In Dhabba ( The Stain), a millionaire on his death-bed wills his fortune to his nurse in gratitude for the way she had taken care of him during his prolonged period of ill-health. Naturally, his family members are not too happy about the turn of events and decide to contest the will. The nurse meanwhile meets with an accident and dies and the fortune passes on to her daughter Vaishali. Suddenly, one of the witnesses of the will, Gauri Parmar, another nurse in same hospital where Vaishali’s mother used to work, starts proclaiming that she had no idea about what she had signed-on. It is not long before she is found dead and the suspicion naturally falls on Vaishali who would have been deprived of a fortune had Gauri stuck to her stand. Vaishali appeals to Sunil and he starts investigating the case in order to prove her innocence.
I have read a number of Sunil books over the years and while the mystery is just about okay, I absolutely adore the conversations and confrontations between the sensible Sunil and the insensible Ramakant. This book is no exception.
For those who are interested, two of Pathak’s books have been translated into English by Blaft publishers who are doing a great work in translating pulp from Indian languages to English. The two books are from Pathak’s Vimal series. Here’s a link to one of his works @ Detectives Beyond Borders.
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First Line: Shaam sadhe aath baje ke karib Sunil Youth Club pahuncha.
Title: Dhabba
Series: Sunil # 119
Author: Surender Mohan Pathak
Publication Details: ND: Raja Pocket Books, 2010
First Published: 2010
Pages: 334
Other books read of the same author: (Among others) Meena Murder Case, Kala Karnama
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Submitted for various challenges.
I got my first electronic cigarette kit from VaporFi, and I think its the best kit.
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