Review: Murder at the Racecourse by Berjis Desai

Berjis Desai, whose earlier works leaned more towards satirical non-fiction, has experimented with genre and form in his first outright thriller, Murder at the Racecourse. Those familiar with Desai’s work will be heartened to note that the humour carries through to this novel as well with a fine collection of eccentric Parsis and their madcap antics keeping readers entertained. Remarkably, despite being Desai’s debut in the genre, the book reads like it’s been written by an old hand.
Right out of the paddock, the reader can sense that the author is at home in the world of horse racing. He effortlessly slips in seasoned terms and showcases a masterful knowledge of how many worlds come together at the racecourse. His understanding of gambling, the sport’s criminal underbelly, the fixing of races, the politics of official bodies and the many ways horses are used and abused to win large sums of money is intimate and thorough. The reader cannot help but marvel at the characters, especially at the ingenious Nari Mansukhani and at the novel’s revelation of how everyone from the stable boy to the bookie, the jockey and the steward are complicit in the goings-on.
When Nari Mansukhani, ace horse trainer of one of the largest stables in the city, and his boss, Mahesh Vakil, are murdered in quick succession, the racing world is thrown into a tizzy. Known to be fixers, gamblers, punters and altogether unscrupulous, the duo and their bookie pal, Munnabhai, had controlled the racecourse while lining their own pockets. While fingers are pointed and dung is thrown around, the task of apprehending the killer falls on the young, inexperienced cop, Rajan Mohite. As pressure mounts, Mohite must work with the CBI and the who’s who of the racing world to uncover conspiracies, warring factions, the bookie nexus and grudges that run generations deep. Chief among Mohite’s suspects is a sensuous grieving widow, rival stable owners, mob bosses, and competing trainers all fighting for money, power and control of the racecourse. Remarkably, the reader sees how gambling at the races has the power to make or break the fortunes of an entire lineage. As Mohite discovers in the course of the investigation, there are no friends, enemies, lovers or family in this world and all bets are off. Towards the end, with the fate of the racecourse itself hanging in the balance, more mad, old Parsis come in to redeem their brethren. Apart from the plot, the book includes several of Desai’s trademark flourishes including quick dialogue, Parsi references, cuss words and a subtle homage to the city of Mumbai. Much like the Indian Derby, this novel is no quick sprint to the truth. The investigation encounters a range of suspects with motives that include financial gain and revenge. Mohite, Desai’s prime foil, is a lone wolf, who keeps his own counsel and quickly learns how to play the game. Despite his several flaws, it is his independent and flexible morality that makes him relatable.
The pace is blistering and would be hard to match even for the prize-winning thoroughbreds in the book. Apart from the main plot, there are also some dazzling turns such as the election meeting and the Romeo and Juliet parallel. Here, one of Desai’s great achievements is the blurring of lines. Characters enter in black and white, on either side of the law, but by the end, they are revealed cloaked in shades of grey. One of the key highlights is how quickly alliances are formed and betrayed and how warring families band together against law enforcement. At one point, two rival families launch into a joint rant about how the sport of horse racing itself is dying and how their way of life is doomed. The younger generation seems to have little interest, and the animal rights groups and the government too are against them. Desai, who has a keen eye for the class, north versus south and the insider-outsider politics at the racecourse, also provides a fair bit of historical and social commentary about horse racing in India. He also tries to correct the public misconception that it is a sport only for the rich. A byproduct of reading this is to gain a fair bit of knowledge about the races and the many ways in which they can be fixed. In fact, towards the end, one of the characters laments about how, over time, the sport has moved towards gambling rather than winning. When the businessmen characters require quick cash to pay off their debts, they resort to ‘laying’ or ‘eating’ their horse ie betting that their own horse will lose the race.
The only shortcoming in the novel is perhaps the over-commitment to the plot at the expense of the prose. While bare, brutal and simple prose is admirable, after a point it gets monotonous. The plainest of sentences describe major plot points, deaths, tragedies, twists and turns. That flatness robs the characters, barring a few, of uniqueness and relatability. After a point, the reader begins to remember them for their purpose within the novel rather than their names.
Still, for a debut, Murder at the Racecourse packs a mighty punch with its blistering pace and ever-turning plot that is fun to read and difficult to predict. Mohite is a refreshing take on the stereotypical bumbling Mumbai cop, who is usually used for humour and to make the actual detective look good. Desai, however, turns that on its head with a competent, wily cop who can navigate the world of the rich and powerful while making progress in his quest for the truth. The Mumbai racecourse, where the underworld and the city’s elite intersect, is a great setting for murder and intrigue. This reviewer hopes Murder at the Racecourse sets the tone for more to come. It would be very disappointing should this be Mohite’s only outing.
Percy Bharucha is a freelance writer and illustrator with two biweekly comics, The Adult Manual and Cats Over Coffee. Instagram: @percybharucha