One Arranged Murder | Book Review, Summary, Book PDF

One Arranged Murder Book Review

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The best selling author, Chetan Bhagat himself speaks “‘One Arranged Murder’ is a gripping murder mystery set in a backdrop of an arranged marriage. Not only does it have intense suspense, it is also filled with humour, love and relatable Indian characters — something common to all my books. The test readers gave a phenomenal response and I can’t wait for everyone to read it.”

The book has all the spices and flavor of a classic masala drama. It has romance, comedy, murder, action, adventure, family drama, friendships, and light-hearted banter. It has a big Indian joint family that looks picture perfect from the outside, but on the inside, it is brimming with secrets and scheming members. People have corrupt intentions, dirty secrets, personal vendettas, and generations-old grudges.

Bhagat employs witty writing style with a generous dose of light-hearted humor. Each part of the book, even the most mysterious ones have comical undertones. Nothing in the book is dark or foreboding; nothing that gives you edge-of-the-seat mystery vibes.

The characters are relatable dealing with day-to-day problems of life. Even though what happens to them does not happen to most of us, but still they are relatable. They dream of quitting their jobs to pursue what they are passionate about. The way they talk, the way they live – I am sure it will be relatable to most of us.

I feel that there is not much substance in Saurabh’s character. He is shown as bossy, complaining, neglectful, and most important of all – his character has been created around food.

“When you have super eaters like Saurabh, how super the food is and how good it is for you doesn’t matter”

Numerous characters, all of whom have different reasons, different motives, and different histories come under the radar of suspicion. The mystery is not the best, most ingenious, and inventive out there – but overall, it is entertaining to read.

The climax is good and gives a befitting end to the story. Some aspects and elements are predictable but overall, the how’s and the why’s remain unanswered till the very end.

Just like most of his books, “One Arranged Murder” is written for the masses. Because the language is so simple and flowy, the book can be easily picked up by a non-reader or a beginner level reader in English.

One Arranged Murder Book Summary

Keshav and Saurabh are best friends, colleagues, flat mates, and business partners at a detective agency they started. They are the same guys whom we see in the book, “The Girl in Room 105”. But Keshav and Saurabh are not talking, and the reason is Keshav’s habit of fat-shaming Saurabh’s fiancé, Prerna. Prerna is on the heavier side, and Keshav always finds some reason to take a jab at her weight.

Prerna and Saurabh, on the other hand, are a cheesy and romantic couple. There is probably more love between them than any arranged marriage couple. On Karva Chauth, Prerna decides to fast for Saurabh. She doesn’t eat and drink all day, and in the evening, gets all decked up, waiting for Saurabh to come and help break her fast. Saurabh is supposed to enter from the back gate and meet her on the terrace of her three-storey house, but when he finally reaches there, what he sees shocks the life out of him.