‘Stroke of Death’: Murder mystery set in colonial Bengal shines in its portrayal of women’s lives

Shampa Roy’s Stroke of Death is a historical mystery set in colonial-era India that balances history and suspense equally well and delivers to its readers a novel that is delightful and intelligent without faltering at the level of either plot or characterisation.

Death comes calling

The events in Stroke of Death unfold in Rajapur, a small village in Bengal, in 1904. The novel opens with the death of Sarla, a young maid who works in the Rajbari. In a village where this is the first incident of its kind, daroga Bansidhar finds himself out of his depth when it comes to investigating the murder. Luckily for him, he has help in the form of his childhood friend, Inspector Dhananjoy Lahiri, who is visiting Rajapur after a gap of many years. As Dhanajoy becomes embroiled in this case on the behest of Bansidhar, Roy takes her readers on a thrilling ride full of various suspects, red herrings and clues that keep one turning the pages to reach the solution of this puzzle.

The suspects, who mostly include the inhabitants of the Rajbari, are as varied as Radharani Debi, the widowed Thankurani and her relatives such as her husband’s nephew Sukanta and niece Usha, her cousin Sushila Sundari and her husband Rakhal babu,...

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