Hatyapuri

"Hatyapuri", that translated in Bengali means the murderous mansion has also another meaning from the context of the story where murder occurs near the Puri beach, another Bengali favourite. As Feluda and his company starts their holiday at the seaside, murder seems to trail them from the very start. Along with comes theft, an astrologist who can read future in the strangest of ways, a photographer who proclaims to be a victim of attempted murder, a collector of scriptures, a jovial secretary who seems to know a secret. So it is just only natural that the reader will find more than the fair share of drama that detective stories promise. Along with this is a gripping prologue, a new style that Ray introduced in his stories, that reflects his masterful command of the pen and maybe this innovation was a spin-off of his movie making ideas.
As I turned over the pages of this so early read novel, the appeal seems to have increased only further. When a body of a murder victim is discovered on the beaches, a photographer tells about a mysterious mishap and the secretary of the aged collector vanishes with some valuable scriptures, the adventure had already begun that promises an exciting showdown on the sands.