Murder On a Side Street

Murder on a Side Street has a tight plot, racy story-telling, tricky red herrings, interesting twists and intriguing characters – in short, all elements of a good whodunit. The author, Salil Desai, has topped it off with dollops of youthful humour and the atmosphere of excitement and adventure which keeps the reader hooked. Desai has also been able to breathe life into the characters of the group of young friends, just out of college, who investigate the crime. Their individuality, earnestness, courage and rapport set them apart from the caricatures and stereotypes of young people, we see in most books these days. Murder on a Side Street is Salil Desai’s second murder novel released in 2011, and it lives up to the promise of his first one The Body in the Back Seat. On the whole Murder on Side Street is an enjoyable, light weekend read or the ideal book for your next train or plane journey. Desai’s novel certainly signals hope for homegrown detective fiction.










Salil Desai is an author and film-maker based in Pune. 'Murder on a Side Street' is his second novel. His first book 'The Body in the Back Seat' was well received and even acclaimed as 'the best murder mystery by an Indian author so far' by The Sunday Tribune. His stories have earlier been published in several anthologies. An alumnus of FTII, his dramatized management training videos (www.relivingindia.com) are much appreciated in the corporate world while his short films, 'Making Amends' and '…To Khayega Kya' have been screened at various film festivals. Salil also conducts workshops on fiction writing and film-making for British Library. Over 300 articles, travelogues and stories penned by him have appeared in The Times of India, Indian Express, Alive, ME, DNA and Sahara Time.