Marilyn's Mystery Reads

The protagonist of Death in the Air, Ro Krishna, is the American-born son of Tamil parents.  He spent most of his life in the United States, then moved to England where he received a law degree at Oxford, and since then has traveled widely in Europe, becoming fluent in French and German.  In other words, he’s a cultured man.

As the novel opens, Ro has just lost his position at an international firm.  His boss had been speaking against him behind his back and took all the credit for his work.  He’s not worried about his financial status, but he’s upset and hurt nevertheless.

Almost on the spur of the moment, he decides to go to the world-famous Samsara Spa at the foot of the Himalayas to relax, unwind, and revitalize his body and mind.  It’s located in Rishikesh, where the Beatles studied transcendental meditation.

As it turns out, several of Ro’s friends and acquaintances will be at the spa also.  Like Ro, they are all super-wealthy, worldly, and sophisticated.  They are also very quick with cutting remarks.  Celebrating Ro’s birthday shortly before he leaves for India, one woman asks Amrita, who will play a major part in the novel, about a party she attended.  “It was a great party, if you’d never been to a party before,” Amrita responds.  Ouch!

Among the guests at Samsara are Ro’s friend Joss, a theatrical agent; Chris, the movie star he represents; Chris’ wife Catherine, formerly a diplomat; Mrs. Banerjee, the grande dame who runs the hotel; Makesh, a valued staff member specializing in yoga and meditation; and Amir, another visitor.

Amrita and Ro spend much of the first day talking and discovering a bit about each other, but at dinner she’s obviously upset.  She tells him she’s lost her watch, which had belonged to her mother, and Ro tries to reassure her, saying he’s sure it will turn up.  Then, while they’re eating, Amrita is called away from the table to take a phone call, and when she returns she’s smiling.  Her watch has been found, she is told over the phone, and she decides she’ll pick it up at Reception immediately.

After dinner, Ro and several of his friends decide to do some star-gazing. He and Lala, another guest, go to the laundry room to pick up blankets for the group to lie on.  Hands full, they return to the grounds, Lala in the lead, when suddenly she begins to scream.  In front of them on the grass is Amrita’s corpse.

No one appears to have a motive to murder Amrita, but hers will not be the only murder at the spa.  And the others will appear to be motiveless as well.

Ram Murali has written a wonderful first novel.  Its setting in the Himalayas is both beautiful and remote, and the guests are definitely living the lives of “the other half.”  The dialog is clever and often sarcastic, although never to the victim’s face, only behind their back.  Perhaps that goes with being in the top one percent.

Still, that being said and multiple murders notwithstanding, if someone would like to invite me to spend a week at the Samsara Spa, I’m game!

You can read more about the author at this website.

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