The Blue Bar - Damyanti Biswas

AUTHOR: Damyanti Biswas

SERIES: Blue Mumbai, #1

GENRE: Crime Thriller

RATING: 4.25 stars.

In a Nutshell: A literary crime noir set in my beloved city of Mumbai!!! (Trying my best not to be biased in this review! 😃) Complicated characters, gritty plot, fast-paced writing. Enjoyed most of it. But this *might* work better for those familiar with Mumbai.

Story Synopsis:

Mumbai, 2002. Tara Mondal, a young bar dancer, had been offered an odd assignment for a hefty payment. She just needed to wear a blue sequinned saree, enter a crowded railway station, and escape from the premises within three minutes.  That was the last time anyone saw Tara.
Mumbai, mid-2010s. Inspector Arnav Rajput, who was Tara's lover back when he was a constable, has just been informed of a woman’s body being discovered in a construction site. As his officers begin investigating, they realise that this is just one of several other similar cases. All that they have to connect the decapitated bodies are some scattered blue sequins.
The search for a possible serial killer leads to a blurred lines between the past and the present, as Arnav desperately tries to nab the culprit before it might be too late. Will this investigation also reveal to him what happened to Tara all those years ago?

The story comes to us in the limited (mostly) third person perspective of four key characters.

I had read Damyanti’s debut work, ‘You Beneath Your Skin’, a couple of years ago and was blown away by her narrative control and plot choices. It remains one of my favourite books by a contemporary Indian writer. That novel revealed the darker shades of New Delhi. This time, it’s Mumbai’s turn. Yay!

Where the book worked for me:

💘 My city. In a fictional book. That is well-written! Many of you might already know how this feels, but to me, this is the first time ever that I read a great (though not perfect) representation of Mumbai. The local lingo, the attitude of the people, the fast-moving lifestyle, the larger-than-life persona of movie stars,… Cant tell you how much I enjoyed this aspect of the novel. Having familiarity with the locations helps so much in visualising the story!

💘 After the initial couple of chapters, the book really upped the action. The writing is quick-paced without compromising on quality.

💘 Though the writing seems a teeny bit repetitive at times, it was helpful for a change, as the storyline was quite tricky to keep track of. (And this is despite my being comfortable with the Indian names, locations and words!) Arnav’s regular summations helped to keep abreast of the entire investigation without losing track of anything.

💘 This was an Indian book that felt Indian – it has its heart in the country. If you pick this up expecting something as exotic as ‘The Henna Artist’ or as dramatic as ‘The Spaces Between Us’, you are the wrong audience for this novel. (Also, if you think that those two books present “the true picture of India”, you couldn’t be more wrong!) This is not a book selling glamorised versions of Indian society, nor is it peddling to you stereotypical portrayals of the casteist/religious issues in the country. It is a presentation of the darker side of Mumbai City, the seedy underbelly that lurks in the background under the glamorous exteriors of Bollywood and business. AND it sticks to this purpose without adding in social commentary or moralising characters. Loved the reality.

💘 Though I did guess the identity of the serial killer, I loved the path to this discovery. The author doesn’t make things easy with her regular curveballs of data highlighting the flaws of multiple characters.

💘 There is a minor thread of romance in the book which does help relieve tensions. At the same time, the romance never overshadows the crime arc.

Where the book could have worked better for me:

💔 There are a few data-based errors in the writing. None of this would be noticeable to any outsider, and none affect the flow of the story. However, as a Mumbaikar, the errors sort of popped out before my eyes. Also, the spellings & meanings of a few of the Indian words are incorrect. (I say ‘Indian” because the book uses words from a variety of languages.)

💔 The ending (which felt like it came straight out of a Bollywood action flick) seemed a bit hurried. It was over just when I expected it to provide an adrenaline surge.

I've a strong feeling this book will work better for Indian readers than international readers. We Indians are attuned to reading international (or rather, American and British) books right since our childhood. However, those in the US won't be accustomed to reading Indian works. The story is much dependent on a familiarity with local lifestyle and practices, none of which transport well to an international setting. The idiosyncrasies of Mumbai can be understood only by a Mumbaikar. (This last line can be extrapolated to India/Indians as well.)

Does this mean that I won’t recommend the novel to those unfamiliar with India? On the contrary, I wish with all my heart that you read this novel and experience a story that is authentic to the Indian experience. As a crime noir, this covers only the grittier side of Mumbai city, but it is still done in a scintillating way.

Recommended if you want to try a different kind of literary crime thriller. True crime fans and police procedural fans who want to check out Indian noir, here’s a wonderful chance.

If you are an Indian reader, think Anurag Kashyap plus Madhur Bhandarkar plus Ram Gopal Verma at their best. You can’t miss this work, despite the minor flaws.

4.25 stars.

My thanks to author Damyanti Biswas, Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley for the DRC of “The Blue Bar”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book. I can’t wait to read the next book in the ‘Blue Mumbai’ series.