ONE ARRANGED MURDER (BOOK REVIEW)

 BOOK NAME: ONE ARRANGED MURDER

AUTHOR: CHETAN BHAGAT

LANGUAGE:  ENGLISH

COUNTRY: INDIA

GENRE: FICTION

PUBLISHED DATE: 2020

PUBLISHER: WESTLAND LAND

The novel starts with a conversation between Keshav and Saurabh. They had arguments and they somehow have stopped talking face to face because Keshav made fun of Saurabh and his fiancée, Prerna.  Keshav felt that Saurabh had changed due to Prerna.

Saurabh and Prerna met from the matrimonial site. After a few met up, they fell in love especially Saurabh. After meeting with Prerna, he fell in love with her and wanted her. Later, Prerna wanted to meet him too. They got engaged. Both were happy and was all the time chatting with each other. But after days, their life was supposed to change.

On Karva Chauth, she fasted for him. She didn’t eat all day. In the evening, she called him and waited on the terrace for the moon and for Saurabh to break her fast. Excited, Saurabh ran up the steps of her three-story house. But when he reached the terrace, he didn’t see her, he called her and text her, there was no response. He called her but no response. When he went near and saw down from the terrace, he saw the dead body of her.

Who killed her and why? What had happened? Was it an accident or murder? If she was a murder who is the killer and what was the reason? How she was killed?

CONCLUSION

After solving their first case and setting up an investigation agency, both of them found themselves tangled in another mystery, this time even threatening to rip off their friendship. Saurabh was set to marry his dream girl, Prerna- an arranged marriage nonetheless. There was some cheesy romance between the two as she decided to keep Karwa Chauth for him before their wedding and when Saurabh reached the terrace to break her fast, the disaster had already struck. The next turn of events changes his life completely as he finds his fiancée dead under mysterious circumstances opening up the best friends' detective minds once again, this time with some typical Indian family drama.

Although it is a sequel, both the books are not connected except for the two characters, so you can read it even if you haven't read the previous one. Coming to the story, it manages to keep your suspense growing throughout the story i.e. you would keep guessing and won't get bored as many readers presume in Chetan Bhagat's Books. The writing style is easy, simple, witty, and humorous in between with some intense dramatic scenes of a Punjabi joint family, you can relate to every drama unfolding if you are an Indian.

The killer was a bit predictable after the completion of the initial few chapters, but still, the ending and the motive was justified through the twist. Like many other readers, the 'body shaming' parts were irritating and annoying for me as well, especially when it comes from the protagonist himself.

Otherwise, it was a fast-paced, one sitting book having wretched mystery and thrill with the taste of a high melodramatic family where everyone is a suspect and has a motive behind killing her, it was exciting to see how the mystery unfurled itself. The book is one-time reading and readers will enjoy reading the book. It's like watching a movie.

What I didn’t like about the book is why there was so much body-shaming in the book. Moreover, the writer could have done a better job in adding the elements of suspense, thrill, mystery, and emotions.