Book Review – Six Suspects by Vikas Swarup

Novel by the Author of the Book That Inspired Slumdog Millionaire

Sep 7, 2009

This murder whodunnit set in India offers background, motive and evidence for six different suspects, keeping readers guessing until the final pages.

Indian author Vikas Swarup offers a complex murder mystery in his second novel Six Suspects (Doubleday, 2008). Swarup’s debut novel, Q&A (Doubleday, 2005) is an international bestseller and the inspiration for the award-winning film Slumdog Millionaire.

Six Suspects

Vivek “Vicky” Rai is the only son of a high-profile Indian politician. Notorious for bribing his way out of trouble, he goes too far when he escapes conviction for the murder of a young woman called Ruby Gill. During the party he holds to celebrate his victory, Vicky is shot dead and six party guests are detained by the police as suspects.

In two separate sections, Swarup outlines the background and motives for each of these suspects, offering readers the equivalent of six novellas in the 460+ pages it takes to bring each character to the scene of Vicky Rai’s death. The evidence and resolution to the crime are then presented in the remaining 80 pages.

An Murder Mystery set in India

Swarup presents India as an almost overwhelming diverse culture in Six Suspects. Bollywood, petty crime, call centres, corrupt officials, the cultural significance of family, the contrast between town and country, the place of religion and ritual – all these are presented through the various suspects and secondary characters.

Unfortunately, the result is a little too diverse with Swarup offering an extensive cast of characters that begin to blur together at times. The format also prevents the build up of suspense as readers are moved to a new character just as the story reaches a turning point.

The story of Larry Page, the Texan duped into believing that he would be marrying a poor but gorgeous rural Indian girl, can be almost completely omitted as the weakest of the suspect characterisations. The story of Munna Mobile and his family and Eketi the tribesman are far more interesting. Jagannath Rai and Mohan Kumar both portray corrupt officials, one a bureaucrat the other a politician, and their characters do cover some of the same cultural ground.

Vikas Swarup

Vikas Swarup is a member of the Indian Foreign Service. His debut novel, Q&A, has been translated into 35 languages and was made into the multi-Oscar award winning movie Slumdog Millionaire.

Fiction Based on Fact

The murder of Ruby Gill by Vicky Rae is a thinly veiled account of an infamous Indian murder trial. Other characters and events also reflect stories taken from the headlines. These reviews for The Guardian by Hirsh Sawhney and Jai Arjun Singh's Jabberwock blog offer a more detailed account of the factual basis for some of the Six Suspects subplots.

Swarup has obviously sought to reflect the complex and diverse nature of Indian society and culture in his novel. Several of the characters are quite engaging and the format of the story is interesting. Unfortunately, it is all too easy for readers to become overwhelmed by the sheer number of characters and subplots and thereby lose the sense of suspense and anticipation needed for a truly gripping murder mystery.

Six Suspects is interesting and enjoyable, with moments of great insight and brilliant portrayal. Unfortunately, these are interspersed with less inspiring writing, making it unlikely that Six Suspects will enjoy similar success to Swarup's previous novel.

The copyright of the article Book Review – Six Suspects by Vikas Swarup in Asian Literature is owned by Susan Whelan. Permission to republish Book Review – Six Suspects by Vikas Swarup in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.