Penumbra

Janardan Maity #1

by Bhaskar Chattopadhyay

In the middle of one of the worst storms to hit the city, a mysterious letter arrives for Prakash Ray, an out-of-luck journalist, inviting him to a quaint, suburban bungalow, to celebrate the 60th birthday of an uncle he has never heard of . . . As Prakash reaches the venue, he is introduced to a motley group of people, all gathered there for the old man's big day: his son, his reticent brother, a dignified middle-aged lady who once owned the bungalow, a listless lawyer who manages his legal affairs, a mild-mannered young man who works as his secretary, his beautiful, young biographer, and his mysterious friend, who has never lost a game of chess to him. As the storm lashes on through the night, one of the people in the bungalow is murdered! In a game of cat and mouse that follows, Prakash soon finds out that under the surface of apparent warmth and friendliness, nothing is as it seems and that the bungalow holds one shocking secret after another! In a bid to save his own life, Prakash hunts for the truth, which lies in a mysterious penumbra of shadows and lights, covered in a sheath of deceit and guile, only to realize that the worst is yet to come!

Genres: Fiction, Mystery, Mystery Thriller, Crime, Murder Mystery, India, Contemporary

168 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 1, 2016

About the author

Bhaskar Chattopadhyay is an author, translator, columnist and screenwriter. He is best known for the Janardan Maity series and for the translation of Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay's iconic novel 'Aranyak'. His primary research interest is the life, literature, art and cinema of Satyajit Ray, and he has written several books on Ray. Bhaskar has also written several screenplays, all of which are in production. He teaches screenwriting to film students and aspiring filmmakers. Bhaskar lives and works in Toronto.

Reviews

[Archit · Rating 5 out of 5]

Giveaway win hosted by Fingerprint Publications!

The cover looks simply FAB.

Well here goes the much awaited review of this absolute ripper of a book.

All the ingredients are in place with a scrupulous description of the protagonist, the events that have unthreaded in his life and how they continue to devour on his thoughts.

Without much ado, the story breaks into the mysterious long lost acquaintance who sends him a letter with an attached invitation for a party at some remote location. Crazy as it might sound that is extremely appealing for the reader. We want the protagonist to take the risk - to give us a plot to cherish - albeit on his life's cost.

The story introduces a blend of puzzling, peculiar, uncanny and normal characters all gathered under one roof. There is a slight creepiness in the regal home with the personalities thrown together to interact.

There are Mr. Rajendra and his wife. He is a retired man of art and much respected. The personality commands respect from the get go. Then there is his disgruntled son, an enthusiastic girl who wants to be a biographer of Mr. Rajendra who is rumored to be also dating the renowned double-aged-than-her artist and is whispered to be a gold digger. There is a doctor in the mix, a woman of questionable family past and also Janardan a long trusted friend of the host.

The tragedy strikes and strikes in style. The dual murder in the house opens up the Pandora's box of chaos and while the police is still making its way to the remote location, the inmates take the onus of finding the culprit in their own hands.

Overall, the flow of the story is marvellous and makes up for an exciting read. I have had a lot of such thrillers and after one time they all seem the same. There's a murderer and the least described and criminally oriented turns out to be a killer.

The Penumbra evades that cliche attributed to some deft and over-seat's-edge engaging writing.

Someone rightly reviewed this as "Set aside 3 hours for this one, because it is unputdownable.



Truer words have never been spoken. | 5 Stars.

[Piyush Bhatia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Did you love the CID series that aired on Sony TV? If yes, then you'll probably love this book too. A normal story in the beginning turns into a series of mishaps where no one seems innocent in the first place. The story keeps the reader engaged, making this novel a page-turner.
I loved a quote from this book :
"Motive should always be discussed as a derivative of facts at hand".

[Bookish Indulgenges with b00k r3vi3ws · Rating 4 out of 5]

Prakash Ray arrives at a suburban bungalow to attend the 60th birthday party of an uncle he has not heard about before. It was a stormy night and the gathering consisted of an assorted group of people. Mr. Rajendra Mukherjee, a retired artist and author, and his wife Anita are the host of the party. Also gathered are: Rajendra’s son, his brother, his secretary, his biographer and his friend. As the party progresses, the stormy situation cuts off all connection to the outside world and two murders take place. The gathered people are then stuck with each other in the house with suspicions floating around regarding everybody.

