THE MISS INDIA MURDERS

 : The Miss India Murders

✍️ : Gauri Sinh

 : 240

 : #crimethriller

⭐ : /5

Many of us have been obsessed with beauty and the blitzkrieg fame and fortune that comes with it. There have been glamorous beauty pageants since ages for contesting beauties. A few have been embroiled in controversies like the recent Mrs Sri Lanka pageant where the reigning Mrs World had pulled the crown off the head of Mrs Sri Lanka in an on-stage fracas, moments after she herself had crowned the winner!

 Coming to this book, it is set in the year 1995. It’s four days to go for the grand finale of the Miss India pageant hosted by Eye India, the mega media conglomerate! There are  twenty one beautiful contenders for the crown, including India’s sweetheart and reigning model, Akruti Rai and Parvati, an enigmatic contestant. Just like other contests, there’s jealousy, selfishness and craze to win the coveted crown which could propel their chances to be the next Bollywood diva!

In the final dress rehearsal, the sensuous and ambitious contestant Lajjo is dramatically murdered right on the ramp. Soon, Akruti and others become suspects in a case that gets increasingly macabre as more bodies pile up. There’s massive public outcry and searing press coverage of this national contest with lots at stake. Meanwhile Parvati approached Akruti to help her investigate the murders. Who really is Parvati? Can Akruti ever be Miss India?

The author has woven a glamourous tale that is extremely engaging and pulls us into the 90s modelling era from the start! Each chapter deepens the mystery and the end has an unexpected surprise! I loved Parvati’s character and felt Akruti was a bit self-absorbed model. Also I loved the conversations between each contestant and got to know a lot about how such contests work. The fast-paced narration coupled with a flowy language added to the  thrill and mystery!

A must read in Indian thrillers and an unputdownable book! This would have been a blockbuster movie for Bollywood 🙂