The Death of Kirti Kadakia by Meeti Shroff Shah
My take on the book:
Radhika Zaveri is back from the United States to Mumbai’s posh Temple Hill, to live in the apartment she and her elder sister once lived in along with their parents, and to nurse her broken heart. However, Radhi finds her best friend Sanjana dealing with the tragedy of her father Kirti Kadakia’s sudden death. Kirti uncle who was known for his bad temper, is found dead by suicide, but Sanjana refuses to accept that her father could have killed himself.
As Radhi tries to find the circumstances behind the death and what may have forced Mr. Kirti to take the extreme step, everyone in the Kadakia household, their house help, neighbours — all have dark secrets that they are guarding. When another accident in the same apartment results in one more death, Radhi is torn between probing further or dropping it.
Will Radhi and Sanjana be able to find the reason behind Kirti Kadakia’s death forms the rest of the story.
The story begins with return of Radhi to India to build her life again while reminiscing her childhood memories. On the second day, she finds about the death of her best friend’s father and quickly gets entangled in finding the truth. The story gives insight into the life and problems of the rich in Temple Hill, along with the Jain way of life and rituals through Radhi and Sanjana’s families. There are many characters, and the author builds all of them well, with an iota of mystery about their behavior, thus making them a probable suspect.
There are gaps in logic like how police did not investigate the source of huge number of pills taken by Kirti. Also, the conclusion drawn by Radhi is not with technical evidence, rather her intuition which matched facts. Though the story starts with Radhi and her supposed new life in Temple Hill, the threads involving Radhi are left incomplete.
The story has a good premise and a promising start which loses pace in the second half but ties all threads in the climax. If you like reading urban stories about dysfunctional families, then you will like this, though the mystery impresses only in parts.
My rating:
3.5/5.