Book Review: Case of the Man Who Died Laughing by Tarquin Hall

This murder mystery comedy is a great summer novel! In New Delhi, the perennial battle between superstition and rationalism claims another victim. Enter private detective Vish Puri, the Indian Poirot. An unlikely hero, the pot-bellied Puri navigates the slippery terrains of Indian society with a bagful of tried and tested tricks. Encounter all manner of Indian eccentricities, from laughing clubs and charlatan gurus to the Indian penchant for nonsense nicknames (Tea Cup? Door Stop?). Tarquin Hall captures the sights, sounds and quirks of India with obvious affection, and made an endearing and unexpected mystery out of it.

Book Review: My Name is Red by Orhan Pamuk

“My Name is Red” is a philosophical murder mystery set in 16th century Istanbul. It uses the art of Persian miniature and the role of a miniaturist to discuss the threat of impending Westernization on Ottoman art. A novel of doubles, puns, riddles and talking paintings (“I don’t want to be a tree, I want to be its meaning”, says a painting at one point), this is stylishly rendered story is so full of complexities, evocative descriptions, lists and colours that it is a work of art in itself.