Chokta Sudokur

When Partha won a free trip to Singapore by cracking a sudoku square, Mitin smells something fishy in the entire scheme. But everything seems to sail smooth except for Sujit Dutta, a businessman who tries to get too friendly with them. Though the scene was about to change when Partha seemed to misplace the original authentication letter and deposited the scanned copy of the same. The agency sponsoring Partha's trip seems to insist hard on acquiring the original and a room supposedly occupied by his family is ransacked during the inmates' absence. Mitin senses a curiously sinister plot and rushes to unfold a mystery that baffled quite a few clever minds. An unusual plot blended with anecdotes of Singapore's history and descriptions of the present city Bhattacharya presents a tight narrative that uses humour in the right quantity wihtout compromising on the main theme.

Chitranatye Kisher Ingit

Being a fan of detective fictions, new detectives always hold fascination to me. So though his first impression was not so stirring (I forgot the story which I first read) Dipkaku and his niece karateka Jhinuk were quite interesting. Infact this storyline is equally gripping in the first stages. The baffling mystery surrounding the dead, the diverse characters that are later introduced, the loss of convincing rationale, the lengthy waiting time – the stage was set for an interesting climax but for the fact that the final exposure that proved a motive that was more unconvincing still. A motive so far-fetched and such convenient way to carry out the crime diverted the plot away from reality.

The Case of the White Footprints

Though I've been a fan of Throndyke's for quite some time but this short story fell really short of expectations. Showcasing Dr. Jervis in a prominent role, the clumsy clue left by a careful murderer made the story rather lame. How the crime was actually committed? How the criminal actually made his way in? The convenient evidence put forward at the right time? Some redundant sneer at coloured people.... all these made the narrative not a good mystery story.

Goenda Gargi

The stories of Gargi came to my notice in the bookfair but I never could find confidence in buying a full set of novels without sampling a few. The option came to me in Nandan where huge discounts were being given and I picked this collection from Patra Bharati. The stories by Tapan Bandyopadhyay are quite interesting and fast paced but for the fact that sometimes coincidences play important factors that are disappointing. Also incidents like finding receipts of purchases made long ago in the criminal's pocket, so convenient a clue for apprehending him makes the pieces a bit lame. But the author quite convincingly has portrayed the character of Gargi, a Maths honours student whose logical mind justifies her career and reasoning style in situations where others are baffled. The collecion contains some very chilling stories like Kinkar Hatya Rahasya, Nepathye Ek Atataee while some are quite childish in Grahantarer Pranee and Dhumketu-Rahasya. Some deals with thefts that threatens social relations like Muktor Malae Duto Hirer Tukro, Aparadhi Sanaktikaran while some like Hirer Angti, Danta Antardhan Rahasya begins on a lighter note but quickly turns serious. Dangerous murderer is exposed in Paharkhanir Hire Rahasya while astonishingly evil plots are foiled in Macbeth Antardhan Rahasya that albeit remains quite easily predictable. Maybe due to my increasing age there is an important point that strikes me in the stories which is, in most of the cases the reasoning is not convincing but depends on the actual proof that points to the truth. But in the same breath I will say that these belongs to the genre quite convincingly and must be a must read for the mystery lovers though the contents are not correctly page numbered.