PLOT: 4/5
CHARACTERS: 4/5
WRITING: 5/5
ENTERTAINMENT: 5/5
OVERALL: 4.5/5

From the author of the riveting crime fiction “The Death of Kirti Kadakia” comes yet another instalment in the series, “A Matrimonial Murder.”

For some context, I read The Death of Kirti Kadakia back in 2022 and was utterly impressed by this author, whose name I hadn’t heard before. I would recommend that book to all seasoned crime fiction lovers. So, when the author published another murder mystery, it was a no-brainer for me to grab a copy. However, you can read this book first as well.

The story as it goes:

The story is set in Temple Hill, a fictional community in Mumbai, inhabited by wealthy Gujaratis. Radhika Zaveri, a divorced writer has returned home from the US, and should now work with Sarla Ben for her next book.

Sarla runs a successful matrimony bureau, but who would have ever thought there can be a murder involved in that line of work, right?

Sarla Ben’s trusted employee, Hansa, is found dead in the office. As her job was to do background checks of the potential brides and grooms that reach out to the bureau, she did know some secrets that many a families would be eager to protect. So, is her line of work the reason for her death, or is it something entirely different?

What follows is an unputdownable murder investigation.

My thoughts:

The characters of this book include several employees of Soul Harmony Matrimony bureau – Sarla and Kiran, who run it, Zarna, Juhi, Hansa, Neetu, Jeevan, Alpa, and in the end, Renuka, who runs a competing matrimony bureau. All of them are equally under suspicion for the murder.

What made me a fan of Meeti Shroff Shah is her simplistic language and narration. One doesn’t need to use complex vocabulary, jargon, and long sentences to write a thriller. It can be done with simple set of conversations too, and Meeti’s writing stands by that. Both her crime fiction books are recommended for beginners.

A Matrimonial Murder is quite huge, undeniably. The author uses vivid descriptions of places, which I believe could be to give us some context on how these characters’ lifestyles are. I did take time to finish it, but I can assure you, I read it in one go.

As for the storyline, it is more entertaining than it is mysterious. In her investigative process, Radhi meets some weird, quirky, and secretive characters. Her conversations with them aren’t very thoughtful initially, but as the clues begin to appear, the reader needs to think through them. It might be a bit boring initially, but once you get the hang of it and try getting to the killer, it gets tense and pacy.

Like any reputed crime fiction, the hints are present all along but finely concealed. There is another problem going on alongside the murder, and the solution to that, revealed at the end, completely surprised me.

The setting and social commentary

A Matrimonial Murder is set in Temple Hill, which is surely inspired by South Bombay or South Delhi. The author doesn’t miss a chance to show the vanity and pride with which this tiny fraction of India lives. Though this book isn’t a social commentary as such, the author does include commentary of the people and their classism and lavishness wherever possible. In that sense, her first book had more discourse on this topic.

What could have been better?

What I think could have been better is Radhika, the lead character. She has been pretty much the same from her first book. There is no change in her life on the professional or personal front. I expect her to have a better character arc, at least in the next book.

I would recommend this book to anyone who has time for a slow, long, murder mystery set in India.

Can’t wait to read it? You can buy your copy of A Matrimonial Murder using the link below.

40%
₹499.00