The blurb of the book really attracted me and it kind of reminded me of an Agatha Christie story. So, I started with the book as soon as I could. The author has done a great job with the setting of the story. Everything seemed to kind of come alive through the pages. The varied characters add to the story in a way that makes it more interesting. There’s the element of ‘Whodunnit’ and it impossible not to play the guessing game while reading the book. The clues and twists are spread through the book keeping the pages turning. As a result, I finished reading this book in one sitting. The only drawback of the book is that the setting is not very new. I have read quite a few books with similar backdrops and as such it gave me a sense of deja-vu once or twice and kept comparing it to the other books.

Overall, it was quite an enjoyable read. If you love mystery/Thrillers, do give this one a try.

[E.T. · Rating 3 out of 5]

A typical English country house mystery, with an old eccentric rich man, some relatives, a secretary, a lawyer and a young love-interest and murder(s). And ofcourse the detective openly modelled on Poirot and his sidekick on Hastings. Only that Maity (the author’s Poirot) was less arrogant and more likeable.
This is a good first attempt and while the ending is not satisfying and the pacing was slightly uneven, I will be picking up atleast one more by the author. Especially since I loved “Patang” by him earlier.

[Riju Ganguly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Couple of days back, there was a heated debate in a facebook group, about inferiority of modern Bengali crime thrillers, in comparison to those penned by the one & only Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay. One major point had been mentioned by almost all, in favour of the Byomkesh mysteries: expression of an intelligent insight into the human psyche, while staying firmly grounded in social realities. It was held that the modern crime thrillers or murder mysteries lack this element.
And that's why this novel under discussion is so special.
It pits our hapless protagonist Prakash in a house full of strange people, in a dark & stormy night, where not one, but two murders take place, with he being the suspect in one murder!
With the help of Janardan Maity, Prakash tries to find a way out of this labyrinth, where almost everybody is lying, and things are not what they seem.
And in this novel, full of Bengali characters displaying all those traits that we associate with them, we get to see THAT flash of intelligence, against a gothic background of social realities, which used to be the hallmark of Sharadindu's works.
If you love a good mystery, this is a must-read.
If you are an admirer of Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay, this is again a must-read.
Do I still need to spell it out? Very well.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

[Ashwini · Rating 5 out of 5]

So I've managed to slowly pick the pieces of my blown mind off the bed, and put together this review for Penumbra.

Penumbra opens in a typical setting. A young journalist, Prakash Ray receives a letter from a long lost uncle, Rajendra Mukherjee, inviting him to his sixtieth birthday, to be held at his residence which happens to be in the middle of nowhere. We then come across a mix of highly intriguing characters, including Rajendra Mukherjee (the eccentric host and uncle), Anita Mukherjee (the charming wife), Animesh Sen (the prickly lawyer), Devendra Mukherjee (the composed brother), Narendra Mukherjee (the estranged son from a previous marriage), Nandita Chaudhuri (the close family friend), Preeti (the young writer), Mahadev (the help), and Arun Mitra (the affable secretary). There also is the central character around whom the the authors books are based, the sharp and intriguing sleuth - Janardhan Maity.

The house party witnesses two gruesome murders one after the other.

Clearly, someone in the house is responsible. And Janardan Maity is on the job.

Now what makes Bhaskar Chattopadhyay's work special is that the writing is as simple as the deductions are ingenious.

And the plot! The plot is so layered, so complex, and has so many elements to it, that you can't possibly have it all figured out. Sure, you may guess some of it, but never all of it. And that's precisely what makes the book brilliant as a whole.

Penumbra is amongst the best, most unputdownable thrillers I've read, and I highly recommend it.

Rating 5/5

[Soul longings · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very interesting novella, about twin murders in a house. The writing style is good, but the description of nature is very endearing. The scene where prakash ray walks in search for bungalow is very well written. I bit much turns and twists though pretty linear story line

[Gayathri · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read the full review at link: Musings Over Nothing

The writing is straightforward and direct as suited to the genre. The editing was crisp. The plot is relatively tight, though I had a few reservations, and the end connects well without leaving any loopholes. The protagonist Prakash is a simpleton who plays Watson to the characters who want to play Sherlock (mind you there are two), whose naivety seem to be a little too simple for my liking.

