Author Nisha Singh pays homage to Literature’s most famous Private Investigator in her series Bhrigu Mahesh. Just like her muse, her own protagonist is a loner, has a deep insight of human nature and also has a scribe cum sidekick who is totally in awe of him. Read on to know what I think about her attempt to Indianise the mighty Holmes.
Bhrigu Mahesh, PhD: The Return of Damayanti: What I Liked
Right up front, what I liked is that the author is extremely candid about her inspiration and makes no bones about it. The honesty is refreshing 🙂 Even though this is a sequel, it is a standalone book in itself. I was sent this book by BlogAdda for a review and I liked the fact that they offered an ebook of the prequel. It was not strictly needed and I was pleasantly surprised by it. A nice touch! The rural setting of the book Bhrigu Mahesh, PhD: The Return of Damayanti makes a nice change from the usual urban thrillers. The story itself is unique and like a true who-dun-it, the reveal comes as a surprise. The descriptions of the people and the scenes are quite vivid, allowing you to imagine it all as the author would have seen in her head.
Bhrigu Mahesh, PhD: The Return of Damayanti: What I Did Not Like
The writing of Bhrigu Mahesh, PhD: The Return of Damayanti is too bookish. These days, most books are written in conversational English (unless the authors are aiming are literary awards). This one, however, is written like a text book. It is peppered with words you do not come across every day. This can be a plus or a minus depending on the reader’s opinion. For me, the language did nothing to enhance the reading experience. On the contrary, it hampered my progress through the book. It would have been a different experience had the dialogues been more conversational. They seemed forced and a bit unnatural. The pace of the book is very slow. In fact, at 432 pages, it does seem a drag. I ended up reading the prequel as well and realised that the same things I did not like with this are true for the other book too. Slow pace, bookish writing and phrases that do not seem to fit. For example, the protagonist in did not interject or exclaimed, they ejaculated! It felt almost as if after writing the book, someone took the manuscript and started finding random word replacements using MS word while totally ignoring the connotations. That for me was the biggest drawback
Bhrigu Mahesh, PhD: The Return of Damayanti: Final Thoughts
To conclude, I would say that the book is enjoyable if you can overlook the writing. It is a decent story and a different kind of a thriller. Despite the flawed (in my opinion) writing, Nisha Singh manages to pay homage to her muse through the characters she has created.
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