Description

Introduction

 One Arranged Murder by Chetan Bhagat is a thriller novel. As the name suggests, this is a murder mystery where Prerna Malhotra is the victim (wait, or more than one murder?). Saurabh and Prerna are engaged to be married and she fasts for him on Karva Chauth. Saurabh gets the biggest shock of his life when Prerna dies on the night, he comes to break her fast. He becomes one of the suspects as well. How Keshav and Saurabh solve this personal case forms the rest of the story.

The Plot

 Keshav and Saurabh live in a flat together. They are best friends and colleagues as well. They recently had a fall-out and we would know the reason as we progress reading the book. Saurabh is engaged to Prerna and they both love food and each other very much. Prerna is from a rich Punjabi family that owns a business. Prerna also has start-up of her own, that is doing well. She is the star of her family and everyone adores her. She fasts on Karva Chauth and none of her family members are aware. She asks Saurabh to visit her secretly on her terrace to break her fast. But before Saurabh meets her, she falls down and dies on the spot. Police arrive and there is an initial enquiry. Saurabh is devastated and calls Keshav for moral support. Anjali, Prerna’s cousin, also return from her trek in Everest Base Camp. Keshav and Saurabh, given their detective experience, work with police, which comes with its own set of challenges. As the investigation proceeds, they find deep old family secrets and Prerna’s father’s financial situation. Is that a reason for Prerna’s murder or is this an outsider’s job? Grab the book to find more.

Characters

•  Keshav Rajpurohit is the narrator of the story. He is Saurabh’s best friend, flatmate and colleague at CyberSafe, a cybersecurity     company. They both also own a side gig, Z Detectives, to pursue his real passion.
• Saurabh Maheshwari or Golu, lovingly called by Keshav. Saurabh met Prerna through a matrimonial site and is now engaged to her. Though it is an arranged alliance, they both are like-minded, love food and are madly in love with each other.
• Prerna Malhotra co-owns a start-up, Eato, with Namrata Taneja. She falls from her house terrace on Karva Chauth night. The whole story revolves around finding the culprit and motive.
• Ramesh and Neelam Malhotra are Prerna’s parents. But there is a big revelation later on her relationship with them. They all stay as a joint family in a big bungalow with other family members – Maaji, Bindu, Ajay, Aditya. They are all introduced in the book.

 About the Author

 Chetan Bhagat is an Indian writer. He worked as an investment banker and later quit his job to become a full-time writer. His famous novels such as Five Point Someone, The 3 Mistakes of My Life and few more were adapted into movies. His writings have a flavour of Indian families and students’ challenges, habits, thinking and mannerism.

Conclusion

 This is a typical mystery and thriller book that you would not put down once you start reading. There are instances where, just like Keshav and Saurabh, one would conclude who the culprit it and then come the twists!