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Harith Athreya #4
The Last Resort
In the fourth Harith Athreya mystery, a murderer strikes at a luxury resort - can Detective Athreya prevent them from capsizing his holiday?
BOLLYWOOD
Detective Harith Athreya is recuperating from an illness in the beautiful backwaters of Kerala when he stumbles into a new form of intrigue: a family of vacationing Bollywood royalty who want his help making a murder mystery film.
BANKRUPTCY
But not all is as it seems with the family - there are rumours of major money troubles, links to organised crime and growing rivalries between the scions.
BUTCHERY
One of them is found dead, murdered in the exact manner of the film that Athreya has been helping to put together. Is this the work of an angry costar or something more sinister? Tensions rise as the family starts to point the finger at one another. Fearful that he has unwittingly provided a blueprint for the murder, Athreya has no choice but to put his holiday on hold to solve the case.
BOLLYWOOD
Detective Harith Athreya is recuperating from an illness in the beautiful backwaters of Kerala when he stumbles into a new form of intrigue: a family of vacationing Bollywood royalty who want his help making a murder mystery film.
BANKRUPTCY
But not all is as it seems with the family - there are rumours of major money troubles, links to organised crime and growing rivalries between the scions.
BUTCHERY
One of them is found dead, murdered in the exact manner of the film that Athreya has been helping to put together. Is this the work of an angry costar or something more sinister? Tensions rise as the family starts to point the finger at one another. Fearful that he has unwittingly provided a blueprint for the murder, Athreya has no choice but to put his holiday on hold to solve the case.
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Published February 20, 2024
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About the author
R.V. Raman
11 books122 followersMY BACKSTORY
After a corporate career spanning four decades and as many continents, I’ve moved away from full time roles to pursue other interests. I now serve as an independent director on company boards and write. In my earlier avatar, I had advised companies, banks, regulators, governments, etc. on various matters.
Tired of extensive physical travel, I now prefer less punishing mental excursions into fictional worlds of my own creation.
ABOUT MY CORPORATE THRILLERS
Surely, there must be men like Professor Moriarty in corporate India. They may not be such intellectual colossuses or consummate masters, but they would share some key traits with him – wile, ingenuity, drive and utter ruthlessness. And they would understand the psychology of temptation.
What kind of schemes would such men device? That is the question I seek to answer through these novels.
Apart from bringing in truckloads of money, these schemes would have to satisfy the fabled professor’s taste for elegant, water-tight designs; designs that ride on the motivations and vulnerabilities of intelligent but weak-minded men. My antagonists may not have Moriarty’s guile or panache, and my detectives may be intellectual pygmies before Holmes. Nevertheless, I have taken a shot (four shots, actually) at crafting credible stories of intelligent crimes in corporate India. Each of my four novels is set in a different industry.
ABOUT MY WHODUNITS
After four corporate thrillers, I turned to writing a series of murder mysteries (whodunits) with a new protagonist (Harith Athreya). I’ve tried to model these on the Golden Age Mysteries, while keeping them current with modern technology like mobile phones. And, as is the case with all my writing, I eschew vulgarity and profanity so that my stories are appropriate for readers of all ages. The only exception is the rare cuss-word that is used as an intensifier for emphasis.
SCIENCE FICTION
And most lately, I am trying my hand at science fiction. 2080: The Lattice is my first foray into this genre and is set in a world where mankind is addicted to AI. Unfortunately, the AI has become deeply biased, even prejudiced. Additionally, the internet has evolved to an extent where it carries all five senses perfectly, making virtual presence undistinguishable from physical reality.
Meanwhile, I continue experimenting with short stories set in contemporary India. Some of them are available on Amazon.
The list of my full-length novels so far:
Fraudster
Insider
Saboteur
Conspirator
A Will to Kill
A Dire Isle / Grave Intentions
Praying Mantis
The Last Resort
2080: The Lattice
Website.
RV Raman on Facebook
After a corporate career spanning four decades and as many continents, I’ve moved away from full time roles to pursue other interests. I now serve as an independent director on company boards and write. In my earlier avatar, I had advised companies, banks, regulators, governments, etc. on various matters.
Tired of extensive physical travel, I now prefer less punishing mental excursions into fictional worlds of my own creation.