The subplot about Prakash and Suhashini is an interesting addition to the story about but makes us understand why Prakash had to take the trip. There are several cliches, and I was able to guess the culprit before the cat was out of the bag, though the reason was not clear until the end. The timeline of the story did not bode with me well, maybe it was just me.

The primary feature for a whodunit to win the hearts of the readers is getting them involved in the plot and when the mystery unravels it should be an 'I should have seen it' moment. Most of us who grew up reading Agatha Christie or Sherlock Holmes (or even watching, in case of the latter) might relate to what I am saying about being involved in the story and only for that reason 'And then there were none' or 'A Scandal in Bohemia' stays the top favorite among hundreds of detective short stories for many readers. So how did 'Penumbra' fare in this aspect? I would say it did this in part, except for the *key clue*, which was not available for the reader to help solve the puzzle.

Growing up we would all have played the classic detective board game, 'Clues'. The game consists of six suspects, six weapons, nine rooms, and a murder, the players take turns to guess the murderer, who is randomly selected among the players by a pick of cards. This book is similar to the game and has similar characters. It follows the classic whodunit style.If you were looking for an Indian version Sherlock Holmes or Agatha Christie or our very own Byomkesh you might pick this book. -

[Krutika · Rating 5 out of 5]

• r e c o m m e n d a t i o n •

Having read The Disappearance of Sally Sequeira previously, I thought I knew what to expect before diving into the world of Janardhan Maity but boy, was I surprised! In the previous book, the narrator Prakash introduced me to the mysterious and enigmatic world of Maity but I was curious about how the two ended up meeting in the first place. Penumbra tells us how and under what circumstances did they meet and later went on to become good friends. @bhaskarchattopadhyay is a simple writer but one who makes the readers lose sense of time and place. Penumbra is a classic whodunnit novel, with a murder taking place in an isolated bungalow forcing the guests to be couped up with the murderer. The tensions are palpable, people snapping at each other while Mr Maity gets down to investigate the situation. What follows next is brilliant.

Post receiving a letter from his long-lost uncle, inviting him to attend his 60th birthday party, Prakash decides to pay a visit to know more about his mother who died at childbirth. Upon entering, he becomes acquainted with a varied set of people. It is here that he meets Maity whom he first considers to be odd but later turns to rely on him heavily. Before he can truly unwind, a murder occurs scaring the living daylights out of him. But things turn overtly complicated when there's a second murder. The atmosphere outside doesn't allow the guests to venture out, making the entire scenario very sinister. As the guests try to figure out who the murderer can possibly be, Prakash does his own research and works with Maity. Maity doesn't disclose much of his investigation but welcomes Prakash under his wing from where he observes people and their motives. It's worth noticing how Maity is a mix of Holmes and Poirot but is not overly/completely like them. This is what makes him utterly special where he snugly fits within the Indian literary world. One can guess who the murderer is or even try as much to contemplate the motive but it eventually fails when Maity reveals the two aspects himself. A true murder mystery is bound to be fast-paced and extremely thought provoking. This was both.

4.7/5.

[Zubayer · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice read, easy and soft going, not so many times for adrenaline rush. But after-all, a typical detective novel as you know. No exceptions. I'm gonna take a long break from this genre by now.

