A Very Pukka Murder by Arjun Raj Gaind

I discovered the novel "A Very Pukka Murder" by Arjun Raj Gaind in our library. I have found that books by Indian authors tend to be quite literary and also the subject of unusual stories. This one is no exception. Although, the style is very reminiscent of Agatha Christie or Hercule Poirot novels. This is Gaind's first novel. The blurb about him on the inside cover states that he is a critically acclaimed author of many best-selling comic books and graphic novels in India. Indian readers will not have a problem of understanding what "pukka" means but others will not fully get it. This is how Gaind describes the word, "uniquely Anglo-Indian in origin but with myriad vague meanings that depend entirely on the context in which it was used. In a positive sense, it could mean anything from reliable or trustworthy to admirable, but when used negatively, it suggested that someone or something was not quite legitimate or acceptable."  

The story is set in colonial India. So, it will be relatable to Indian readers or anyone reasonably familiar with India's colonial past.  Unbelievably, our private sleuth is the young Maharaja Sikander Singh of a fictional princely state of Rajpore. He is interested in solving mysteries, especially of the murder kind. So, when the English Resident of the Malabar Coast is murdered in his own locked bedroom in the Maharaja's constituency, Sikander Singh appoints himself as the chief investigator much to the chagrin of and over the vociferous objections of the English Superintendent of Police.

Sikander Singh is described as a very worldly prince, capable of speaking English and French, can play obscure western classical pieces on his Steinway made especially for him by Steinway, drives around in one of his many Rolls-Royces. He is also a food and wine aficionado who understands obscure wine and food pairings, vintages and everything else about food and wine, which he himself enjoys partaking. The whole story moves forward very well as he interviews all possible suspects to unravel the mystery, which the true murderer is not about to divulge. The conclusion is very much like a Hercule Poirot genre in which all the possible suspects are gathered in one room for a very elaborately prepared and served continental meal with obscure but "perfect" wine pairings for each course. During the meal Sikander Singh goes through a 36-page lecture recounting how each suspect appeared at the forefront of his inquiry at each stage and how the suspect was discounted, until he reveals the true murderer and makes the murderer admit to the dastardly dead. The long harangue gets tiresome, but the complications appear to be well-crafted, and I liked how the story finally ended.

One thing I must warn any reader is that Gaind appears to be another one of the likes of Shashi Tharoor or Daniel Patrick Moynihan. Each page must have contained at least one or two obscure (admittedly to me) words that I did not know and whenever I looked them up, they appeared to be very appropriate in the context of the usage of the word. I would warn you that these are not words that you will tend to use in everyday conversation and if you do get into the habit of using them, your friends are liable to look at you askance and ask you if something is wrong with you and whether you have developed Therooritis. However, I regret not looking up each unfamiliar word, and I actually want to reread the book to look up all new words that I would encounter.