A Murder is Fixed by Madhav Nayak - Book Review

Publication Date: 31st July 2024

Genre: Sports Cozy Mystery (Indian – Cricket)

3.5 Stars

One Liner: A good debut

Shreya Ved, an investigator in the commission probing on match-fixing in the MCL (Mega Cricket League) is found dead with her head bashed. The commission was almost done with the investigation which would put many top names in hot water.

With an increasing number of suspects each passing hour, Inspector Vichare and Constable Lobo need to find the killer. Russi Batliwala is a one-eyed retired umpire with years of experience on the cricket field. Detection is his latest obsession and thankfully, he has the brain for it. Russi offers his help to the police to find the killer.

Soon, it’s a game off the field where the stakes are too high and the players are not limited to cricketers. Can the trio of investigators solve the crime?

The story comes in the third-person omnipresent POV.

My Thoughts:

I’m a crazy fan of cozy mysteries, though most of the books I read and read (past and present) are set in other countries. Needless to say, I was excited to see this available.

Cricket is a huge thing in India (yet another colonial hangover but at least it makes money), so for a mystery set around the game was bound it to be entertaining.

What I love is the lack of caste and religion nonsense in this one. We have a diverse cast with characters from different backgrounds. However, there’s no drama about their identity. The focus is on what they do. Such a relief!

The book starts slowly and takes a few pages to establish the characters and the premise. Then, it picks up a steady pace until the end (somehow the last chapter felt a bit stretchy).

Set in Mumbai, it uses the local lingo and a liberal dose of Hindi terms/ phrases/ idioms/ etc. Some of them went over my head since I’m not that familiar with it (been a while since I watched CID so lost touch with the language). No idea if the local details (places and distances) are 100% accurate. The author lived in Mumbai for many years, so that’s there.

The mystery offers enough twists to keep the reader engaged. However, it does follow a known template which made it easy to guess the culprit. Also, the last reveal is typical of the genre (thankfully with dialogues to break the monologue). You will enjoy the book more if you are new to this genre.

The conversations could have been better though. As I said, the dialogue aims for a quirky and light tone, which is common in cozies. However, on the whole, nothing stands out and makes an impact. There’s an attempt in the last chapter to give some social commentary which also doesn’t make a mark. (Thankfully, it’s a short chapter, so I wasn’t bored)

The main characters – Russi, Vichare, and Lobo were quite entertaining. Each of them has a distinct yet stereotypical personality. Still, it works in a standalone. (Now, if this would become a series, there needs to be more character development)

Another plus point is that the police duo is easy to like. It’s actually refreshing to read about an average but honest overweight police officer wanting to do his duty and admitting that he needs help.

To summarize, A Murder is Fixed is a worthy debut mystery blending cricket, politics, drama, murder, and a bunch of suspects who stand to gain from the murder. It’s an easy read though not a memorable one.

Thank you, Blogchatter and HarperCollins India, for a copy of the book. This review is powered by the Blogchatter Book Review Program and contains my honest opinion about the book. 

You can buy the paperback of A Murder is Fixed on Amazon.