Marilyn's Mystery Reads

It’s quite a comedown from starring in films in Hollywood to making whiskey commercials in Mumbai, but the latter is where George Abercrombie is now.  Although he still has dreams of obtaining funding for his film Fragments of a Forgotten Soul, that doesn’t seem to be happening, so he is reduced to shilling for Glen Doone, an Indian whiskey that to George’s mind is virtually undrinkable.

Returning after an evening of too much to drink to the penthouse apartment where he and his wife Sweety live, George falls asleep on the living room couch.  Although his head still feels like it’s being hit by a hammer when he wakes the next morning, he goes in search of Sweety, India’s sweetheart of the cinema.  He moves from room to room, including a couple he’s never entered before, until he makes his way to their bedroom.  There is his wife, or rather her corpse.

George and Sweety’s lives should have been made easier by the servants they employ, but that is not the case as they have their own secrets.  Gemma is Sweety’s secretary, an American woman who is in India escaping from her unhappy past into a dangerous present.  She is having an affair with Ash, the Honourable Minister for Civic Affairs, who is married and a father.

Still unaware of Sweety’s death the morning after it occurs, Gemma receives a sexually explicit video on her phone of herself and Ash in a hotel room.  Immediately after viewing the clip she gets a phone call telling her to get Sweety’s laptop and password.  Ignoring her protests that she doesn’t have either, the caller informs her that unless she gets them within the next three hours and delivers them to the location she’s told, the video will be sent to Indian news channels and social media.

Amir, George’s personal assistant, is working hundreds of miles away from his family in order to earn a living and send money back to them.  He sells Fat Moeez, a powerful criminal, whiskey that he says is from George’s personal collection, but it isn’t.  The gangster, furious at discovering the deception, orders him to steal money and jewelry from Sweety, which he does, but escaping from the gangster’s clutches isn’t that easy.  Amir attempts to flee Mumbai, but is captured by Gullu, one of Moeez’s henchman. Gullu tells Amir, “Fat Moeez would like a word with you.”

The Pinnacle is a fascinating look into life in Mumbai, a city of nearly 28 million, in which the millionaires/billionaires live on Malabar Hill, where security guards stop cars at The Pinnacle’s entrance to make certain the occupants are expected by the tenants, and there are separate elevators for the residents and their employees.  The higher one’s floor, the more prestigious the location.  In this stratified building, George and Sweety live on the 68th floor of the 70 floor edifice.  Almost top tier but not quite.

Abir Mukherjee’s latest mystery delves deeply into the city’s life as seen through the eyes of both Americans and Indians.  The characters are constantly surprising you with both their thoughts and their actions, and The Pinnacle joins the list of outstanding novels by the author.

You can read more about Abir Mukherjee at this website.

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