This one is an old and a low-key detective fiction by Ahmed Bunglowala, published in 1993. I am not sure if he wrote more, he probably did, but google doesn't show much (hence, no image to go with the post). The main reason for reading this book is that it is HD's 'comfort book'. I was curious to know more about it so, this time, I picked up this book.
The story line goes like this: Shorty Gomes is a detective who is tired of working for a bigger agency, and now is trying to work independently with few cases trickling in. This has three short stories (a case of a wealthy and beautiful client seeking protection from own husband and dying premature death, a shady lawyer outsourcing the job of shadowing a high class hooker, and finally an aging royalty requesting protection against a soothsayer).
The stories are not great by any stretch of imagination but the style is what one remembers after one puts down the book. It has tongue-in-cheeck dialogues almost every time Shorty Gomes speaks. There is a liberal dose of sarcasm, again slightly highhanded I must say...
But, the good part of the book is that you get the feeling that the author enjoyed himself thoroughly while writing this. It is as if he deliberately wanted to give those ludicrous twists and chases in the story, just to have some fun. Another thing I liked about the book was that it had no pretense of pleasing a wider audience whatsoever. The scenarios, the background setting (Bombay, it says) and the characters, they are all truely on the Indian soil which made it more endearing.
Definitely not for readers who want some classic moments and a great story line, but probably once a while when you really have lot of time to spend and light reading is what you require, you can peek into this book.
I checked in Amazon, they don't have this book in stock and apparently none of the bookshops have even listed them in their stock, so says HD.
But, I am glad I read it - not just for HD's sake, but mine too.
Rating: 2.5/5
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