The Reluctant Detective | Kiran Manral | Book Review

PLOT: 3/5
CHARACTERS: 3.5/5
WRITING STYLE: 4/5
CLIMAX: 3/5
ENTERTAINMENT QUOTIENT: 3/5

When I first picked The Reluctant Detective, I was intrigued by its name and of course the cover which would draw any chick-lit lover to its fold.

Pick a high heel shoe, put a bit of pink and you have the perfect cover for a chick-lit; bound to draw girls in swarms to the book stand.

Now, if you are a girl you would perfectly understand where I am coming from on this one. The cover, the title, and the blurb were just too exciting to ignore its lure.

So here I am, penning down this review after having gulped this book in slightly over 5 hours.

The story is of a housewife “Kay” aka Kanan, who in between her monotonous routine of managing the kid and looking after the spouse, finds enough time and energy to indulge in extravagant shopping sprees, refreshing kitties, and adventure-filled gossip sessions with her lady bees.

Living in a Mumbai suburban neighborhood her customary routine is muddled when there are not one but two murders that happen in the close vicinity of her posh locality.

She, of a curious nature, and a friend who earns her living by spying on the lives of people, come together and decide to investigate the murder.

The two does not succeed much, what with Kay realizing on her very first field day itself that she is not cut out for this sort of work and thus concluding that dozing off in the air-conditioned premises of one’s home is always preferable to sweating oneself out in the blistering heat of Mumbai.

The story ends with the police solving the mystery behind the murders with just a little bit of help from Kay and thus ends another regular day in the life of Kay.

In the end, it is not the story that makes the book stand out but the fun-filled and extremely witty narration which often leaves the reader embarrassed when caught laughing unawares at the hilarious incidents while reading in the company of fellow human beings.

The plot is simple and to some extent disappointing too, but that is more than made up by the humor quotient and liveliness of the character of Kay.

Needless to state, I simply loved The Reluctant Detective and will recommend it to all humor and chick-lit lovers.