Review: A decent Read
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 02 3, 2013
I picked up this book thinking it was a typical murder mystery, but the murder portion is more secondary to the plot.The story takes place in India (there is a glossary in the back which helps explain some aspects of the culture which I found useful). The main character, Rani, is summoned by her aunt, Savitri, to help with wedding preparations for her cousin. She is mostly treated as a servant even though she is part of the family.Her aunt, uncle, and cousins are stuck up jerks. Rani's uncle, Vir Sigh is creepy, and that is putting it mildly. The guy is a prick.While at her aunt's house, Rani, who is a journalist from a small paper, decides to do some investigating into her shady family history. About 3/4 of the way through the book, Vir Sigh is murdered and everyone is a suspect. There isn't a lot of investigation that goes on to find the murderer.  Mostly, it is just the family talking about how they hated him. Eventually the killer is found and the case is closed.With Vir Sigh dead, Rani and her mother, who was cheated out of her inheritance, are able to claim what is theirs and move back onto the family estate.The story isn't bad and is written in a way where it is easy to read. However, it really isn't a mystery in the traditional sense. Mostly, I found the book to be more of a commentary on Indian life and its caste system despite the reforms that were supposed to have been made thee. The story focuses mostly upon the internal family struggle between Rani and her family and their distance relations.I thought it was an okay book. I was expecting something different.  That being said, if you like stories about internal family struggles then this is for you.