Dead in a Mumbai Minute (Reema Ray#2) by Madhumita Bhattacharya

Reema Ray is a rare combination of beauty and brains. She is a brilliant sleuth who had once impressed the eccentric security professional Shayak Gupta. Reema is given a case in Mumbai – a murder case, of an Ashutosh Dhingre, a former assistant of the Bollywood superstar Kimaaya Kapoor, whose fame is on the decline. Ashutosh was found dead in Kimaaya’s private island. The suspects happen to be the house guests and Kimaaya herself. Reema also learns that Kimaaya was in a relationship with Shayak in the past. Shayak keeps disappearing very often and Reema finds this very unusual. This case is assigned to Reema by the firm Titanium, where Shayak works in. How is all this intertwined? Does Shayak have anything to do with the murder? Will Reema be able solve the case of the year? Find out the answers and more in this page-turner mystery novel.

My review : Crime fiction is one of my favorite genre to read. Having a female protagonist is all the more fun . Reema Ray is new to the city but not at all to solving mysteries.  Being objective, relentless and able to  use all her resources to the best is what brought her to Mumbai. She has been awarded the biggest case of not just her career but more so for the firm she is a part of and the man who brought her to Mumbai - Shayak. The case at hand looks tricky cause of the people involved - bollywood star , Rich businessman and another guy high on not just costliest wines. A double murder throws a lot of possibilities and questions into the mix and so does Shayak's mysterious absence and lose ends from previous dealings.

I liked the characters of the book for being not single dimensional and rather fitting seamlessly to the plot. Situations are well described and nothing seems far fetched in the plot. The surprise elements and the layers of the mystery are well in place till the very end where you suddenly are able to guess the person behind the murders. But then Madhumita plays a last card and leaves the master planner hidden. She leaves questions for next book and so am hooked.

I am infact going to pick up the first book soon to know more about Reema.

Rating : 4/5