Six Suspects [Hardcover]

Vikas Swarup (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 28, 2008

There's a caste system even in murder.Seven years ago, Vivek 'Vicky' Rai, the playboy son of the Home Minister of Uttar Pradesh, murdered Ruby Gill at a trendy restaurant in New Delhi simply because she refused to serve him a drink. Now Vicky Rai is dead, killed at his farmhouse at a party he had thrown to celebrate his acquittal. The police search each and every guest. Six of them are discovered with guns in their possession. In this elaborate murder mystery we join Arun Advani, India's best-known investigative journalist, as the lives of these six suspects unravel before our eyes: a corrupt bureaucrat; an American tourist; a stone-age tribesman; a Bollywood sex symbol; a mobile phone thief; and an ambitious politician. Each is equally likely to have pulled the trigger. Inspired by actual events, Vikas Swarup's eagerly awaited second novel is both a riveting page turner and an insightful peek into the heart and soul of contemporary India.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Vikas Swarup is a member of the Indian Foreign Service and Q&A is his first novel. An international sensation, it has been translated into over forty languages, and was recently made into the multiple Oscar-winning film SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE. His new novel Six Suspects is also available as a Black Swan paperback.To find out more about Vikas Swarup, visit his website: www.vikasswarup.net

Product Details

• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: Doubleday (July 28, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385608152
• ISBN-13: 978-0385608152
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.3 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,823,055 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A gritty whodunit with a side of chutney, January 22, 2009

By 

Nikhil Iyer (Plantation, Florida USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Six Suspects (Hardcover)

A rich spoiled brat is murdered and an assortment of characters are identified as suspects. Vikas Swarup's Six Suspects rewinds time and takes us through the events that led up to the eventful night of the murder. Everyone has their motives but do they have what it takes to pull the trigger?

The first thing that intrigued me was the book's layout. In fact, it prompted me to buy it as I was strolling idly through a bookstore in Mumbai. Each chapter is dedicated to one suspect. The second thing that I enjoyed was the detail spent developing the characters of each piece in this chess match. Everyone has an agenda. Nobody is a saint. Thirdly, the writing style of the author is markedly different for each back-story. This gives each chapter a different flavor. Finally, the book takes us all over India and shows us the myriad threads that weaves the country into a giant multicolored quilt.

Having said that, the book did feel a bit linear in some parts. I would have liked the story to be a bit more intertwined than it was. A few more run-ins between the main characters perhaps?

All in all, its a fun read and the ending, which is the bar by which whodunits are judged, was refreshing and satisfactory. I fully expect the big names in Bollywood to clamor for movie rights to this book. It has all the formulaic elements of a "masala" movie with an interesting climax.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars All six are suspects!, June 23, 2009

By 

Jane Austen "Sumita CDM" (New Delhi, India) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Six Suspects (Hardcover)

One of the subjects I like to read is 'mystery/adventure/investigation'. I picked up this book because this book contains the mystery surrounding the death of a person, who is a rich spoilt brat, and the investigation following it. There are, as the name of the book suggests, six suspects, who have could have murdered this person.

The way the author, Vikas Swarup, has divided the book into sections is methodical. In addition, within each section he has dedicated one chapter each for each suspect & built up the story. It's like building up from where you left.

In weaving this story, Vikas Swarup has added many major headlines that hit the Indian subcontinent in the past few years. These headlines have been added to appear as part of the story. For example, Jesicca Lall (model/actor) murder in 1999. The way the son of a politician killed this model/actor in a bar - this was weaved in the story by Vikas Swarup. In a way we could immediately relate to them because we read about these cases a lot.
Similar sounding names of some real life famous reporters/journalist have been used.

Overall, it's a good read - specially if someone likes to read about investigative mysteries.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Better Than Q&A, July 9, 2011

By 

JSmalls - See all my reviews

This review is from: Six Suspects (Hardcover)

This is even better than Q & A. The plot starts off quickly and never lets a reader go. Criticism that the characters are hard to remember is valid because they are more caricatures than actual compelling figures in their own right.