E-Paper
Review: A Matrimonial Murder by Meeti Shroff-Shah
A quick little mystery, the second book in the series set in a fictional posh Mumbai neighbourhood, presents the importance of marriage within Indian society and the very real repercussions when things go wrong
Owner of an elite matrimonial bureau, Sarla Sethi’s world is turned upside down when one of her employees is found murdered in her office. For Sarla, who is keen to avoid scandal and desperate to maintain her reputation as Temple Hill’s foremost and most discreet matchmaker, the killing of her colleague Hansa is a headache that refuses to go away. Enter Radhika Zaveri, part detective, part writer and 100% busybody who has just returned to Temple Hill after a long sojourn in the US. She decides to take over the reins of the investigation from the bumbling Inspector Shinde. Turns out the bureau has been getting threats for a while now. Could it be an ex-client whose match failed? Or are they part of a prank by another ex-client-turned-competitor who has opened her own marriage bureau in the same building? Radhika faces a never-ending list of suspects and a winding road to the truth scattered with author Preeti Shroff-Shah’s well-placed red herrings.
A quick little mystery, A Matrimonial Murder is the second book in the series set in the posh Mumbai neighbourhood of Temple Hill (the first was The Death of Kirti Kadakia, which was longlisted for the CWA Dagger Award, 2022). The analogy to Indian Matchmaking is quite clear and there’s even a reference to it in the book “as a show that gives Sarla’s profession ‘a bad name’”. Most of the lead characters are extremely well-to-do as are their clients. The only exceptions are the victim and the marriage bureau’s domestic staff.
While the caricatures of the wealthy are a trifle tiresome, it is refreshing to find a plot driven by strong female leads who are given a lot of agency even as the male characters are relegated to the sidelines. In that aspect, Shah’s novel recalls Alexander McCall Smith’s The No 1 Ladies Detective Agency series featuring the formidable Mma Ramotswe and her typist Mma Makutsi. But while Mma Ramotswe relies on intuition and observation, Shah’s sleuth Radhika relies on multiple social interactions as a path to the truth. She is always talking, meeting and socially exploring various facets of the puzzle. Perhaps this speaks to a more Indian form of detecting that works for settings populated with overly involved neighbours, colleagues and strong class networks. In many ways, Temple Hill is similar to the stereotypical Indian colony shown in Bollywood films where everyone knows everyone and no one forgets anyone’s past.
While one of the highlights of this novel is its cast, it can occasionally be hard to keep track of all the people constantly meeting each other. This same complexity comes into play when the reader gets to know Radhi’s character. Her personal motives and ambitions as a writer, a detective and as a woman struggling with her past and her current relationships give her a complex air. That she is a contemporary woman multi-tasking many side gigs makes her relatable too with Shroff-Shah adeptly using the conflicts between her many personas as a source of tension. The author resists saddling her detective with the usual character flaws such as drinking, boredom and social awkwardness. It is quite refreshing to read about a detective who thrives in social settings and doesn’t have a terribly tortured past and isn’t shrouded in unbearable grief, from which they have never recovered.
While the brevity of the plot adds to the book, the author could have been more sparing in her details about food and decor at every turn. Fewer usages of terms like “ben” and other such cliches would have made this setting quite remarkable. Shroff-Shah is also very good at presenting the importance of marriage and its role in Indian society and the very real repercussions and consequences that can ensue when things go wrong. This is best captured in Roma Bansal’s rant to Radhika: “In India marriages are not private! There are people involved. Families invested. Relationships at stake! When I introduced you to Nishant, I put my friendship with Parul ben on the line!”
In summation, A Matrimonial Murder is a quick and delightful read with a good, solid plot and plenty of twists to keep you guessing. The detective-author at the heart of the action, Radhika Zaveri, is more nuanced than most fictional detectives. Shroff-Shah does not shy away from revealing her creation’s demons and flaws but their routine nature surprisingly endears her to the reader. This reviewer is now keen to read about Radhi’s adventures in settings that have not been so heavily caricatured.
Percy Bharucha is a freelance writer and illustrator with two biweekly comics, The Adult Manual and Cats Over Coffee. Instagram: @percybharucha
