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Book Review: Mrignayani Ka Shaap by Kundan Kumar

Mrignayani Ka Shaap by Kundan Kumar is a riveting collection of nine short stories spanning across various crime noir genres. From folklore to archeological discoveries to family lineage to ulterior motives and revenge to cold-blooded murder for greed – the book fulfils these aspirations of discerning readers. All stories mostly set in North and Central India leave an indelible charm as one chugs ahead.


The book turns out to be a terrific page turner. The author has maintained elements of thrill and suspense, another good point is that none of the story is self-managing and closing. Most of them are investigated and solved by police cops. Crime patterns and motives keep this book stand tall from other mediocre thrillers, it is in Hindi, but its essence flourishes like as someone is reading international authors like Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Agatha Christie.

Author Kundan Kumar leveraged the local customs, people, and traditions to spin tales in tumultuous and riveting ways. In stories where poison is used for murder, redirects to the jungle tribes that use it on arrows. The first story is about a sword of a deity that goes missing after the priest is killed. As the police delves deep into the case, it comes out that people can go to any length to fetch back their ancestral glory and lineage along with greedy aspirations.

A couple of stories were based on discoveries made by the archeological staff; however, an outsider’s avarice weaves an entangling mess of crime and murders. The most terrific one is about that Nepali doctor, killing babies for spinal cord business. The last story reinstates the belief that revenge is always sweet. A medical college girl kills her classmate for the insults he threw at her openly.

Crime thriller stories aren’t merely stories of killing, hiding, and running away. Deep inside the perpetrators and investigators run a river of human psychic that only a few can understand and resonate with. Kundan Kumar’s writing style in Hindi is exceptional. The way he narrates the scaffold of the story, is commendable. Only a genius mind who has worked and traveled closely in such territories could deliver such a near-perfect book of crime stories. For Hindi literature lover, this book is a must read. And it should be translated into English for a wider reach of readers that savour crime stories with fresh and new perspectives. Amazingly done…a brilliant effort! Kudos to the author!

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  1. AnonymousApril 11, 2024 at 12:06 AM

    a book for crime thriller lovers and every story seems as real

    ReplyDelete
  2. shivaniApril 24, 2024 at 12:59 AM

    nice thrilling stories

    ReplyDelete

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