[Deepali Adhikary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Intelligence of Sherlock Holmes and deliberation of Byomkesh Bakshi come together in one character of Penumbra. Many a murder mysteries start on a high note but lose rhythm as they progress. Either the story becomes too predictable or has so many twists that one loses track of original plot. But not Penumbra. Bhaskar Chattopadhyay clearly knows how to balance. After reading Patang (read the review here), I was impatiently waiting for his next book. While Patang’s protagonist was professional and experienced, the character in Penumbra derives his acumen from chess. Superb story, absolutely flawless and gripping writing style and unpredictable climax, is what takes Penumbra beyond awesome by many leaps and bounds.
The story is narrated by Prakash Ray who is a twenty something lad living a sombre life all by himself in Kolkata. He receives a letter and an invitation to attend a birthday party by an unknown person who claims to be his uncle. The visit promises an incentive for Prakash, a letter written by her mother who died while giving birth to Prakash. And he lands up in a god-forsaken place on the said weekend. Just when Prakash was thanking his stars for bringing him into the company of some good-natured people and extended family in a beautiful mansion in the countryside, his senses are shaken awake by a double murder in that very house. With no civilization for miles altogether and a crazy storm outside, it was pretty clear that the murderer was within the house and probably someone amongst the people gathered for the party. What follows is a totally insane and unpredictable series of events where everybody’s intentions and capabilities are questioned. The garb of sophistication is torn apart as lies and pretentions are exposed.
Unputdownable (I finished this in one go), gripping, thrilling and intelligent-Penumbra is all this and much more. It gives you a feel of those classics aired during the black and white era of television. It is a must read for the fans of Sherlock Holmes, Byomkesh Bakshi and Karamchand. What distinguishes these classics from Sydney Sheldon or Agatha Christie is that while reading the latter, the reader is just a bystander who just watches as the mystery unfold while the former slowly engulf you into the story and the reader, at least once, tries to think and solve the mystery. Penumbra will also urge the detective in you to come alive and unravel this mystery. But the ending will leave you completely stunned. After Patang and Penumbra, I am certainly looking forward for Bhaskar Chattopadhyay’s next book. When will that be Mr. Author?

[Pradeep K · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book. But I can only give this book 3 stars.

As a cozy mystery, it was good, but not extraordinary. And it had some irritants that gave rise to an uncomfortable reading experience. It was certainly not unputdownable.

The first sixty-six pages were quite slow, dealing with just introductions. Of course, every book must introduce its characters, and I do understand the first 1/3 of the book is where introductions usually occur, so the author hasn't done anything awful, but somehow I felt this section of the book got a bit mundane and monotonous. Sprinkling some kind of suspense or action or foreboding may have given it a lift. What kept me reading was only my knowledge that this is a murder mystery; if I didn't know that, I'd probably not have read beyond the first 50 pages.

I thought it could have been edited better. There were one too many repetitions, which I thought could have been avoided or at least camouflaged by a good editor. Also, the phrase "a few minutes" has repeatedly been used in a very vague sense, sometimes when it actually should have meant moments. To illustrate, nobody can sit absolutely still looking at you "for a few minutes", even if they were surprised or shocked by something you said. That's does not practically happen. Also, one has only 2 (a maximum of 3) minutes to smoke a regular cigarette under normal conditions. The wretched thing just doesn't last much longer. When the narrator says a man who was smoking as he spoke could hold on to one cigarette for "a few minutes" and then evidently some more time as they continued to discuss, specially when there was a raging storm blowing and water splashing all over the veranda they stood on, it sort of irritates the brain because it seems implausible. I really think the editor should have caught and resolved the "a few minutes" disease. There are many such small glitches, which perhaps don't take much away from the story and can be forgiven, but do cause irritation and an uncomfortable reading experience throughout the narration.

Another big cause for irritation was the police procedure. I'm not very sure I understand the author's premise here. When a double murder has been committed in a house, wouldn't it be natural for the police to immediately take the other inhabitants into custody and to cordon off the place so nobody can contaminate the scene of crime? That would make perfect sense to me at least. But in this story, the police inspector goes off after making preliminary observations and removing the bodies, leaving four constables at the scene, where the other inhabitants are also held in house-arrest. It is then that one or two of them play detective and try to solve the case. Somehow this whole premise didn't strike me as too credible. Why would any police inspector called to investigate a double murder risk holding back all the suspects at the scene of the crime, giving them ample opportunity to tamper with evidence either intentionally or accidentally? Maybe this would happen in a masala Bollywood flick, but I'm not sure otherwise. At least I thought it was just too incredible. And that affected the immersion factor, because I did not totally believe the story.

Even with all those irritants, I liked the overall story. That is the reason I'm giving it 3 stars.

I have also bought "Patang" and "Here Falls the Shadow" by the same author. I hope they are better written and edited. I shall review them when I've read them.

