206 Bones.
A young architect takes up a building redevelopment project, and just as he starts work, out comes a skeleton, not a metaphorical one, but very real (206 bones and all). Thus begins a police procedural that keeps you hooked till the last page. 206 Bones is the sixth and latest in the Inspector Saralkar series by crime fiction writer Salil Desai.
If you love crime fiction and police procedurals in particular, you are by now familiar with the syntax. Body found; Inspector and his PSI arrive at the scene; the forensics procedure follows; red herrings pop up; a valiant attempt to adhere to the “no leaks to media” diktat — the format gives the reader a sense of order and control, and you are in a state of flow. Salil Desai has employed all the devices that make this genre what it is.
True to form, Senior Inspector Saralkar has a strong work ethic but can also be moody and cynical, a bit like Ian Rankin’s John Rebus. He has given up drinking, although he seems to have flirted with rum again in the latest novel. Saralkar brings sardonic wit to the table; he bickers with his wife, Jyoti, and occasionally makes cutting remarks and snaps at his PSI, Motkar.
The PSI knows Saralkar too well and has some smart comebacks — only he doesn’t say them aloud. If you have read any of the earlier Saralkar books, you know by now that Motkar is the perfect foil to Saralkar’s brusque and sometimes boorish approach. Motkar goes by the book, and his work is guided by conventions. Saralkar is not your likeable Senior Inspector; you find yourself empathising with Motkar. It is the combination of Saralkar and Motkar, the flawed and human cops, that seems to work for the series. The police officer who is most impressive with her meticulousness and quiet efficiency in the latest case is the Gen-Z ASI Sanika Zirpe, who unearths some clues to the murder that leaves PSI Motkar feeling slightly envious, and uncharacteristically so.
The city as a character
Set in and around Pune, the city’s social, economic and cultural landscapes play a key role in the Saralkar series, and characters come from different backgrounds. In Killing Ashish Karve (the first book in the series), the author explores family dynamics in a well-to-do household. In 206 Bones, too, the story of a wealthy family is unravelled. The characters are drawn from a cross section of society — wealthy deceased parents with considerable clout, their children settled away from the parental home with families of their own, and a line-up of domestic workers, from gardeners to drivers. The bungalow is Shanti Villa, where, of course, Shanti (peace of mind) is conspicuous by its absence. As Saralkar and his team try to put the pieces of the puzzle together, they are confronted with other events that may or may not be linked to the original mystery.
The author ensures that the curiosity element is intact throughout, without overwhelming the reader with too much detail — oftentimes, writers fall for the temptation to pack in all their research — in this case, research shows, but in the characterisation and settings, and not as standalone elements.
A little more ‘show, don’t tell,’ and we’d have a crisper narrative. For instance, when one of the key characters doesn’t show up for police questioning, we hear of it in at least two different situations — the repetition feels a tad jarring.
Having said that, this latest Saralkar procedural offers not just the thrill of figuring out a whodunit or a howdunit, if you must, but also gives you insights into the working of the police force and the nature of crime itself. Like in the earlier books in the series, here too, there is some amount of philosophising by Saralkar, Motkar and Zirpe — giving us a peek into how police work can make them feel. The procedural also makes you think of how the individual engages with society, with all its constructs of class and hierarchy.
Written simply, the latest in the series makes for easy reading. Salil Desai, it seems, is on to something with the Punekar duo of Saralkar and Motkar.