Daggers Drawn!

by Debeshi Gooptu

The body of Randheer `Randy’ Randhawa, president of Caladia Apartments Residents Welfare Association is discovered one morning, dead-as-a-doornail, with a dagger in his back. Dolly Luthra aka Dragon Aunty, who quarrelled with the man because he had banned women from wearing co-ord sets in the condo, finds herself in a sticky situation. To make matters worse, the dagger she had bought during a recent holiday to Nepal has vanished and the police suspect that it is the murder weapon. As Dolly and Mrinalini race against time to find the missing dagger and extricate themselves from the mess, they discover that the dead man had many enemies in the condo. Randhawa wasn’t just the fashion police, he was a hateful bully. Could the real killer be hiding in plain sight?

81 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 26, 2025

About the author

Author of six novels and innumerable short stories. Writes an urban blog on life in Gurgaon.

Reviews

[Tarang Sinha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just finished ‘Daggers Drawn’ by Debeshi Gooptu. It's the 4th book in the Dragon Aunty series and I have now read three of them (and almost every book/story by the author).

I always find Debeshi’s writing very engaging, her style grips me from the very beginning. And this book was no exception. It’s a short, quick and engaging book. I really enjoy the delightful detective duo —Mini and Dolly.

If I had to nitpick, then I would say it was a bit too fast paced. Everything was wrapped up over the course of a single day.

Nevertheless, I am looking forward to the next book in the series, or any book by the author, for that matter.

[Natasha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Debeshi Gooptu is one of the most consistent writers there is- every book she's published is an astute yet kind commentary on life as she sees it. I particularly love her Dragon Aunty series where the almost stereotypical Bengali transplant to Gurgaon pairs up with the even more stereotypical Punjabi mirchi to solve an often violent crime. The people and situations are familiar (except you do not encounter so many dead bodies in real life), and you almost see the locations come to life. The mysteries too are well plotted giving you enough opportunity to solve the crime if you pay attention. Loved this one too.