Witness the Night

A hauntingly grim representation of the real issues within India. Desai smartly explores the the corrupting effects of the patriarchy and culture whilst adhering to hard-boiled detective tropes. Simran Singh is a lonely, cynical alcoholic who becomes surrounded by a web of characters with intriguing motives and backstories, all whilst the plot trods along in discovering the truth behind a family murder with the sole survivor being a fourteen year-old girl. The chapters felt dense, particularly because each opened with a diary entry from Durga and concluded with an email correspondence. Whilst the writing did feel overbearing at times, the harsh realness of the content matter cannot be denied and the shadowy, conspiratorial way the story wraps itself around the reader was dangerously exciting.