Inspector Brahmer 7 Tadanta

Contrasting to Mustafa Siraj's Colonel stories, Inspector Surapati Brahma is more of a professional detective. But as with the retired colonel he also exhibits a deceiving look that masks his shrewd thinking brain. An ex-professor of the English language, for which he is referred to as Sir by many of his contemporaries, he is a revered figure in the police force. Much to the dissatisfaction of his wife Suranjana, the responsible Brahma feels happy to remain busy even at home too. So the seven investigations that this compilation includes never for once will keep the reader idle. Assisted by the young, enthusiastic and intelligent sub-inspector Satyacharan Pathak he delves deeper into the human minds to unmask criminals and catch them red-handed. But the problem of the seven novels lie in the fact that more often the ambience that is described matches with each other in several of the instances. This repititiveness sheds a disappointment for the readers as do the incompleteness of several of the recurrent characters though it does not compromise the central theme at any time. But apparently the very best, that mixes a bit of science fiction with mystery remains incomplete in the sense that the detective never explains clearly how the clues led to the murderer in Tadanta 7. The investigations invariably starts with a murder and it remains upon the shrewd Brahma to unveil the criminals. Sometimes it is the case of a lecherous businessman in Tadanta 1, sometimes a renowned painter of yester years in Tadanta 4, sometimes an auditor who has stumbled upon a truth in Tadanta 6, sometimes a corporate killed in his flat in Tadanta 3, everytime the investigators catch hold of the truth by analysisng the clues. An intricate network of informers also help the police in several cases. Traps are sprung on the unsuspecting criminals as in Tadanta 2, web is weaved around the evil as in Tadanta 5 that completes the story satisfactorily. The curious point to note is Inspector Brahma considers the fictitious Colonel stories as trash but uses several of the phrases used by him while solving mysteries. Another interesting factor of the stories are these have been conceived during the time cell phones had not been so predominant. This adds an old world romance and the efficient use of technology during mystery solving.