Bhendi Bazaar - Book Review

I got this book only because it was on a promotional sale! But now I am glad I got it!!

Of late, my trend in buying books is sort of buy books when they are on a sale. Though I have a wishlist of books, I buy those that are not on the list if I get them for a  discounted price.This was in the category of  50-70% discount!And that is exactly how I ended buying this book. 

Then I posted my monthly book haul on Instagram and a few of my friends said it was a great crime novel.That’s when I got interested in reading it.

This books also happens to fit in for theFull House Challenge, where I can strike off  the box with – story that is set in a place starting with B, because this story revolves around Bhendi Bazaar and also to 2016 Alphabet soup reading challenge.

Take a look at the reading challenges I have signed up this year and here are the books that I have read and reviewed so far.

This 365 paged book is authored by Vish Dhamija.

The book starts with three Russian girls –Magdalena,Dunya and Varnika coming to India to take part in the 1982 Asian games. What the others in their troupe are not aware is that these girls are planning never to return to Russia but settle down in India.

Magdalena is sort of the team leader and she arranges for fake passports for the three and also makes contacts in India for their travel to Mumbai

The story fast forwards to 2007,where DCP Rita Ferriera is woken up in the early hours of the day. There has been a murder of Adit Lele.Vikram and Jatin her aides try solving the case.

Soon they realize there is a serial killer on the loose. More men are killed in the same pattern as the first one and there are hardly any evidences left behind and no leads at all. But the whiff of perfume, a lipstick and a lady’s inner garment that are found at the crime scenes don’t provide any help and the team soon realizes that a man is trying to throw off the scent by making the police assume that the killer is a lady.

The story goes back and forth between the murders and the three girls.The girls who assume that life will be a bed of roses after they escape from Russia do not realize that life would become a living hell when they are tricked into prostitution and live a life of pain and sorrow.

In between these there is Anita Raizada,a journalist who comes into the team when the killer sends her publisher evidence of the first murder. Jatin sort of falls for her .

There is the womanizer, Narang who is a political big-wig and also runs the newspaper that Anita works in.

Then there is Dr. Ashwin Mittal aka Ash Mattel who is a criminal profiler and also gives a lot of tips and hints about the the way a criminal would think and act.He is actually Rita’s college mate and the two meet when Rita’s boss suggest they take a consult with Ash because he is a famous criminal profiler in  UK

Until the last couple of chapters, I assumed that one of the three girls grow up and took revenge on the men but then two of them die .So I was clueless.

The killer contacts her and even leaves a small gift wrapped parcel inside her vehicle!All this stumps Rita.

Finally,Rita manages to find the killer and I was as shocked as she was on the discovery! 

I am sure you are dying to know if the killer was a male or female and I am sure you will be even more eager when I tell you that the killer was in touch with Rita all through without Rita ever realizing it!! 

The story shows the dark shades of Mumbai where innocent girls and women are forced into prostitution, their lives and the hurdles they face in their trade. It is indeed heart wrenching!

The ending has a huge twist which I am not going to give away!!

This is one of those books which you will find hard to put down . The narration is set in a such a pace that one minute you guess something and the next minute you are proved wrong!!

It is worth a buy and I am sure you will enjoy reading this book.

So here is where I stand in the full house challenge..

Happy Browsing....