suburban pampered housewife whose excitement in life came from an over-flowing wardrobe, her five year old son also known as Brat and her loving husband who growls if he’s woken up in the middle of the night when she sees a ghost. Yes, that’s Kay; fashion fanatic, morning jogger, self proclaimed Queen of Gossip and now recently turned detective.

After a shocking neighbor-hood murder, Kay’s life of luncheons and beauty treatments takes a turn, probably for the better, to reality. One where dead bodies turn up and policemen arrive on the doorstep for serious questioning.

While the idea of a suburban housewife in slick pants, scarf around the head, stilettos and the big sunglasses, solving not one, but two murders may seem somewhat appealing, this is however far from the Kanan Mehra or the plot. While Kiran Manral has attempted to merge two completely opposite world’s together, the story does not do justice to the idea that one would have started reading the book with.

The mystery almost seems to have never been one to begin with; Kay’s role in the murder solving seems almost desperate. This is not your everyday, magnifying glass, heavy questioning, nail biting kind of mystery; it’s maybe ten pages mystery, 170 pages of a bored housewife’s daily dreads.

While there are some parts that could bring a smile on your face, the rest almost makes you want to skip ahead to the end where you’d realize the murder mystery is not the central theme of the book; it has more to do with being blinded by reality unless quite literally there’s a dead man lying in front.

Kiran Manral makes you realize how simple we all believe life is only when the most unexpected comes out. Maybe with a little less stereotypical image of the nosy housewife and a major cutback on the attempt to humor, this read is quick, light, and mildly entertaining.