Customer Reviews

A Very Insipid Passion

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The book is an interesting book to say the least; it has a little bit of everything. A depressed Doctor who lost his best friend and comes up with the only idea that can help his own depression. His own idea to be involved in a murder investigation and the only man that can help him Dr. Martin. The murder case leads you into many places and many people that may be behind it. Only with the aid of Alexander Bloorwoise do they have a chance at solving the murders. Larry Hobson Author " The Day Of The Rose"

This is a highly original study of four detectives, each a different type and all working on the same case. Two are professionals, Chief Inspector Halley Willard, a veteran officer of some renown, and Dobbelia Smith, an earthy, outspoken woman who, in this case, does most of the leg work for him. The narrator of the story (Detective Number Three) is Dr. Martin who, while he maintains a private practice, is also consulted by the city in the role of Forensic Psychiatrist. Fourth of this detectival quartet is "Sandy" Bloorweise, a patient of Dr. martin's. Dr. Bloorweise (who has not practiced medicine sine he came to the United States from England several years ago) has a clouded history which may or may not include murder. He also has an obsession with the novels of Agatha Christie.

The case which brings them all together involves the murder of a young man named Anton Alva. Dobbelia is assigned to the case at first, although later the investigation will be taken over by Inspector Halley. Dr. Bloorwoise, intrigued by the problem and seeing in it an opportunity to play the Great Detective in real life, urges Dr. Martin to find out all the details he can about the matter. The quartet meets several times to bounce ideas off one another, giving the reader an opportunity to compare their styles, personalities and approaches to the puzzle.

The real strength of the book is in its contrasting detectives: Inspector Halley, with a room in his apartment dedicated to his late wife; Dr. Martin, an inveterate skirt-chaser; Dobbelia, a single mother with a worrisome child; and Dr. Bloorwoise, plagued with guilt feelings whose origins we will not understand until the end of the book: Does he feel guilty because he committed a murder or is it because, although innocent, he tacitly accepted "credit" for the murder of a woman who was widely hated in the little Agatha Christie village in which he once lived. If the denoument of the main story seems outrageous, the denoument of Dr. Bloorwoise's story is quite satisfying.

Four detectives. Three with egg on their faces and one with an enigmatic smile.

A novel is an attempt to experience life through the imagination of an artist. A common man experiences life more or less as disjointed concatenation of events, bereft of a scheme, meaning, purpose, color, and substance. It is the imagination of an artist which imparts pain and passion, humor and emptiness, moral sheen and absurdity to life.

John Gardener said,"A novel is a vivid and continuous dream." It is a stretching of a myth in myriad dirctions, a search for
the meaning of life forever eluding the grasp of the novelist, yet scintillating enough of a challenge to forever engage him in its pursuit.

A detective novel is a literary genre of a particular kind. A narrowed, specialized novel, which serves its followers with the release of ardenaline through their spines with a whodunit and saturates their senses with entertainment and euphoria of action. Though its convas is limited, it can still be a work of art. It is through the lens of this possibility we will judge Dr. Mitra's work.

"A Very Insipid Passion" starts with the mystery of Dr. Bloorwoise's past. What has he done to be depressed? While we are fathoming an answer to this question, we are thrown into the main mystery of the book, the death of Anton Alva. On the face of it, the death of a young man should not ruffle a hair on the head of a New yorker, where murders form a constant backdrop of a glittering but dehumanized life.
Even with the glitter of a woman committing the murder in the story, it would not make too many heads turn toward it in real life. But the author, who is very conscious of having to deliver the prizes of a detective novel, makes the mystery tangible by adding a number of human relationships and twists of the situations in the murder tangle, to make it interesting and entertaining.All this savvy plotting and delicious writing gets suddenly choked and turns to a mystery-composed-by-a-menu when Dabnor champion, the dashing, charismatic millionaire is dragged into the plot.After the ambitious push of Dabnor in the Anton murder, the work loses its sophisticated charm and artistic demeanor.Dabnor Champion becomes the hero of small thrillers, with enough psychological contours and virile panache of a modern successful man to become heroic, in spite of his evil soul. Dr. Mitra has tried to put the best of macabre psychology and sick smartness of a modern man to entertain the reader.

The concomitant work of four detectives-Halley Willard, Sandy Bloorwoise, Dobbellia Smith, and Dr. Martin-to solve the Anton case is most interesting and intriguing. It is to the writer's credit that he creates a many-sided puzzle to keep the reader alert and entertained.

Throught the book the narrative is polished, light, well-paced, and witty-a fabric studded with brilliant nuggets, working in staccto to embellish the whole. Most of the book is in dialogs, which are credible and give it pace and human touch.

Charecterizations of Dobbellia Smith, Sandy Bloorwoise, and Halley Willard are excellent work, but at times smothered by overwork. Dr. Martin is the most obscure of the characters. The most ersatz people are Gregorina and Eve Ryder-both women. (Dr. Mitra seems to have done more for the single-malt whisky than any concerted effort by its trade-group to promote the product.)

Overall, the work is a finely wrought iron sculpture, with main strong and graceful trunk, its sinewy spiralling branches. Some structures are overdone, some details are manipulative. It comes across as a wholesome first-work of a talented writer, who is cut out to do higher level work than the present effort. Dr. Mitra should wield his brush on a wider convas, the novel-a detective novel under-tests his talents.

Read the book for its charm, entertainment, and fine prose.

This is a highly original study of four detectives, each a different type and all working on the same case. Two are professionals, Chief Inspector Halley Willard, a veteran officer of some renown, and Dobbelia Smith, an earthy, outspoken woman who, in this case, does most of the leg work for him. The narrator of the story is Dr. Martin who, while he maintains a private practice, is also consulted by the city in the role of Forensic Psychiatrist. Fourth of this detectival quartet is "Sandy" Bloorweise, a patient of Dr. Martin's . Dr. Bloorwoise (who has not practiced medicine since he came to the United States from England several years ago) has a clouded history which may or may not include murder. He also has an obsession with the novels of Agatha Christie.

