Murder in Amaravati

Sharath Komarraju

Amaryllis, 209 pages,R250

Set in the riverine village of Amaravati in Andhra Pradesh, this novel plants the detective genre in Indian village life. Padmavati, a prostitute, is found murdered, her body dumped in the Kali temple. Men wanted her; women hated her. The onus of solving the case falls on constable Venkat Reddy, a man who has not once managed to crack even a case of petty crime.