[Partha Dave · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was gifted Penumbra by a good friend of mine so was excited to get stuck in with a nice cuppa on a cold February afternoon in gloomy London. The initial pace of the book was good, the characters were well described and occasionally very endearing. The likes of Prakash, Jainadan Maity and Mr Mukherjee are portrayed well and you initially get a sense of intrigue around their fate. However the intrigue soon distills into a very dull and lifeless murder mystery. You follow Jainadan Mystery and Prakash as they try to uncover the mystery whilst the police and Inspector Sanyal seem missing or just irrelevant to the story. The story fails to gather pace and despite it being a short read, I struggled to get through the final few chapters as I braced myself for a ridiculous ending. And low and behold, Maity explains what happened with no evidence and just with guess work really based on instincts. The culprit confesses in between chapters and is not even given time to recount or explain his actions. Apparently Devendra and murderer and Anita planned to fake Anitas death and then Anita kills Mr Mukherjee. Now I’m no expert into policing in India but what did Anita think she was going to do after playing dead for hours if her plan was going to work, did she think the police would forget about her body or she would miraculously be presumed alive? Moreover, we’re told at the beginning that Mukherjee wanted Prakash to do a favour for him and it seems the author doesn’t have a good explanation for this and so merely ignores it.

[Varsha(my plants and my books) · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5
How would you feel if your life turns from prosaic to horrifying over a weekend? That is the experience for Prakash who is our narrator. He gets a letter stating that he has a long lost uncle who would like to meet him at his mansion for his 60th birthday. He contemplates on embarking a journey to a place that is in middle of nowhere and because he has never heard of such a relative. He takes a chance as to know about his mother's past whom he has never met and also make his life a bit interesting. But little did he know that a murderous plan is underway and there are serious consequences to Prakash.

First of all, this is not a short story and not a novel. This is somewhere in the middle, but I still like the way it is. Mostly because it gets annoying at Prakash being so naive. If this story would have been elaborated a bit more I would have jumped right to the end, to find who the culprit is.

The really like the way the interrogation was carried out by Mr. Jaitely and how he links every event and every word that Prakash says to the murder investigation. The structure of the plot is spot on. I had a nostalgic experience reading this. Yeah this was like 50% Sherlock Holmes and 50% Agatha Christie.

The .5 deduction is mainly for the protagonist who has to play clever was actually portrayed dumb.

I would definitely try to read more from this author.

[Sharmishtha Shenoy · Rating 5 out of 5]

In "Penumbra", the story is set in a suburban bungalow, located in the outskirts of Kolkata. This bungalow is owned by Mr. Rajendra Mukherjee. On a stormy night, a group of people assemble in this bungalow to celebrate 60th birthday party of the owner of this house. But the party soon turns into a nightmare when the second wife of Mr. Rajendra Mukherjee is found dead. A few hours later, the dead body of Rajendra is also discovered. The clues and twists are spread through the book, keeping the reader in nail-biting suspense. I finished reading this book in one sitting. This book has a superb story, a gripping writing style, and an unpredictable climax. Highly recommended for all mystery lovers.

[Deepti · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice read and quite well written.

[Ankita Goswami · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have always liked a 'And Then There Were None' and 'Clue' kind of setting in a mystery novel - few people with secrets gather in a confined space and someone or everyone gets killed one by one and you have to find out who the murderer is. Thus, it was the synopsis of 'Penumbra' that immediately made me want to buy the book, and, to a great extent, I am glad I did. 'Penumbra' isn't in any way extraordinary, but it has a Hercule Poirot, Feluda feel to it; it is a cozy mystery reminiscent of the mystery novels we enjoyed reading while growing up. The writing is smooth and the story is short and gripping enough to be devoured in a day. Overall, it is a good pick if you are in a mood for a light whodunit you can finish off in a few hours.

