"Nair writes big, brave descriptions of one brutal murder after the next, relentlessly describing each death even as sub-inspector Santosh loses his breakfast over them."β Time Out
It's the first day of Ramadan in heat-soaked Bangalore. A young man begins to dress: makeup, a sari, and expensive pearl earrings. Before the mirror he is transformed into Bhuvana. She is a hijra , a transgender seeking love in the bazaars of the city.
What Bhuvana wants, she nearly gets: a passing man is attracted to this elusive young womanβbut someone points out that Bhuvana is no woman. For that, the interloper's throat is cut. A case for Inspector Borei Gowda, going to seed, and at odds with those around him including his wife, his colleagues, even the informers he must deal with. More corpses and Urmila, Gowda's ex-flame, are added to this spicy concoction of a mystery novel.
Most intriguing is the grim world of Bhuvana. Her hijra fantasies, emotions, and hopes are etched in a way that is chilling yet oddly touching. Some mysteries remain till almost the end, for instance Bhuvana's connection with the wealthy, corrupt Corporator Ravikumar, who lives in a mansion as grand as the Mysore Palace and controls whole districts of Bangalore.
Anita Nair lives in Bangalore and is a prize-winning author. Her novel Ladies Coupe , published in the United States by St. Martin's Press, is a feminist classic which has been translated in thirty languages all over the world. This is her first crime novel.
Review
"I loved this book and was constantly gripped. Anita Nair's writing in some moments has photographic qualities, in others the precision of surgeon's scalpel; and always the great inner warmth of the human heart. Truly astounding writing."- Peter James, author of 'Dead Simple' and 'Looking Good Dead'
βThis is not just a story of another smart cop on the trail of another serial killer. It is more an exploration of the mind of a killer, that tempts the reader to sympathize.β India Today
βNair writes big, brave descriptions of one brutal murder after the next, relentlessly describing each death even as sub-inspector Santosh loses his breakfast over them. At the crux of every great mystery novel is that penny-drop moment where the revelation leaves you cold with shock. In Cut Like Wound, the penny hits you on your head like a golf ball.β Time Out
ββOnce Iβve created a character, I step into their shoesβ,says Nair who admits to an element of wish fulfillment with Gowda. βHereβs a character who can do all the things I canβt. He rides a Bullet motorcycle and can get piss drunk β all those things that one part of me wonβt allow me to do.β A confirmed detective fiction junkie, you hope the author hurries up with the next installment. Itβs torture to wait two years for any man; itβs even worse if heβs as interesting as Inspector Borei Gowda.β Hindustan Times
About the Author
Anita Nair: Anita Nair lives in Bangalore and is a prize winning, internationally acclaimed author, playwright, and essayist. Her novel 'Ladies Coupe', first published in the US by St. Martin's Press, is a feminist classic. SMP also published 'The Lilac House' by her. 'Cut Like Wound' is her first crime novel.