The case which brings them all together involves the murder of a young man named Anton Alva who, while walking along a street in the early hours of the morning, is encountered and shot by a well-dressed woman, the murder being witnessed by a man on the balcony of a nearby apartment building.. Dobbelia is assigned to the case at first, although later the investigation will be taken over by Inspector Halley. Dr. Bloorwoise, intrigued by the case and seeing in it an opportunity to play the Great Detective in real life, urges Dr. Martin to find out all the details he can about the matter. Eventually, Dr. Bloorwoise is introduced to Inspector Halley and the quartet meets several times to bounce ideas off one another, giving the reader an opportunity to compare their contrasting styles, personalities and approaches to the puzzle.

Suspects include Eve Ryder, the girl with whom Anton shared a hovel in Greenwich Village; David Case, the hot-tempered young man Eve expects to marry some day; Dabnor Champion, the fabulously rich financier; and Gregorina Nambikova, the beautiful would-be actress with whom Dabnor shares his life. Before the story ends, Gregorina comes as a patient to Dr. Martin, who at one point finds himself locked in her closet when Dabnor returns unexpectedly to their apartment. There is also another murder.

All of this is very interesting and even exciting at times but the real strength of the piece is in its contrasting detectives: Inspector Halley, with a room in his apartment dedicated to his late wife; Dr. Martin, an inveterate skirt chaser; Dobbelia, a single-mother with a worrisome child; and Dr. Bloorwoise, plagued with guilt feelings whose origins we will not understand until the end of the book. Does he feel guilty because he committed a murder, or is it because, although innocent, he tacitly accepted "credit" for the murder of a woman who was widely hated in the little Agatha Christie village in which he once lived? If the denoument of the main story seems outrageous, the denoument of Dr. Bloorwoise's story is quite satisfying.

Four detectives. Three with egg on their faces and one with an enigmatic smile.

If you would like to relax and have your brain tickled and challenged simultaneously, just pick up a copy of "An Insipid Passion" and start reading. Moreover, should you be a lover of Golden Age Mysteries you might chuckle as you respectfully suggest to the immortal Agatha Christie that she should move over to make room for R.N. Mitra. This is a most enjoyable read.

A Forensic Psychiatrist covering for a vacationing colleague, is summoned to attend a patient on "suicide watch." Following his discharge from the hospital, the patient consults the psychiatrist about his continued depression. Early on the depression's source is established as an addiction to the murder mysteries of Agatha Christie, which are no longer available since the author's death. This constitutes the "Insipid Passion" of the book's title. The patient becomes an armchair sleuth, investigating a murder in tandem with the psychiatrist. The felicitous results are solving the murder and recovering from his depression as well.

Mr. Mitra's writing reflects the liquid and solid gastronomic features currently popular in many recent novels. Some of his personal favorites are 10 year old single malt Scotch, Courvoisier VSOP and exotic edibles such as Quail Liver Pate appetizers. What makes this first novel interesting are the witty exchanges and colorful metaphors that enliven so many pages, and the narrator's psychiatric background (is this the author's too?)which contributes an unusual, fresh approach to what is a frequently morbid subject: the patient.

I started the book with trepidation, for it is by an unknown writer. However, once begun, I could not put it down! The mystery is lively and the author's love for the golden age detective stories comes through in every page. I read it at break neck speed and enjoyed every moment of it. The book ends on a mysterious note and I had to think hard to unravel the final bit of puzzle. A great read for the upcoming holidays!

So surprised to read a book of such complex plot, from a writer I have never heard of. Is Mitra a nom de plume of someone famous? The story spans from an English village in the 70s to the modern day Manhattan! Hints of Agatha Christie books is an effective ploy. The sheer delight is the camaraderie of the chief characters, Dr. Martin, Halley Willard and Sandy Bloorwoise. Into the cauldron, where single malt whiskey and gourmet food sizzle, add the delightful (but rather feeble witted) Inspector Dobbelia Smith and the results are heart warming. The first mystery in the book is more compact and convincing. The main mystery, although unnecessarily convoluted, is still a danger to your hair, since you keep scratching your head! Keep it on your Christmas list!

A Very Insipid Passion (what a title!) is really a red hot passionate tale. Full of witty intrigues, and a mystery that is reminiscent of the best of the classic fiction of the genre. The premise is so magnificent! An English Physician (who has a mysterious past) has made a serious suicide attempt because there are no more new Agatha Christie novels to read. As part of his therapy, he gets to participate in a murder investigation that has enough twists and turns to baffle the architect of Minos' Labyrinth. The characters are lively and their drinking habits will send any like minded Bacchanalic to the nearest pub to quench their thirst which develops as one reads the book. Pub owners should be ordering this book. However, Martin, Halley and Sandy are far from the morose alcoholics of Chandler and Hammett. They seem to share Fat Andy Dalziel's love for single malt whiskeys and enjoy their own bibulous escapades. There are glamorous women, and they provide much fun whether they are sleeping in bed with a pillow in between the occupants or trying to kill themselves or just enjoying the fun with the men! Inspector Dobbelia Smith with her quaint English phrasings will certainly become a favorite. (Can she be patterned after Watson or Hastings?) A delightful confection, very reminiscent of Mrs. Christie's wonderful books (there are references to some of Christie's works) and will be an ideal gift for the frustrated Christie fans for this Christmas. The reason I have deducted a star is the less than competent editing and some overlooked typos. A grand read. Enjoy!