[Dhiraj Sharma · Rating 4 out of 5]

The proverbial ingredient are all there, strangers inside a big mansion, miles away from anywhere, the raging storm outside and a murder followed by another one. The sort of book you read during the night, safely confined to your bed with a cup of hot coffee by your side.
Penumbra slowly builds up the eerie atmosphere around the crime scene with suspicion falling on each one of the guests a la Agatha Christie style. The final revelation had me spellbound to say the least.
If you are a fan of Shelock Holmes/Hercule Poirot/Byomkesh Bakshi/Feluda you simply can't afford to give Penumbra a miss.
Desi mystery/thriller genre has finally arrived in India and how. Bhaskar da take a bow !!!

[Soumya Prasad (bluntpages) · Rating 4 out of 5]

As someone who hasn't read Byomkesh Bakshi or Feluda, this would be my first Indian detective novel. And I'm impressed!!

At just about 200 odd pages this is a quick read and well paced. The author builds enough mystery and thrill to keep the reader hooked until completion.

Of course, for a reader of Western mysteries, some of the dialogues might lack finesse and the scene setting might seem weak, but that doesn't take away the impact of the mystery. The story is totally unpredictable and Janardhan Maity is the perfect desi Poirot in his mannerisms and wit.

I'm hooked to the works of this detective and I'll be looking to read more.

Detailed review coming soon.

[Madhvi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This twin murder mystery was simply mind blowing! Couldn't help but to finish in a day.. Highly highly recommend.!!!!

[Ruhika Sawant · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best Indian thriller I have come accross yet!

[Sonia Chatterjee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Penumbra belongs to the genre of Detective thrillers which keeps the reader engaged till the end. Private Investigator Janardan Maity introduced through the narrative of Prakash Ray might remind the readers of Byomkesh Bakshi and Ajit in terms of the circumstances of their first meeting. Yet Maity's method of investigation bears more resemblance to Feluda by Satyajit Ray. As I progessed through the novel (which I finished in 3 hrs flat), I realized that Janardan Maity is definitely going to stay with me much beyond this book. Every character in this book is layered and manages to evoke an emotion in the mind of the readers. This is easily one of the best thrillers that I have read in the recent times and to continue reading more of Maity's intelligence, I have already ordered the next two books in this series. I sincerely hope that these books also get translated in Bengali eventually because the connect is very strong.

[Amrita · Rating 3 out of 5]

The typical plot of a murder mystery and a very linear narrative, but yet engaging read for those who love playing detectives in their heads..When the mystery unfolds, and if you couldn't see that coming, that says it's mystery writing 101…!

[Shilpa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Classic whodunnit feel

[Deepali Adhikary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Intelligence of Sherlock Holmes and deliberation of Byomkesh Bakshi come together in one character of Penumbra. Many a murder mysteries start on a high note but lose rhythm as they progress. Either the story becomes too predictable or has so many twists that one loses track of original plot. But not Penumbra. Bhaskar Chattopadhyay clearly knows how to balance. After reading Patang (read the review here), I was impatiently waiting for his next book. While Patang’s protagonist was professional and experienced, the character in Penumbra derives his acumen from chess. Superb story, absolutely flawless and gripping writing style and unpredictable climax, is what takes Penumbra beyond awesome by many leaps and bounds.
The story is narrated by Prakash Ray who is a twenty something lad living a sombre life all by himself in Kolkata. He receives a letter and an invitation to attend a birthday party by an unknown person who claims to be his uncle. The visit promises an incentive for Prakash, a letter written by her mother who died while giving birth to Prakash. And he lands up in a god-forsaken place on the said weekend. Just when Prakash was thanking his stars for bringing him into the company of some good-natured people and extended family in a beautiful mansion in the countryside, his senses are shaken awake by a double murder in that very house. With no civilization for miles altogether and a crazy storm outside, it was pretty clear that the murderer was within the house and probably someone amongst the people gathered for the party. What follows is a totally insane and unpredictable series of events where everybody’s intentions and capabilities are questioned. The garb of sophistication is torn apart as lies and pretentions are exposed.
Unputdownable (I finished this in one go), gripping, thrilling and intelligent-Penumbra is all this and much more. It gives you a feel of those classics aired during the black and white era of television. It is a must read for the fans of Sherlock Holmes, Byomkesh Bakshi and Karamchand. What distinguishes these classics from Sydney Sheldon or Agatha Christie is that while reading the latter, the reader is just a bystander who just watches as the mystery unfold while the former slowly engulf you into the story and the reader, at least once, tries to think and solve the mystery. Penumbra will also urge the detective in you to come alive and unravel this mystery. But the ending will leave you completely stunned. After Patang and Penumbra, I am certainly looking forward for Bhaskar Chattopadhyay’s next book. When will that be Mr. Author?

