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A review by ankita_g
The Disappearance of Sally Sequeira by Bhaskar Chattopadhyay
4.0
3.5/5
I have read the last two Janardan Maity novels, and was really excited about this one's release ever since it was announced. Now the question is, whether I was rewarded suitably for my patience or not. The answer, very simply, is yes! It was exactly what I was expecting - a quick, cozy-ish mystery, in the style of Agatha Christie, set in an Indian small town.
Janardan Maity is very similar to Hercule Poirot and I don't mind that similarity at all. Infact, its a good cure to a Christie hangover. I will eagerly wait for the next book in this series for the very same reason.
At first, the blurb of 'Sally Sequeira' didn't interest me as much as the blurbs of the other two books in the series had. But when I read the story, I found that the plot kept getting interesting as it went on. However, I couldn't connect with the characters/people of Movim, Goa (where this story is set in) like I had with the characters/people of Nimdeora (where 'Here Falls The Shadow' was set in) because we didn't get to spend a lot of time with them. I would have loved to know more about the young cleric, Father Dias, and most of the time I was not sure who or what Mike Doherty actually was. That's why few of the reveals at the end felt a little 'meh'. A part of the big reveal (the kidnapper's identity) at the end was also pretty predictable. However, the other part of the reveal, though not a very novel concept, fitted well with the story and was quite satisfying.
All in all, I don't quite know how to rate this book. There isn't much novelty or literary merit in the story, but Mr. Chattopadhyay's command over the English language is very good and I really enjoyed reading this book (It helps that I am quite fond of Maity). Like the other books in this series, this one is also an enjoyable detective story, primarily for loyal fans of Poirot or Feluda.
I have read the last two Janardan Maity novels, and was really excited about this one's release ever since it was announced. Now the question is, whether I was rewarded suitably for my patience or not. The answer, very simply, is yes! It was exactly what I was expecting - a quick, cozy-ish mystery, in the style of Agatha Christie, set in an Indian small town.
Janardan Maity is very similar to Hercule Poirot and I don't mind that similarity at all. Infact, its a good cure to a Christie hangover. I will eagerly wait for the next book in this series for the very same reason.
At first, the blurb of 'Sally Sequeira' didn't interest me as much as the blurbs of the other two books in the series had. But when I read the story, I found that the plot kept getting interesting as it went on. However, I couldn't connect with the characters/people of Movim, Goa (where this story is set in) like I had with the characters/people of Nimdeora (where 'Here Falls The Shadow' was set in) because we didn't get to spend a lot of time with them. I would have loved to know more about the young cleric, Father Dias, and most of the time I was not sure who or what Mike Doherty actually was. That's why few of the reveals at the end felt a little 'meh'. A part of the big reveal (the kidnapper's identity) at the end was also pretty predictable. However, the other part of the reveal, though not a very novel concept, fitted well with the story and was quite satisfying.
All in all, I don't quite know how to rate this book. There isn't much novelty or literary merit in the story, but Mr. Chattopadhyay's command over the English language is very good and I really enjoyed reading this book (It helps that I am quite fond of Maity). Like the other books in this series, this one is also an enjoyable detective story, primarily for loyal fans of Poirot or Feluda.