A Will to kill : Harith Athreya #1 / RV Raman.

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Title:

A Will to kill : Harith Athreya #1 / RV Raman.

Author:

Raman, R. V.

ISBN:

9781951709075

Publication Information:

Aberdeen, NJ : Polis Agora, 2020.

Physical Description:

280 p.

Series:

Harith Athreya #1

Abstract:

"Aging and wheelchair-bound patriarch Bhaskar Fernandez has finally reclaimed his family property after a bitter legal battle, and now wants to reunite his aggrieved relatives. So, he invites them to remote Greybrooke Manor in the misty Nilgiris -- a mansion that has played host to several sudden deaths; a colonial edifice that stands alone in a valley that is said to be haunted by the ghost of an Englishman. But Bhaskar has other, more practical problems to deal with. He knows that his family is waiting for him to die to regain the family fortune, and to safeguard himself against violence during the house party, he writes two conflicting wills. Which one of them comes into force depends on how he dies. Into this tinderbox, he brings Harith Athreya, a seasoned investigator. When a landslide occurs, temporarily isolating them all at the mansion, and resulting in a murder, Athreya finds that murder is not the only thing the mist conceals."--Publisher.

Subject Term:

Athreya, Harith (Fictitious character) -- Fiction.

Older men -- India -- Fiction.

Private investigators -- India -- Fiction.

Murder -- Investigation -- Fiction.

Mansions -- Fiction.

Inheritance and succession -- Fiction.

Geographic Term:

India -- Fiction.

Genre:

Detective and mystery stories.

Available:*

Library	Material Type	Item Barcode	Shelf Number	Status
Searching... Avon-Washington Township Public Library	Adult Mystery Fiction Book Hardback	120791002835676	M RAM	Searching... Unknown

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Summary

NAMED ONE OF THE "TEN BOOKS WE RECOMMEND THIS WEEK"--The New York Times

NAMED ONE OF THE "BEST RECENT THRILLERS"--The Guardian

NAMED ONE OF THE BEST CRIME FICTION OF 2020 BY OPEN, THE MAGAZINE

NAMED ONE OF THE BEST CRIME NOVELS OF NOVEMBER BY THE TIMES UK

For fans of Knives Out, a book that embodies all the things we love about Agatha Christie--a haunted manor house, estranged relatives a will, and a murder-- set in modern-day India, and the first in a series from author RV Raman. Aging and wheelchair-bound patriarch Bhaskar Fernandez has finally reclaimed his family property after a bitter legal battle, and now wants to reunite his aggrieved relatives. So, he invites them to remote Greybrooke Manor in the misty Nilgiris --a mansion that has played host to several sudden deaths; a colonial edifice that stands alone in a valley that is said to be haunted by the ghost of an Englishman. But Bhaskar has other, more practical problems to deal with. He knows that his family is waiting for him to die to regain the family fortune, and to safeguard himself against violence during the house party, he writes two conflicting wills. Which one of them comes into force depends on how he dies. Into this tinderbox, he brings Harith Athreya, a seasoned investigator. When a landslide occurs, temporarily isolating them all at the mansion, and resulting in a murder, Athreya finds that murder is not the only thing the mist conceals. A WILL TO KILL is the first Harith Athreya mystery.

Reviews (2)

Publisher's Weekly Review

In this intriguing contemporary whodunit and series launch from Raman (Conspirator), private investigator Harith Athreya receives an invitation to Greybrooke Manor, a colonial-style mansion in southern India's Nilgiri Hills, from its owner, wealthy businessman Bhaskar Fernandez. Legend has it that the manor is cursed and that every owner will die violently. Though Fernandez's father, who owned Greybrooke before him, was believed to have died accidentally when he fell from a moving train, Fernandez fears he may become the victim of foul play. To guard against this possibility, he has prepared two simultaneous wills: one to go into effect if he dies of natural causes and the other in case he's murdered. Fernandez wants Athreya to get to know the possible heirs, who are guests at Greybrooke, and in the worst-case scenario investigate his death. Despite Athreya being on hand, someone's throat is slit, setting up a classic closed-circle inquiry, complete with a gathering of suspects before the final reveal. Only the ending is a bit of a letdown. Fans of golden age mysteries will look forward to the sequel. Agent: Priya Doraswamy, Lotus Lane Literary. (Oct.)

Booklist Review

Channeling Agatha Christie isn't a bad way for a writer to spend his time, not if he does it well. Raman does it splendidly, thank you, as he demonstrated in 2014's Fraudster, a look at corporate criminality that, at its heart, is a locked-room mystery. Now, in A Will to Kill, India-based author Raman delivers a full-blast Christie mystery set in India but full of classic Christie tropes: an isolated country home, confusing wills, loser in-laws and a rich old man who wonders why his brakes were jiggered, and a poisonous snake appeared in his bed. Of course, there's a murder, but it turns out it's the wrong victim. Fortunately, a master detective is here, one Harith Athreya. He's a little bland compared to Miss Marple and Poirot, as though the author is trying too hard to make him realistic. The solution has roots in crimes far from the country house, but Athreya brings it artfully back home.