Six Suspects

by Vikas Swarup

Playboy and scoundrel Vivek “Vicky” Rai has just been wrongly acquitted of yet another crime: the murder of Ruby Gill. Rai is throwing a party to celebrate his freedom and no doubt engage in even more inappropriate behavior. But the party ends just after midnight, at least for Vicky. Why? Vicky Rai has been murdered.

After sweeping the estate, the police narrow their suspects to six:
• A bureaucrat who, at times, claims to be Gandhi,
• A Bollywood sex symbol with troubles of her own,
• A tribesman,
• A poor mobile phone thief with big dreams,
• An utterly clueless American tourist, and
• An overly ambitious and corrupt politician.

Each suspect was caught with a gun at the party. Each suspect has his/her own motive for killing Vicky Rai. But only one person can be guilty.

I really wanted to like this mystery more than I did. Six Suspects is not nearly as good as Swarup’s previous novel, Q & A.

1/22/10