The Bangalore Detectives Club by Harini Nagendra

I picked up this book for two reasons - I'm currently enjoying writers who are either from India or writing based on India and in particular vintage India ; the second reason being it has the name of my home city and small city of Mysore. Those are the only bonus points I could give this book.

Till Chapter 13, this "detectives club" was being run by Kaveri, the protagonist. She is a new bride to Ramu, a Bangalore-based doctor. She is a Mysorian, recently moved to a more fashionable, more advanced city of Bangalore. The setting of the story is endearing - homes with large courtyards, trees bearing fruits, the fragrant jasmine, the beautiful kanjivaram sarees, the hot coffee in brass tumblers... old Bangalore was a beautiful place.

The story so far had only rattled off some kannada and the names of famous clubs and roads of those times, some of which still exist. Kaveri is a math genius but is currently not pursuing her education and hoping she would be able to study in hiding and give her exam. Girls of the 1920's didn't have opportunities to study or even if they did, they didn't pursue a college education. Jobs were unheard of. She is learning the ropes of being a good wife & daughter in law.

Kaveri encounters some odd goings on in her milkman's home and wants to genuinely help the family. She, along with other doctors and their spouses, witness a murder at a club, a club that is often frequented by the educated class along with their families. Kaveri is curious and does not know what to do in her idle time and plunges herself into investing the murder. There is a word in Kannada which means over curious - adhikka prasangi :D She was exactly that! I have to forgive her for being one, because she was meant to do just that!

Well, many chapters later, I was really wondering why I was so patiently flicking Kindle page after Kindle page and reading intently. I was trying to find a more meaningful story. While the story is okay for a one-time read, is too wordy. It excruciatingly describes places and scenes and trees with so much detail that it's annoying. Many times, I rolled my eyes to push my reading faster...but told myself not to be so overly cruel.

I would have probably expected few more girls, like Kaveri, to have come together and built this Detectives Club. I would have liked Kaveri to do something with her Math education which gave some hope to the girls of that era, probably given tuitions or secretly taught at the government school or something. I would have liked her to have gone back to her maternal home and sat for the exam that she was supposedly preparing for. The story made Ramu a boring guy! Come on, some fizz to that doctor who encouraged his wife with her detective skills. Bangalore boys arent so boring :D

I would have liked many more things...then this would have become my story! Since it's not, I would have to stop listing what I would have liked! For now, take heart that the author has sweetly mentioned some kannadiga recipes at the end of the book :) Do give this book a glance because one has to be kind at all times and if you are from my home city, you should skim through this over some coffee and bajji! :D