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Book Review: Ten X Murders for the Mind by Amitav Ganguly

Ten X Murders for the Mind by Amitav Ganguly is a riveting crime thriller cum murder mystery book featuring the Inspector Shamsher Brahma. It is a collection of 10 crime and detective and murder mysteries. All the stories are different. Their backdrop and characters are different, not overlapping. However, throughout all the stories the Inspector Shamsher Brahma remains one common character. As a matter of fact, he investigates all the murders by using his sheer intelligence and unique ways.


Since the book offers 10 stories, there are more than 10 murders in the book. The motives of the murders are common i.e. greed, wealth possession, revenge, vengeance, and so on. However, the way the crimes are detected and investigated is something that defines this book different from others. For its genre, it’s way great and tall in the stature. Often such kind of multi-layered and intriguing murders one witnesses in foreign authors works such as Agatha Christie, Dan Brown, Daniel Silva, and so on. Here Amitav Ganguly brings the fresh excitement and riveting stories from his lawn of experience. His writing style is simple yet highly captivating. He perfectly knows where to end the game of predictability.

The USP of the book is that it is driven by the police investigation than any other larger-than-life private detective. The stories move forward with very less sweeps. The author has highlighted the criminal tenacity and motives over the personal issues of the crime-solving team. It is an all-weather book; profound readers of this genre will love it for its unique blending of many aspects into one.

However, there is a common thread in many of the stories and that is about lusting after property and business empires and will by wrong ways. For instance, stories like Beastly Massacres, Murders with Venom, Criminal Legacies – these stories perfectly captured that theme.

Also, the usage of technology, alibi, and skills astray the clues, but, in the end, the brilliance of Inspector Shamsher Brahma and his team outpace all wits and fake evidences. The stories followed a pattern which is not only easy to understand but also equally entertaining. I personally liked when the Inspector confronts its culprits in the end with all valid evidences. To many Indians, the book may remind of the detective Byomkesh Bakshi. The Inspector had similar traits but way different when it comes to time and office they held.

Overall, the book is a lengthy read but worth its money and time. The collection is not monotonous, there are all sorts of crimes and motives that one could think of. The book needs to be read slowly, one story a day.

Buy the book from Amazon/Kindle.

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