Book Review: ‘A Minute to Death’ by Ganga Bharani

A very good mystery but an unconvincing climax.

A Minute to Death by Ganga Bharani is a crime fiction/mystery novel set in Chennai, the hometown of the author. I have to write a disclaimer here that the author is my friend, but you should know that I don’t let friendships influence my reviews.

Coming to the book, I seriously enjoyed around 80% of the book as it kept me guessing who the killer might be. Or if there was killing at all. Maybe the romantic scenes and the dialogues were a bit overdone and not that critical to the story, but since these scenes didn’t interrupt the flow and even added a bit of distraction for the reader, they were still fine.

It was the climax that was unconvincing. Don’t mistake me, I liked the concept of the climax, but the execution could have been better. The motive of the killer is not convincing and I am not clear what the killer achieved. That said, the climax is still innovative and different.

I was able to drop my phone just once while reading (actually listening to) the book. The author weaved such a good mystery that kept me hooked and made me want to know whodunit. The way she introduces a prospective suspect so convincingly and then creates situations to eliminate that suspect was very good. There were some loose ends but the author connects them all. Good work, that.

I definitely recommend this book to others – I am sure you will enjoy all the suspense. If you didn’t guess the killer by around 80% I think you’d enjoy the climax even. But I guessed! 🙂

Destination Infinity