Review: The Mumbai School for Murder

The Mumbai School for Murder by Meeti Shroff Shah
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The blurb

Writer and traveller Radhi Zaveri returns home to Mumbai’s posh Temple Hill after spending years living in New York City, in search of inspiration and a salve for her broken heart. To the world it seems she has it all. But little do they know that she hasn’t written a word in more than a year, that she is devastated at the sudden disappearance of her American lover and that she is still haunted by her parents’ death, which happened almost two decades ago and for which, she holds herself responsible.

Ms Venus is found dead at her desk, the school tries to claim it was natural causes, but Radhi isn't convinced. Ms Venus was a famous writer of poetry who had made enemies: a junior English teacher, the school's owners, the school's head, students that she had reported for misdemeanours, and parents of children who had misbehaved. Ms Venus had high moral standards and would not hesitate to report wrong-doing. In addition, the person who found Ms Venus' body reported that her face was bright - a sign of cyanide poisoning. Ms Venus also appears to have left Radhi a clue scrawled across a book of her poetry which Radhi had asked to sign.

Meanwhile, Soam Mehta, one of the students Ms Venus had reported for vaping in school, who subsequently lost his role as school sports captain as a result, has gone missing. Is this a sign of a guilty conscience? Or could Soam be so distraught he has taken his own life? Or, alternatively, could Soam have seen something on the night Ms Venus died?

Radhi almost has too many suspects as she investigates Ms Venus' death and Soam's disappearance. But she doggedly follows the truth, uncovering other secrets along the way.

This is the third book to feature Radhi, I hadn't read the others but this was very easy to read as a standalone. It was easy to read, engrossing, and shone a different light (yet again) on contemporary life in India for a modern woman. I would definitely read more in this series.

Available on Kindle Unlimited.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley.

View all my reviews