Hot Stage – Anita Nair – Book Review

Title: Hot Stage

Author: Anita Nair

Publisher: HarperCollins India

Genre: Fiction / Crime & Thriller

Format: Paperback

Number of Pages: 422

Price: Rs 499

Link To Purchase: https://www.amazon.in/Hot-Stage-Anita-Nair/dp/9356995907

My Take:

Anita Nair’s Hot Stage is a complete police procedural and I for one enjoyed the book thoroughly. The story tells us how exactly an efficient police team (SIT) would set about investigating a murder. A rationalist professor (Mudgood) is killed and Assistant Police Commissioner Borei Gowda and his team along with a team from the CCB are tasked with finding the killer. The truth is I have not come across the word procedural used in this context before and I am not new to crime thrillers.

The deceased, Professor Raghava Mudgood, who is a staunch critic of right-wing elements had made a large number of enemies during his lifetime. Also evident is some friction between the professor and his daughter Janaki, maidservant Mary Sushila, her husband, and his son-in-law Iqbal. There is palpable tension between Gowda’s team and the team from the CCB. Also in the fray are a politician and a corrupt policeman.

The above-mentioned people form a delightful cast of characters for the story. The subtle tensions between the investigators and the possessiveness of Santosh toward ASI Ratna are all very interesting additions to the story. Borei Gowda has his own set of issues which form an interesting subplot. The characters of the various people are developed very well, and they remain etched in our memory. The police procedures for collecting evidence and several other methods are described properly and it is evident that the author has done her research.

The book moves a bit slowly at first, but the author does not allow us to feel the lack of pace by dint of skillful writing. Once it picked up pace, I enjoyed every bit of it. The story moves through several twists and turns and reaches its logical ending with the aha moment presented at the appropriate time which is so important in crime thrillers.

The book is more than 400 pages long and it would have been better if the author had wrapped it up within, say 350 to 375 pages. There are some references to earlier books featuring Borei Gowda and this book has piqued my interest enough for me to try and pick up those for reading.

Conclusion:

The book describes a police procedural for solving murders in totality. I enjoyed it thoroughly. Do pick it up! It will keep your interest alive throughout its 422 pages not to mention the excellent ending!

Rating:

I am going with a 5/5 for Anita Nair’s Hot Stage. I enjoyed the book thoroughly. Initially, I thought of cutting half a point for the slightly slow pace of the story in the beginning but that would be pointless as the author manages to retain our interest through these portions of the book. The author is a very skillful writer.

Rating Scale:

1 Poor

2 Fair

3 Good

4 Excellent

5 Outstanding

This review is powered by the Blogchatter Book Review Program