The body in the back seat

Reading Salil Desai’s ‘The body in the back seat’ is like being excited about a dish prepared by your mom, only to realize that a little salt is missing which would have made your meal just perfect. Don’t get me wrong, it is much better than any of the fiction novels you have across in recent times specially in the genre of murder mystery but it fizzles out exactly at the point it should have picked up steam. Dissecting the book into further details will be like giving away too much away, and that is one crime you don’t want me to commit. But let me just say, it could have been so much more. It’s all foreplay and much less playoff in the end.

If there is one rule every crime/mystery novelist should follow for success, then it would definitely be that book should be a page turner. And Salil Desai manages to do that with his debut novel, The Body in the Back Seat. A 250 page mystery novel set in Pune; the Body in the Back Seat makes you compete with the police officers for answers about the death of Ashish Karve. 

The book starts off brightly and briskly when we are exposed to the murder in the back seat of the car and how the traffic cops identify the body. Right from the first page an atmosphere of suspense is beautifully created, that manages to retain its momentum till the very end. Though it seems to be moving slow for a few pages, it is reflective of the mood of the city that morning (and even makes you jump at the thought that probably the parked car you pass by everyday might have a body in it). But once the police are brought into the picture, things unfold rapidly, while allowing you enough time to scrutinize each potential suspect. However from the moment Senior Inspector Saralkar comes onstage with PI Motkar at his side, the book picks up. Saralkar is convinced that the apparent suicide victim has been murdered and he is equally convinced that one of the family or a business partner must have done it, since that is his pet psychological theory. 
In the next 100 odd pages, we are introduced to a Rajshri-style saga consisting of victim’s family members, friends and business associates. At this point, author’s attention to detail and pitch-perfect accuracy in describing the state of mind of each of the characters is commendable. The writer adds human touch to the way the cops deal with the crime and pushes the envelope by inserting psychological games they play with the suspects. However, the episodic nature of interrogating each of the characters with almost similar set of questions slackens the pace considerably. Shifting from one character to another in the screenplay, the writer delves into the emotional psyche of each of them even when it is clear that a few of them may not be associated with the murder in any form.

One by one we are introduced to all the people who had close contacts with the victim and who may therefore have a reason to murder him. This is accompanied by insights into police procedure and the good cop bad cop games that we know police are accustomed to play.

The author throws in clues at regular intervals and creates a sense of a passionate motive for the crime. Though it would be inappropriate to reveal the motive or the murderer here, one can safely say that at least one of them is the usual suspect!

Relying more on treatment than content to take the story forward, author exposes to the dark secrets of the victim’s life as the two cops tries to unravel the mystery using various clues. From here on, it gets inconsistent with its own logic. If you look back after finishing the book and tries to fit in pieces, you will definitely wonder at reactions of the main culprit at certain points in the narrative. There are a few coincidences and last minute character thrown in to get out of tricky screenplay situations to resolve the mystery. It is only with avoiding any self-indulges or side-tracking into sub-plots, the author keeps the narrative on a tight leash.

Through the course of the book, Saralkar and Motkar interact with a lot of people who they see primarily as murder suspects, and hence, who they think are beneath them. Desai uses this as a perfect tool to dish out some acerbic, yet funny, lines. Motkar’s struggle to try and teach his son basic mathematics also makes for some lighthearted distraction.

I have to admit that I’m tasteless enough that the macabre humor also made me laugh: 

“What’s this new technique of custodial death you’ve adopted, Ghorpade?” asked Saralkar cheerfully. “You tow away people in their cars, and then eliminate them?”
PI Ghorpade chuckled. “No, no, it’s our traffic colleagues who’ve decided to start penalizing all parking violations with death.”

Our hero, Senior Inspector Saralkar is astute, afflicted by mood swings (though generally of grumpy nature), and a reader’s delight, sarcastic about the Secrets of Living spirituality course the department has deputed him to attend, and astute at popping perfect Catch 22 questions to his longsuffering subordinate (“Are you in a hurry, Motkar?”)
Luckily 'raps' were a thing of the past; he can but pound the table with his fists and hiss with contempt, 

Get out, Motkar! You aren’t fit to be a police officer! You ought to be a clerk in one of those fancy companies that give paternity leave!

But Saralkar can be gentle too – surprising even himself – when the need arises. I liked almost everything about him – except perhaps the fact that he didn’t care for some of the many thumb rules and unofficial norms of policing – such as delaying police intervention to let matters sort themselves out – it’s a tactic that the sadly overburdened Pune police really cannot do without.

The story-telling is simple and neat, and the book is a real page turner, though the prose does get clunky at times. The book holds your attention, at least till it enters the last third, where it falls flat. It is well intended, neatly packaged and crisply edited book. It has got it’s heart in the right place all through, but other body parts are scattered all over by the time you reach the end of the book. Still, i make a recommendation to read it.

Regards
Rajeev Roshan