A RIVETING MYSTERY-THRILLER WITH ELEMENTS OF INDIAN MYTHOLOGY AND MYSTICISM
Book Review: "Dharma: A Rekha Rao Mystery" by Vee Kumari
Many Mystery-Thrillers being published nowadays are potboilers, which are liked by readers for their entertainment quotient, and rightly so. However, some readers also want something more from the books that they read – the book’s narrative to have elements of academic craftiness and deft research, with the entertainment quotient not being diluted. The author Vee Kumari has come out with her debut book “Dharma: A Rekha Rao Mystery”, which is one such fascinating read weaving arcane mystery, entertaining drama and romance.
The basic premise of the story goes like this: The protagonist is Rekha Rao, a thirty-something Indian American professor of art history. Haunted by the murder of her father, for which she believes the police convicted the wrong person; and disillusioned by academia, she moves away from her nosy family to Occidental College in Pasadena, California. She gets entangled in a second murder, that of The Head of Archaeology, Professor Joseph Faust, who is also her mentor and father figure. An idol of the Hindu Goddess Durga is the murder weapon left on the body.
Called upon by the police department to look into the relationship, if any, between the meaning of the statue and the motive for the murder, Rekha Rao gets embroiled more and more into the investigation; and in the process, also gets attracted to Pasadena Police Detective Al Newton. Insistent on solving the murder, and against Al Newton’s advice, she unearths long-hidden secrets, old grudges, and forgotten affairs while unravelling the truth.
This book mixes elements of mystery, mythology, mysticism, archaeology, and ancient history. The aspects incorporating symbols of Indian culture and mysticism in a different milieu abroad also works for this book, and makes the read interesting. Well-researched and with academic insights, and with a remarkable plot, the book also goes on to introduce and explain the concepts of Hinduism and Indian history, which is particularly for international readers, and thus is purely cosmopolitan in outlook.
The writing style is lucid, the mystery gripping and fast-paced, and the twists and turns in the narrative definitely packing a punch. However, it is the characters and their portrayals which is the greatest plus point of this book. Rekha, the protagonist is a domestic violence survivor focused on managing her PTSD.
With the portrayal of Rekha as an Indian-American, many insights of the Indian-American life breeze past the readers, and the struggles and aspirations of the Indian diaspora in the USA have also been detailed well. It is in these moments that one finds this book as a versatile one, with contemporary insights interwoven within a cryptic mystery-thriller. Vee Kumari challenges her characters, and they emerge from the ordeal as far better versions of themselves. However, certain elements in the storyline, like the romantic angle between Al and Rekha, and the somewhat predictable climax, could have been improved upon.
If mystery-thrillers having elements of mythology and history pique your interest, this book is certainly for you. Also, it is an enjoyable and short read. It has in this book to be adapted for the screen as a thriller movie, with its compelling twists and a likable protagonist. With the author also being an actor, and having appeared in TV shows, readers can definitely hope for the same. But for now, after reading this gripping mystery thriller, fans and readers would be eagerly waiting for more writing from this author, and what better than a full-fledged series with our very own Rekha Rao as the smart and intuitive sleuth solving crimes.