Crime and no punishment

Saurabh Tankha

I’ve always had this special place for crime thrillers, both in my heart and in my library. From The Frozen Dead (Bernard Minier) to Thirteen Hours (Deon Meyer) to Hypothermia (Aranldur Indridason) and The Vault (Ruth Rendell) to Critical Mass (Sara Paretsky) to Before I Go To Sleep (SJ Watson), these releases over the last few years have made my heart race faster and pulse jump higher with their twists and turns. Not to forget, And Then There Were None (Agatha Christie), 61 Hours (Lee Child), The Poet (Michael Connelly), A Study in Scarlet (Sir Arthur Conan Doyle) and The Silence of the Lambs (Thomas Harris) which one can keep reading over and over again. Oh! forgot authors Ian Fleming and Robert Ludlam and some Indians who are geniuses in the genre too – Vish Dhamija, Ashwin Sanghi and RV Raman.

Knowing my penchant for the genre, friends keep suggesting new books to me. A former colleague recently called up to tell me that I must read How to Kill a Billionaire (Kalpaz Publications; Rs 260). He described it being a clever and practical dramatic work by seasoned author Rajesh Talwar. With works like Courting Injustice: The Nirbhaya Case and Its Aftermath, The Killing of Aarushi, The Murder of Justice and The Sentimental Terrorist: A Novel of Afghanistan behind him, I was sure that it would be a good read. Talwar is a former UN legal affairs official and a lawyer, which I suppose gives him enough knowledge about criminals and the goings-on in their world.

How to Kill a Billionaire has its share of ups and downs – a billionaire son goes missing, a young girl commits suicide after rape, her old parents succumb to societal pressure and illnesses, girl’s brother plans fool-proof revenge along with what most of us know about like the back of our hand – innumerable loopholes in the system to help the culprit get away scot-free and widespread corruption all around. Talwar writes, “Money must be paid to the court clerk for every small thing, such as finding out a date, having a rent voucher prepared, filing a process fee for the service of summons, getting an application listed the next day – the list is interminable. Nothing moves without money. So much so that these small transactions are accepted as a standard practice, and many court clerks have come to feel and behave as if it is their right and due. Money is paid by the litigant, the lawyer or the lawyer’s clerk as a matter of routine and without a thought –  many of them have ceased to think of it as a bribe.”

Nothing moves without money. So much so that these small transactions are accepted as a standard practice, and many court clerks have come to feel and behave as if it is their right and due

Throughout the book, Talwar has ensured that all the characters are relatable and believable, ones who may be a part of our lives somewhere. He has also given detailed description about each through various incidents and supporting characters. At no stage does a reader feel to be floating in a world of fantasy as Talwar, who is also the narrator of this book, ensures the progress is completely logical and ends with a logic.

Though a solidly plotted work by established lawyer and author, it has an unnecessary use of cuss words, first in Hindi which are followed by its English translation, which I don’t understand at all. I genuinely feel the author could have avoided this. I understand such words are commonly used at certain places, but in a work of literature such words stand out as sore points.

However, you must pick it up even if you don’t like crime thrillers as How to Kill a Billionaire also has a sensitive and emotional story that makes an emotional connect with you. Filmmakers interested in producing a crime thriller movie or an OTT version should surely give this unique, logical story a read.