Set in Bangalore, Chain of Custody deals with the trafficking of children, in particular a young girl who is the daughter of Gowda's housekeeper. The story shuttles between the Inspector's daily life (the investigation, his wife who has reappeared in his life, his mistress) and the point of view of a young man who works for the traffickers. Gowda's life only skates above the dark underside of the story, while the trafficker provides the heartless underbelly.
The result is dark but frequently amusing, providing a glimpse of Bangalore and India today along the way. Is A Cut-Like Wound a similar blend?
2 comments:
These are the books that need to be read. It's not a subject that you get into for entertainment, but we need to make ourselves aware! I am reading Aaron Harrell's book The Testimony of a Villain. It's right out of the pages of the news today and it's not for entertainment, but a story we need to read and to know about. testimonyofavillain.com is his site for it.
I have read "A Cut-Like Wound" and I would say that it is a blend of a dark underworld and Inspector Gowda's life and work. I thought the narration was unusual because the reader is given a glimpse into the killer's life at different points throughout, and one of those points is very close to the end of the novel. I found that placement to be unusual because I think most novels by U.S. authors would have placed it sooner in the story, as a way to pique curiosity and/or give readers hints to solve the mystery. But in "A Cut-Like Wound," the method and the process, of both the investigation and the writing, seem paramount.
I write a blog myself (http://makeminefilmnoir.blogspot.com/). In fact, I have a link to your blog on my own, but honestly I cannot recall how I first discovered yours. Your blog was how I found out about Anita Nair, so I thank you for the review.
Marianne
Post a Comment