[Bastab Saha · Rating 1 out of 5]

Praksh is invited to a party at his bungalow by his uncle who he has never seen. The situation took a nasty turn at the party and there were dead bodies. Can Janardan Maity use his mind to deduce the murder?

This was my second novel by Bhaskar Chattopadhyay. Both of them are centred around Janardan Maity. The set up was commendable, but it was not like something we have not seen before. I could compare it to a Murder in the Orient Express by Agatha Christie. The book takes inspiration from it and does a nice job of setting up mystery. Everyone is a suspect and everyone is lying while Maity is trying to solve the crime. It was all okay till that point of time. But it came crashing down at the end where Maity reveals the murderer.

(Spoilers ahead) The case revolves around the timing of the death of one of the victims. The police took the body and came back next day to announce that murder to be around 10:30pm whereas Maity deduces it to be after 2am in the morning without any post-mortem report. He made some lofty claims and the murderer surrendered after hearing all that. There was a case of mix up of the voices. The admirer of the young woman misheard the voice, but Maity deduces the correct one without hearing it or without talking to the young woman. The involvement of the police was next to nothing and they were shown as useless.

The writing was intriguing in the beginning till it was too hard to ignore the obvious. The book falls on it's face in the final act where a crime thriller generally shines. Hopefully other works of this author find a better footing.

[Sudhansu Nayak · Rating 3 out of 5]

PLOT: 3.5/5
1. Did the plot-classic death-in-an-enclosed-space-with-no-choice-of-exit-till-plot-ends- a la Poirot in 'Murder on the Orient Express'- hold me till the end- Yes
2. Were the twists and turns planned well and unpredictable- Yes (though at some places it was becoming a little predictable)
3. Were there pages or sections I skipped because I felt they were forced there? yes. I risked them but did I return to those skipped pages because they had bearing on plot or character development? No
4. Did it end well? Yes

Writing: 3/5
1. Was the writing crisp to maintain pace? Yes
2. Level of language and weaving: This is where the book lost loads of beauty. For moving the plot quickly, the word-weave was simplistic. I expected better. Though not of the same genre, I had loved the first-person word-play of Diane Setterfield in 'The Thirteenth Tale'
3. Character Development: This needs a serious push. The characters felt like standis swaying back and forth and precariously just standing on. I am sure this will improve.

Will I recommend:
I have mixed feelings about this. It is a breezy simple travel read. Well, give it a shot. It doesn't thrill but it is not a disappointment either. I enjoyed reading it. Have fun. Stay blessed

[Dipankar Bhadra · Rating 5 out of 5]

During a fierce storm, journalist Prakash Ray receives a mysterious invitation to a birthday party at a secluded bungalow for an uncle he never knew existed. As he arrives, Prakash finds himself in the midst of a diverse group of people, each hiding their own secrets.

A murder occurs, casting suspicion on Prakash and setting off a dangerous game of deception. With the help of the enigmatic Janardan Maity, Prakash must navigate through lies and shadows to uncover the truth in this gripping detective story that captures the essence of classic mysteries. "Penumbra" is a captivating read for fans of suspenseful thrillers and those who appreciate rich storytelling with a cultural twist.

[Shivani · Rating 4 out of 5]

Following "Menagerie" by Byomkesh Bakshi, this was my second mystery penned by an Indian author. This book presented a compelling story and also offered a fair portrayal of Bengali culture. The backdrop seamlessly woven into the narrative provided a rich tapestry of settings, allowing my imagination to paint vivid and exciting scenes as the story unfolded. I quite liked it.

[Swarnabh Sinha · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice weekend read, reminds you of Feluda. At one point, I could hear Mr Maity speak in Sabyasachi's (bengali actor) voice.

Promising author, his way of describing things/scene in just the right amount, not dragging it, impressed me. Looking forward to his upcoming novels.