Nominated for the Man Asian Literary Prize (2007) Reeti Gadekar's Families At Home starts out as an intriguing murder mystery plotted around an upper class family in the capital. Additional Commisioner Of Police Nikhil Juneja is battling mid life crisis when a case of suicide comes his way. Twenty-three-year-old Saudamini Talwar of the uber rich Talwar family is found dead in her Vasant Vihar (posh Delhiites live here) home.
Now, Juneja is not the typical 40-year-old you come across in metros -- a bachelor, lives in a big house all by himself, often spotted at the night clubs, leads an unsatisfactory sex life and to top all this, his career is not really taking him anywhere. And then comes along this case where he is expected to dig in more than he intends to. It turns out that this is a murder in the guise of of suicide which compels Juneja to get to the bottom of the case.
The title is slightly misleading as the book revolves mainly around Juneja and how he handles his crises -- the murder mystery and the lifestyle of the high profile families in metroes is just a small part of Juneja's life. Somewhere along the story, you (as a reader) will be compelled to think if this is a murder mystery or Juneja's biography. Author Gadekar, who has a PhD in German Literature from JNU, New Delhi, in her debut novel, has tried to explore the complex and darker shade of urban life. Murder mystery, nah. Pick it up only if you need to kill time.
Book Reviews 
Nominated for the Man Asian Literary Prize (2007) Reeti Gadekar's Families At Home starts out as an intriguing murder mystery plotted around an upper class family in the capital. Additional Commisioner Of Police Nikhil Juneja is battling mid life crisis when a case of suicide comes his way. Twenty-three-year-old Saudamini Talwar of the uber rich Talwar family is found dead in her Vasant Vihar (posh Delhiites live here) home.
