Murder in the Pettah

What was Dorothy bell doing in the Pettah in the middle of the night ? who drove that knife so precisely through her heart? When the body of a young English girl is found in one of the oldest and least attractive sections of Colombo, these are only some of the questions that pop into CV’s mind. And when, to his surprise, her father comes and offers him the job of finding the murderer, CV, a computer whiz on leave from the US, finds himself an unlikely detective. Aided by his cousin, the gorgeous supermodel Maggie vander Marten, and his old and eccentric Aunt Maud, CV begins to ask questions, only to realize that he has a surfeit of suspects. There is the apparently grief-stricken bisexual boyfriend who stands to inherit Dorothy’s not inconsiderable wealth ; the stiff English father with terrible secrets in his past ; the suave Arab, Mahmoud, who had raped her once ; and Bunday, the owner of Casino Vegas and one-time friend of CV’s, who has mysteriously disappeared. As CV uncovers layer upon layer of lies, cover-ups and secret assignations, he also finds himself falling hopelessly in love. But there is no time to lose, for there is soon another murder. Written with rare with and charm, this intricately plotted whodunit sparkles with a wealth of details as it takes the reader to its astonishing finale and on the way provides a fascinating glimpse of life in Sri Lanka today.