Dharma: A Rekha Rao Mystery by Vee Kumari

Dharma: A Rekha Rao Mystery by Vee Kumari has an intriguing premise and a decent story line, but the execution falls flat.

Buy or Pass Recommendation: Pass.

The Good

Taken separately, the premise as well as the overall plot have the makings of a good mystery novel.

Though it didn’t quite work for me, I did appreciate the attempt to infuse elements from Indian/Hindu mythology and history.

The Bad

The book suffers from a cardinal flaw: it’s more tell than show. Throughout the book, the author is telling you what’s happening and what the characters are feeling rather than showing you. As a result, you do not connect with the characters or with the events in the book. The narration and dialogue are matter-of-fact and fail to elicit the requisite emotions.

The central thesis of the book and the protagonist’s prime motivation is dharma. Dharma is a complex concept and open to interpretation. And I am certainly no expert on dharma or Hinduism. That said, I do not agree with Rao’s interpretation of her dharma. She is neither a policewoman nor a private investigator. She is called in by the police to serve a specific purpose: to figure out why the idol of Durga was used to commit the murder.

Her dharma, therefore, is to help the police solve this puzzle, not find the killer herself. In fact, hiding valuable information from the police and potentially impeding the investigation would be acts in direct opposition to her dharma. The character is following the dictates of her emotions, which would be fine were they presented as such.

The Nit-picks

Minor editing oversights.

Dharma: A Rekha Rao Mystery has the bare bones of a good mystery novel. The writing needs to be fleshed out to give the story and the characters more depth and feeling.