Tied to Deceit

by Neena H. Brar

Overview

"A remarkable whodunit that’s as sharp as it is concise." - Kirkus Reviews

On a drizzly August morning, the inhabitants of the hill town of Sanover, Himachal Pradesh, wake up to the shocking news of the murder of the exquisite, secretive, malicious, and thoroughly immoral Devika Singh.

As Superintendent of Police Vishwanath Sharma begins to sift through the hidden secrets of Devika Singh’s life, it becomes evident that everyone who knew her seems to have a clear-cut motive for killing her.

Faced with the investigation of a crime that appears to have as many suspects as there are motives, Vishwanath Sharma probes the sinister web spun around a tangle of lies and deception.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781775158035
Publisher:	Penguide Books
Publication date:	08/04/2018
Pages:	326
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.73(d)

About the Author

Neena H. Brar lives in Edmonton, Canada with her husband, two children, a highly energetic German Shepherd, and a lifetime collection of her favorite books.

A hermit at heart, she's a permissive mother, a reluctant housekeeper, a superb cook, and a hard-core reader.

Tied to Deceit is her debut novel.

Editorial Reviews

"A remarkable whodunit that’s as sharp as it is concise. The smart, believable denouement will have readers looking forward to Brar’s next endeavor." ― Kirkus Reviews

"A literary mystery saga that includes far more depth and psychological and cultural insights than your typical murder mystery's scenario." ― D. Donovan, Midwest Book Review

“Tied to Deceit definitely is a book to recommend to crime fiction fans, especially if you love ‘’who dunnit’’ mysteries!” ―San Francisco Book Review

“This book, more literary than traditional crime fiction, is intricated plotted, filled with dark motives, ordinary lives and richly textured characters. In Tied to Deceit, the author creates a riveting story with her sharp characterizations and keen sense of irony that will keep readers engaged from start to finish. Fans of psychological suspense, along with lovers of brilliant whodunits, will love this complex story.” – The Prairies Book Review

From the Publisher

2018-05-04
In Brar's debut mystery, a detective uncovers secrets surrounding a murder in 1970s India.Gayatri Bhardwaj had suspected her doctor husband, Rajinder, of infidelity even before she received an anonymous letter about an upcoming adulterous encounter. She walks in on him and his lover, Devika Singh, who works at Lifeline Hospital with Rajinder, and Devika only exacerbates the situation by claiming that she's pregnant with Rajinder's child. Devika later turns up dead from strangulation, and Superintendent of Police Vishwanath Sharma's investigation quickly leads him to the Bhardwajs. But the murder case is far from that simple. Others on the hospital staff had blamed Devika for a patient's recent death—she'd contacted police regarding the girl's attempted suicide, which delayed her treatment. Sharma soon learns that Devika had other enemies with motives to kill her. As he delves further into Devika's life, it only deepens the mystery and reveals additional suspects, including her estranged spouse, Virat Singh Chaudhry. Sharma rightly surmises that quite a few interviewees are hiding something, and he receives a note that seems to point him toward a killer—or possibly a scapegoat. Brar enhances her taut murder mystery with an engaging setting that effectively incorporates the local culture, as when someone uses a respectful honorific, "Sahib," for a character they may not respect at all. The narrative is flavored throughout with occasional Hindi, with plenty of context for readers who are unfamiliar with the language. The author reveals her characters to be delightfully complex; for instance, Devika is described as "good, but not always, and certainly not to everyone." The mystery, too, is involving; interrogations make up the bulk of the story, and although readers know a bit more than Sharma does, they'll still find identifying the culprit to be a challenge. The smart, believable denouement will have readers looking forward to Brar's next endeavor. A remarkable whodunit that's as sharp as it is concise.

Kirkus Reviews

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