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Feluda's Last Case & Other Stories

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The multi-talented Satyajit Ray was so inspired by thedetective fiction of Arthur Conan Doyle that he set out to create hisvery own Indianized version of that immortal sleuth Holmes.The result of that endeavour is Feluda a.k.a Pradosh Mitter a.k.a.the Bengali supersleuth who cleverly combines eccentricity,brilliance and wit. His cousin Tapesh plays the Watson to his Holmes,and their friend Lalmohan Ganguli alias Jatayu,writer of pulp thrillers,provides comic relief.

This book is the last in a series of Feluda short stories translated from the original Bengali.Although the fact that they were written for children meant the usual sex and violence themes had to be abandoned,Ray nevertheless came up with some incredibly innovative plots.

The best story in this book would probably be "The Mystery of Nayan",weaving together magical abilities, financial trickery and a spot of murder as well."The Key" also boasts of an unusual plot with music as its theme."The Gold Coins of Jehangir" and "Trouble in Gangtok" are good too,while "Danger in Darjeeling" starts out well,but ends weakly.However the concluding story, "Robertson's Ruby" is rather disappointing.

The book encompasses the career of Feluda from beginning to end,and although it is obviously and heavily influenced by Conan Doyle,still charms in its description of Indian towns.It also reveals the formidable knowledge and intelligence of its author.

No doubt a great read,but if you want to catch Feluda at the peak of his powers,read "The Royal Bengal Mystery" instead.