Ever since I read ‘You Beneath Your Skin’ by Damyanti Biswas, I knew I wanted to read her next novel, too. I have just finished reading The Blue Bar on Kindle Unlimited. It is a whodunit and like her previous novel, is a whydunit, too. (Although serial killers can never be justified, only their backstories explained.)
What connects blue sequins, the blue bar, a bar dancer, a cop, and the serial killer? I entered the world of bhais or underworld dons and khabris or informers to know the story behind it all. Set in Mumbai during the Diwali festival, when Indians celebrate the victory of good over evil and burn effigies of Ravana, one wishes for good to win over real-life Ravans, too.
I was rooting for Arnav (the cop) and Tara, (the bar dancer) throughout. The book also involved a story of abuse, which I felt was done without too many gory details. Even scenes involving the disfigurement of the women were dealt with carefully. Mumbai as a place was described elaborately as also the police procedures. About one-third of the way into the book, it becomes unputdownable and I had to keep turning the pages to find out what was going on and who the killer was.
It kept my interest right through. I recommend it to adults interested in reading police procedurals. The author recommends it to people who like reading Harlan Coben’s books.
The sequel called ‘The Blue Monsoon (Blue Mumbai Thriller Book 2)’ is out for pre-order on Amazon. It will release on 24 October 2023.