ABOUT MY CORPORATE THRILLERS
Surely, there must be men like Professor Moriarty in corporate India. They may not be such intellectual colossuses or consummate masters, but they would share some key traits with him – wile, ingenuity, drive and utter ruthlessness. And they would understand the psychology of temptation.
What kind of schemes would such men device? That is the question I seek to answer through these novels.
Apart from bringing in truckloads of money, these schemes would have to satisfy the fabled professor’s taste for elegant, water-tight designs; designs that ride on the motivations and vulnerabilities of intelligent but weak-minded men. My antagonists may not have Moriarty’s guile or panache, and my detectives may be intellectual pygmies before Holmes. Nevertheless, I have taken a shot (four shots, actually) at crafting credible stories of intelligent crimes in corporate India. Each of my four novels is set in a different industry.
ABOUT MY WHODUNITS
After four corporate thrillers, I turned to writing a series of murder mysteries (whodunits) with a new protagonist (Harith Athreya). I’ve tried to model these on the Golden Age Mysteries, while keeping them current with modern technology like mobile phones. And, as is the case with all my writing, I eschew vulgarity and profanity so that my stories are appropriate for readers of all ages. The only exception is the rare cuss-word that is used as an intensifier for emphasis.
SCIENCE FICTION
And most lately, I am trying my hand at science fiction. 2080: The Lattice is my first foray into this genre and is set in a world where mankind is addicted to AI. Unfortunately, the AI has become deeply biased, even prejudiced. Additionally, the internet has evolved to an extent where it carries all five senses perfectly, making virtual presence undistinguishable from physical reality.
Meanwhile, I continue experimenting with short stories set in contemporary India. Some of them are available on Amazon.
The list of my full-length novels so far:
Fraudster
Insider
Saboteur
Conspirator
A Will to Kill
A Dire Isle / Grave Intentions
Praying Mantis
The Last Resort
2080: The Lattice
Website.
RV Raman on Facebook
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Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
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November 23, 2023The Last Resort continues the journey of taking the reader to different picturesque places in the vast Indian countryside. This time, you go to scenic Kumarakom among the houseboats and backwaters of Kerala. This fourth Athreya mystery is based on a real-life location that has been fictionalised. As usual, creative liberties have been taken. Happy reading!
May 4, 2025
Fun little mystery! It was predictable but the plot was planned very intricately. Loved the drama and the build up.
May 29, 2024
The Last Resort is another entry in R.V. Raman’s reliable series of closed-circle mysteries set in contemporary India. Private investigator Harith Athreya is recovering from dengue fever at a friend’s home in the lake country of the state of Kerala. There is a private resort nearby where a family of Bollywood moguls, the Gaurias, are staying. Before long, someone is killed, and the Gauria patriarch retains Athreya to find the murderer.
There is something very comforting about this series, even though—apart from the first volume—it has not been particularly remarkable. I enjoy Raman’s descriptions of India’s varied regions and climates, and for me there is nothing more relaxing than an old-fashioned mystery novel.
There is something very comforting about this series, even though—apart from the first volume—it has not been particularly remarkable. I enjoy Raman’s descriptions of India’s varied regions and climates, and for me there is nothing more relaxing than an old-fashioned mystery novel.
December 10, 2025
Not the biggest fan of the writing. It was very straightforward: someone has been killed, who did it? We follow the detective around as he looks for clues and interrogates people. The lack of complexity in the story made it less intriguing for me. There were not any tense moments or exciting plot twists.
February 23, 2024
A good plot as usual but the writing is still not to my taste. It's still as unnecessarily wordy as the other mysteries. I feel that Mr. Raman provides unnecessary explanations rather than letting us infer from context.
That said, I would read ten more of the Harith Athreya mysteries.
That said, I would read ten more of the Harith Athreya mysteries.
December 12, 2023
A delightful read. Enjoyed it thoroughly!
December 15, 2023
A nice little mystery in the backwaters of Kerala. Neat and compact. It captures Kumarakom very well (I had been there some years ago). As usual, Athreya is entertaining and sharp.
January 11, 2024
Not as good as Praying Mantis because you never quite get into the secondary characters but the investigators wife was a welcome addition!
January 7, 2025
A bit underwhelming compared to other stories in the series. Not bad, by any means, just that 'The grave intentions' was far superior.
December 25, 2023
A charming mystery set in the backwaters of Kerala. As usual, Athreya does a brilliant job. Enjoyed it very much.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews