The Singing Bone

Named after one of the chapters in the collection of short stories it actually summarises the concept of the narratives. That the simple clue, which may be easily overlooked sometimes presents the critical solution to the investigator so as to rip the mystery apart, is the fundamental basis of forensic deductions. But the major difference that these mysteries present, is as briefed in the preface, is the inverted way of presenting the cases. Yes, excepting the last, all these are inverted detective fictions. Thus the four, The Case of Oscar Brodski, A Case of Premeditation, The Echo of a Mutiny, A Wastrel's Romance are presented not in the light of who did it but more correctly how they did it. The tiniest clue, the merest coincidence, the microscopic evidence, the chance remark, the curious oddities, all are utilized to the fullest and with seriousness to narrow down the events and pinpoint the perpetrators. It is true that not apprehends the criminal, which frankly speaking will be surprisingly satisfying, but in each case the happenings are completely explained. Infact, the theory put forward by the detective is so close to the actual events that the error is negligibly small. Contrasting to these four The Old Lag is a proper who and how done it where Thorndyke actually takes an interest in unmasking the villain rather than stopping at unravelling the mystery only. Related partly by Jarvis, all the stories presents a humane part where the evil rather than criminals is punished. With proper mix of romance, with Polton assisting as required the anecdotes are charming yet thrilling. The forensic investigations will hold the appeal heightened by the inverted way of relating the events that though makes most of the criminals revealed at the beginning yet keeps the suspense of finding out fashionable enjoyable.

Kiriti Omnibus Vol I

The readers will find the detective, mysteries, adventures, strategies everything but what makes them apart from others is the superhuman ability of the sleuth and the mysterious ways that clues are obtained which actually steals away the delicacy of true mystery tales. The volume introduces the arch enemy Kalobhramar in Kiritir Abirbhab but the major problem is sometimes intuition seems to play a major role than actual intelligence. Also the characters are far too romantic and seems only too ideal to be true. But this was not the case in Chokri and Bouranir Beel where the pace is very sluggish at the beginning but they converge at enjoyably fast pace in the later part with thrilling consequences. The short stories Rahasyabhedi and Harer Paasha are also quite nice but several queries remain unanswered though the mystery unravels in each case and villains unmasked.