Rahul Vishnoi reviews A Matrimonial Murder by Meeti Shroff-Shah (published by Bloomsbury India, 2024).
The imaginary, affluent township of the ultra-rich Jain community in Mumbai—Temple Hill is rattled by another murder. When did the first one occur? Well, for that, pick up the first novel in the internationally published Temple Hill series: Death of Kirti Kadakia.
The Matrimonial Bureau ft. Sarla and Kiran
This time, the murder occurs at the Soul Harmony Matrimony bureau, run by two partners mismatched in measures of temerity and temperament. Sarla, who has built her business from scratch, is kickass and calls a spade a spade. Kiran, anxiety-riddled and introverted, believes she stays in the background but is equally solid as a foundation of the business.
So when our writer/jilted-lover/incidental-detectives Radhi arrives at the bureau to do some research for an arranged marriage-related book, the reader knows someone is gonna drop dead. But the person who actually ends up dead comes as a surprise. First, a hat-tip to the writing skills of Meeti Shroff-Shah.
Radhi, who had serendipitously spent the majority of her day with the deceased, is naturally onto her case. Cogs working in her head, she interviews people on the pretext of researching her book and continues to smell for the blood.
Meet the Women of Temple Hill
The world created by Meeti Shroff-Shah unabashedly (and rightfully) belongs to women. They are the bosses and the workers, the elites and the have-nots. Women here are efficient, high-achievers, arrogant, vain, evil, begrudging, intellectual, fierce, family-oriented, drunks, depressed, anxiety-riddled and maybe murderers. Women make the world of Temple Hill go round and how.
With almost all the primary characters women, Meeti Shroff-Shah keeps drama in check. Although she has enough for my drama-hungry Indian palate, three scenes stand out. When Radhi meets the in-house astrologer for the first time, you can feel the cold emanating from the pages. Second, when Radhi’s sister’s mother-in-law, Roma, confronts her about her unsuccessful love life and how it is costing her a friendship, my teeth were clenched throughout the scene.
Last, when Radhi tries to calm a mother whose daughter’s engagement has broken by saying that with time, people forget everything and gives the example of her own divorce, the mother in question all but pounces upon her, relishing in stunning Radhi with rude remarks about her post-divorce social-standing.
Recommended Reading: The Fast and the Dead by Anuja Chauhan
My favourite? About 4.5 pages of an explosive, drama-drenched sequence between Radhi and Roma in which Shroff-Shah takes out all guns, knives, and grenades, satiating the readers’ appetite for a high-voltage confrontation.
Meeti Shroff-Shah’s A Matrimonial Murder is primarily a murder mystery. There are clues on the table and in the dustbin. The writer supplies the reader with a bumbling cop and enough people (read women) who could have wielded the murder weapon. But it is not just a murder mystery. The insecurities of the characters for a good match and the comparisons between whose necklaces are heavier salt up the pages.
Motives, Jealousies, Misgivings and Suspicions
At about the halfway mark in the book, when the investigating cop visits the Matrimonial bureau, Meeti Shroff-Shah gives a bird’s-eye view of the thoughts swirling around in almost every character. One grappling with jealousy at not being invited to be an active participant in the investigation, another interested to know the going-ons but too scared to ask. One of them is the killer, and the author masterfully teases the reader to guess who that could be.
Although the sequels are cursed, this second-in-series is one thumb above the first book. Radhi’s character is more fleshed out, the murder investigation edgier, the characters more interesting, and, dare I say, the love angle (forgive me, o’ gods of literary fiction, for I have sinned) juicier. The relationship between Nishant and Radhi makes for a sturdier growth in the protagonist’s character, forcing her to see her life in a better light. I wish, though, the writer had more to offer on the forced arranged date that Radhi makes for her research.
Meeti Shroff-shah breaks a few bricks in the fourth wall by including her conversation with her literary agent about the ‘murder book’ she has just finished. If only all agents were as sweet as George!
A Matrimonial Murder is chockfull of decadence and glamour. There are Mongolian barbeques and organza sarees (Google it!), mango wood table lamps with mustard silk lampshades and jade green shawls with turquoise peacocks. This excess of money and privilege makes a reader enjoy these good things precariously while also providing a contrast for the characters who come from the lower economic strata. Some of them have lost money, others have never had it. This also makes for the motive of murder, a nice little knot tied up at the top of the murder mystery box.
Recommended Reading: Murder in Shimla by Bulbul Sharma
Patriarchy and Prejudice
Meeti Shroff-Shah persistently unmasks patriarchy, particularly through Inspector Shinde. Even though Radhi gave the police valuable insight about the murder in Temple Hill, these are the words Meeti uses to denote what the cop/others could be thinking about Radhi: “another rich Gujarati woman with plenty of time on her hands,” “idle, entitled woman,” “divorced Indian woman nearing thirty… at the bottom-most rung of the social ladder,” and “bossy, nosy woman.”
To give Inspector Shinde the credit, he doesn’t actually use these phrases for Radhi. So, is that her subconscious throwing these words as her own coping mechanism spurs into action?
Favourite Quote from A Matrimonial Murder by Meeti Shroff-Shah
My favourite lines in the book remind us how ineffective death can be if it doesn’t happen to the ones you love:
Radhi watched the restless woman and wondered at how swiftly life overtook death. For all the power dying held in people’s imaginations, most went back to thinking about life mere moments after being confronted by death.
Conclusion
A Matrimonial Murder by Meeti Shroff-Shah comes with a healthy portion of Gujarati food, so maybe take a trip to that Gujarati restaurant you have been meaning to, take this book along, and post the picture with a review?
Have you read this instalment of the Temple Hill series with layers of intrigue, drama, and murder? Comment below and share your thoughts with us!
