The Mahabharata Murders

Wow...is the one word that comes to my mind as I reached the end of this book. The author takes up contemporary society, puts a serial killer inspired by Mahabharata committing horrific murders, complex back-stories for each character, drawing parallels to events from one of the greatest mythological epics, the Mahabharata, with new interpretations/motivations for the characters of the epic (who else thought that Yudhishthira was a manipulator!), all told from the perspective of a woman police officer with a past of domestic and sexual abuse! Kudos to the author for being able to put all of this together in a story that holds your attention through every page. A must read! I was really impressed by ‘The Mine’, also written by this author; but he has outdone himself with his book.

I have been an avid reader of Arnab da from the days of MIYAP. My favorite so far were a close tie between Mine and SOD1 but the Mahabharata Murders now has displaced both of them. It is a gripping, engrossing read. Each of the character is well flushed out yet no extra prose is wasted in side stories. Arnab-da excels in storytelling but this one takes it to the pinnacle in terms of a perfect story arc. He leaves enough clues for us but I was forced to slap my head in missing most of them as the story progressed.. Arnab-da, take a bow... You have set the highest standards possible for fiction and this one now ranks among my top favorites ever..

This book along with other by Arnab put him alongside of some of the best writers in India, he's been fascinating to read. The plot, storyline and character development all have a natural flow. His style of writing makes the book un-putdownable :)

Possibly the best Indian mystery/thriller book I have read, completely stays away from stereotypes and cliches we have grown up reading and watching. An assembly of great characters that are nicely interwoven with the Mahabharata analogies. There is no right or wrong. Only Dharma."What is "right" is what benefits the powerful, and what is not, does not."Highly recommended if you need a quick fast entertaining read for a day or two.

I've been following Arnab for a while on Twitter, and upon finally getting the time to indulge in reading fiction again, I bought this e-book. I must say, I wasn't disappointed at all. The plot is water tight, the writing, crisp, fast paced, and compelling. It's a definite page-turner and that's something you generally want of a good thriller.The one downside was the formatting of the e-book. The text justification was weird and made it harder on the eyes.

The story line is tight and fast-paced, with very well developed characters. Anyone who has grown up reading or watching Mahabharata will definitely love the parallels with the epic. Arnab Ray is on of the finest fiction authors that India has produced recently, and he scales a new height of fiction writing with The Mahabharata Murders!

Mahabharata Murder is gripping. The plot is well thought of and the pace is fast. You start the book and you don't want to put it down, It is perfect for a long haul flight or for a weekend night when you are in a mood to read.Arnab amazes with every new offering. Definitely an author on the rise!

Mahabharata with its endless twists and intrigue and clever plots with spiritual underpinnings is a natural material for adoption to a modern day crime novel. I am glad that Arnab Ray, a talented writer with a certain flair to his writing that is quite fresh and witty, is the one who took the challenge.The best part of the novel is how it amalgamates various themes, the brave troubled life of a Muslim woman police officer and the conflicting inner workings of her mind, the dark alleys, the dingy restaurants and the sinister underbelly of the city of Kolkata and gruesome murders of the Pandavas into a fine mesh of crime novel soup that you would want to gulp all at once.However, brilliant storytelling cannot always compensate for a weak plot with forced profundity as the author cramps the spiritual depth of Mahabharata into an otherwise well written crime novel. The author is too keen to impress, too eager to weave the magic, the multilayered interpretation of Mahabharata into his novel, when he loses his reader. And that is why the author loses his way in the final chapter of the novel, that, in Agatha Christe style, is supposed to bring it all together. The plot becomes too forced to seem natural just to fit the authors interpretation of Mahabharata.Arnab Ray is a talented writer, and has a huge potential and often one feels that while his brilliance can reach the heights of the likes of Salman Rushdie, he is too keen to become another Chetan Bhagat.

Mahabharata Murders is a brilliant, fast paced page turner. Arnab does an amazing job in reinterpreting events of the Mahabharata and juxtaposing it to create a contemporary crime thriller. The principal characters are so well sketched and relatable that they remain etched in your memory long after you have read the book. This is a story made for a mini television series and I really hope Arnab is able to find a willing production house to develop it. Finally a word on Arnab's journey as a storyteller and fiction writer; having read all his books starting from the witty and tongue in cheek MIHYAP, to the soul searing Yatrik, the grotesque and bloody brilliant Mine, the very filmy generational saga Sultan of Delhi to the Mahabharata Murders, Arnab's ability to straddle such a wide spectrum of emotive storytelling is second to none amongst contemporary English writers in India today.

A fascinating look into crime scenes, personal relationships, and police procedure through the device of reinterpreting a story from the legends of the Mahabharata. The reveal, although a bit long-winded, is still captivating in the main. The motives and methods used in a frenzy of killings are unveiled in gripping, sometimes amusing, prose.The main characters are imaginatively drawn outside of the stereotypes often lazily used to create or describe Indian lives and scenes.

Nice and intriguing read, Pavitra Chatterji as the suave and smooth politician, Sidhant as the macho policeman!! Master strokes surely

In the story of the Mahabharata, the only Pandava to arrive at the gates of heaven was Yudhishthira, and he was accompanied by a dog. The dog was the God of Dharma in disguise.Detective Ruksana Ahmed is inspired by her father who was a lawyer. He died believing in the ideal of “insaaf”. But now she finds herself in the middle of a dharma yudh.In modern day Kolkata, there’s a serial killer around who believes himself to be Duryodhana reborn. And he’s killing off Pandavas one by one. Can Ruksana be Yudhishthira’s dog, Dharma?It’s a good mystery, one I quite enjoyed and the Mahabharata angle was interesting. But if you’re familiar with Ray’s writing style, you will know that he writes his books as if he’s writing screenplays.. after all, the blogosphere knew him first as that reviewer of kitschy 90s Hindi movies. Though Kolkata Noir is a genre I would love to watch, the language is coarse for a novel and might not be for everyone. But if you enjoyed Pataal Lok, Mirzapur, Sacred Games, etc., you’d probably like this too.I just have one question that I need to ask the author. Of all the television channels, why is the main protagonist addicted to Zoom TV?!

When the city of joy shimmers under dark clouds pregnant with rain, and like countless millions I drag myself to the mundane drudgery of routine, some thoughts keep flashing in my mind like distant lightning.Unlike the great Metropolis on the Arabian sea, or the rich & obscenely powerful city in the North, is our city actually ready to catch a serial killer?It seems that the Greatbong has also warmed to this idea. And, he has gone the extra mile about it.He has mixed some of the biggest Bong obsessions in a meticulously planned murder mystery, to give Kolkata its own take on Son of Sam.We have biriyani, white-dressed Calcutta Police and detectives, posh gigs in & around the city, the dark underbelly that throbs below eyeline, politicians, criminals, sex, kinky habits, gruesome murders.And Mahabharata!The first to fall was the beautiful Draupadi. Then fell the smart Sahadeva, followed by visionary Nakul, brilliant Arjuna, and almighty Bheema.Can Ruksana Ahmed save her Yudhistira?Or, is she going to be the next victim of the killer who thinks like Duryodhana?This thriller, which also pays homage to Dame Agatha Christie as well as the other greats who have charmed & stunned the bongs with their ware over the ages, is one of the darkest and most pitiless piece of work that I have read.And I'm not going to get rid of its memories anytime soon, that's for sure.Savour this book. Have it by small portions.Let this be your own dark epic.Highly Recommended.