पीला गुलाब

Sunil #92

by Surender Mohan Pathak

गुलाब सी हसीन, मासूम और ताजगीभरी युवती की सनसनीखेज दास्तान जो शादी करने के लिये घर से निकली लेकिन विवाह स्थल तक न पहुंच पायी । किसी ने पहले ही गुलाब को ऐसा नोचा कि पंखुड़ी-पंखुड़ी छितरा गयी !

Mass Market Paperback

First published September 1, 1985

About the author

Surender Mohan Pathak, is an author of Hindi-language crime fiction with 314 books to his credit. His major characters are Crime reporter Sunil (unprecedented 123 Titles), Vimal (46 Titles) and Philosopher Detective Sudhir (23 titles). Apart from series, he has written 60+ Novels in thriller category.

Reviews

[Ashok Sridharan]

written in 1985, Peela Gulaab was book no.92 of Surendra Mohan Pathak's Sunil series, featuring the quixotic chief reporter of Blast, one of the most popular newspapers in the fictional metropolitan city of Rajnagar.

Medha, a well known actress and once secretary to Sunil's best friend Ramakant surprises everyone when she suddenly announces her marriage with Ashok Suri. By common consensus, Suri is simply not good enough for Medha, who is a reasonably well established actress although she never touched the heights she once promised. The wedding is to take place in a temple on Monday night. Due to some urgent outstation work, Sunil's arrival gets delayed.

He reaches around midnight only to find that there is no one at the temple. On inquiring, he discovers that the wedding did not take place as the bride never turned up. Concerned for Medha's well being, Sunil contacts all the people close to Medha, only to find that she never turned up and none of them know where she disappeared.

Afraid that some dreadful fate might have befallen her, Sunil sets out to search for the young lady. Why has Medha disappeared? Did she do so off her own will, or has something untoward happened? Is it just chance or has there been any foul play? Sunil has to unravel all these questions before it gets too late.

In true Pathak style, the story is littered with red herrings and an ensemble of suspicious characters, all of whom could have had a motive to get rid of Medha. What sets this apart from most Pathak novels is that until roughly the halfway stage, the reader does not even know whether the missing person is dead or alive. In his inimitable style S.M. Pathak packs the novel with twists and turns. Be prepared for a roller coaster ride, as surprises pop up nineteen to the dozen.

Peela Gulaab is a typical Sunil series novel with the usual suspects: Sunil's greedy, dipsomaniac but loyal friend Ramakant Malhotra, the owner of Youth Club whose staff are always at Sunil's disposal for any detective work. There's the strong and brave Johri, Ramakant's employee, who's always available when there's a dangerous assignment on hand. On the other side is the stern, principled and incorruptible Inspector Prabhudayal with whom Sunil is perpetually at loggerheads. Above all is the brilliant, kind hearted and generous Sunil Kumar Chakravarty, who is ever willing to risk his head for a cause.

Although the end was just a tad underwhelming, I must confess that I didn't see it coming. Peela Gulaab is not Pathak's best work, but it still is a damn good whodunit that keeps you guessing 'till the very end.

[Sameer Mehra]

1/5 stars

ये एक साधारण सी मर्डर मिस्टरी हैं जिसमें मेघा अभिनेत्री का खून हो जाता हैं. सुनील ने भी अपने वहीं पुराने अंदाज़ में फ़्लर्ट और स्मार्ट टॉक करी हैं, ये कहानी कहीं से भी रोचक नहीं लगती. इस बार सुरेंदर जी अपना जलवा कायम नहीं रख पाए और बिना किसी ख़ास मकसद के कहानी लिख दी, बहुत ही बेकार उपन्यास 👎👎

[Satyajeet]

What a great book. The mystery is palpable and the pace, breathtaking.

[Vilas Mahindrakar]

Nice suspense. ,,!!!

I am fan of s p pathak, so, I am most
positive with him, but any how good wrighting style towards suspense theme.