Operation Red Herring

An unique Colonel Niladri Sarkar mystery told from the perspectives of three different persons, the sleuth, Jayanta and the client.

A case of disappearance, dormant for years, seems suddenly to come to prominence with a flood of threats and a sudden murder of an acquaintance. Was the disappearance a case of kidnapping or was it murder? With that there also appears a Godman with a skeleton that smokes which not only causes a hue and cry but also attracts challenges from the scientific minded. As Colonel is approached to look into the former, Haldermoshai is drawn to the latter. Some very obvious clues make the sleuth skeptic and the title perfect. As it nears the climax, the suspense heightens modulating the mood to keep the excitement at the right scale.

Hatyakari ke?

Those who are avid followers of mystery stories and particularly of Bengali detective fictions have sometime or the other had surely heard of De and his classic of which this brief is about. In a fortunate turn of events, I had got hold of a copy of this narrative quite a long time ago though I studied it just recently. It had been an experience. The concise plot gave it just the right flavour. Added with this were the organized plot, an unique way of storytelling that actually contained the essence of mystery fiction, the superb touch of thrill, the simple yet uncanny trick of camouflaging the motive till the last and last but not the least the fretful albeit shrewd investigator. This must read gave me a deeper insight to the rich and deep rooted culture of analytical detective fictions that had glorified Bengali literatures through centuries.

The Witness for the Prosecution and Other Stories

The collection contains a bunch of Christie stories that are not all detective fiction but related to crime in one way or the other. The classic Christie touch is predominant in Song of Sixpence and The Second Gong, the last featuring the "irreproachably dressed" private eye Hercule Poirot. Each is a murder mystery which is solved by the pro and involves the obvious clue cleverly hidden by the masterly literature. The Mystery of the Blue Jar and The Mystery of the Spanish Shawl are fascinating narratives where humour and suspense intersperse to offer the timely reliefs among the short thrillers. The Fourth Man is a tale of the supernaturals and so are The Red Signal and S.O.S. though in the later two suspense and detection plays the upper hand. Where There's a Will is a thrilling revelation of exploitation of the human psychology but its apt climax assures no gain to the evil. But nothing compares to the spine- chilling Accident and the terrifying revelation of Philomel Cottage. The opening anecdote of The Witness for the Prosecution is a mix of mystery, thrill and suspense which combine to keep it different than the rest.

Bittabasana

A Sankar classic which I had read once long time back had been etched in the memory for its realistically ruthless plot that portrays how ambition can drive a human to deception and cruelty. It picturises the human character that adapts itself selfishly at the slightest cue to attain a future of prosperity. How the purity of social bonds are broken by the coldness of the heart, how misdirections are intentionally introduced to profit a few is revealed at the final twist. Its relevance seem to be eternally true as the camouflaged honesty of rich though had been a quite old plot but the characters had been so sincerely depicted that they seem real life.