The Pandora’s Box was left open (The Pandora’s box was left open — Part 1st) by Dyumani Maheshwari
Pages: 99
Price: Rs. 249 INR(Kindle edition)
ASIN: B095W188YY
Buy here: https://amzn.to/3iHHvin
My take on the book:
Om, the local inspector who is also a famous detective has an annual ritual of selecting his assistant after a thorough selection process. This involved presenting the aspirants with a crime scene for which they are expected to identify the clues and the culprit. Unlike the earlier years, this year there was a winner Shiv who solved the case with hundred percent accuracy much to the surprise of Om’s other teammates — constables Makhan and Sohan.
With his fine eye to detail, hard work and commitment to work, Shiv wins Om’s trust within a few months and becomes his trusted aide to solve complex cases. Om believes Shiva always picks those clues overlooked everyone else around. Hence, Om provides details of two old and closed cases to Shiv, which Om always believed had a wrong conclusion.
Though Om himself tried to solve them again, for as long as fifteen years, he could not find the clues or evidence which will prove the earlier investigation as wrong. Will Shiv be able to solve these two cases forms the rest of the story.
The story has an interesting premise of an inspector and his team solving the crimes in the city. Each case has a different backdrop, type of crime committed, an initial suspect and a set of clues available from the crime scene and forensics. However, the truth and actual person behind the crime is generally not identified in the first go and the process and technique used to solve each case will keep the reader engaged till the end.
There are not many characters and the main characters make a mark. The twist at the end is impressive; since this is part one, I hope the next part explores more of Shiv and Om as the ending is non-conclusive also hints at a sequel. The main problem with the book is the poor editing which plays spoilsport; for the theme picked up, better editing could have done wonders.
Pick this one if you like fresh concepts in Indian fiction and can overlook the writing hiccups.
My rating:
3.5/5.
This review is part of the Blogchatter Book Review Program.
https://www.theblogchatter.com/book-review-program-from-blogchatter