Crimson Nacre

byAnuja Arora

A small town's first murder unravels layers of hidden lives — and a detective whose logic cannot account for what the locals already know.

Overview

Pindhauri has not seen a crime in living memory. The town is the sort of place that seems too quiet to have secrets — until a gruesome act shatters the silence and reveals that every resident has been guarding something. A gifted artist carrying the weight of a troubled past. A woman whose desire and envy have become a kind of danger. A respected doctor who lives in fear of being found out. And Banka, the town's devoted man Friday, torn between loyalty to a cherished history and resentment of the present.

Police officer Baldev Rawat arrives with an impeccable record and the expectation that this will yield to procedure. It does not. The case resists his logic at every turn, and the townspeople offer him something more unsettling than silence: they speak of a woman who prowls the streets at night, an apparition guarding the long-abandoned House Number Eleven, and a pattern of unexplained deaths that no one wants to name.

Anuja Arora builds her thriller through atmosphere as much as plot — a place where superstition and investigation collide, and where the only witness to the crime has yet to speak.

-:ABOUT THE BOOK:- Pindhauri-an idyllic paradise steeped in slumberous serenity-has known decades of quiet, undisturbed living. Until one night, when the town is shaken by its first-ever gruesome crime. Beneath its calm surface lies an unsettling truth: every resident has something to hide. The circle of suspicion widens alarmingly among Pindhauri's eclectic gentry. A gifted artist burdened by a troubled past. A dangerously alluring woman driven by desire and envy. A respected doctor haunted by the fear of exposure. And Banka, the town's ever-watchful man Friday, torn between loyalty to a beloved past and resentment toward a flamboyant present. As whispers grow louder, brilliant police officer Baldev Rawat finds himself grappling with a case that refuses to yield answers. His impeccable track record falters as logic collides with superstition. The townspeople speak in hushed tones of a ghostly woman who prowls the streets at night-an apparition guarding a forbidden territory: the long-abandoned House Number Eleven. They link the crime to other unexplained deaths that have stained the area with fear. Baldev probes deeper, questioning evasive residents and disturbing silences, only to find himself confronting one dead end after another. And there is only one witness to the brutal act-

Author

Anuja Arora photo
Anuja Arora

Born and raised in Mumbai, Anuja Arora is an alumna of Jai Hind College. As a businessman's wife and a loving mother to Shivang, Arjuna, and their cat Lallaraj-the dearest baby of the family-she has savoured the life of an avid explorer and storyteller, travelling to various cities and countries while accompanying her husband on his business trips. Anuja enjoys shuttling between Mumbai, Dehradun, London, and Portugal, journeys that have broadened her creative horizons and given her the opportunity to meet people from all walks of life. A keen observer of diverse lifestyles, cultural nuances, and individual personalities, she has developed a deep understanding of human behaviour and its many idiosyncrasies. An avid animal lover and nature enthusiast, she often weaves into her stories characters inspired by the environments she has lived in. Throughout her extensive travels, reading and gardening have remained her enduring passions. She began dabbling in writing while her children were growing up. Once they branched out on their own, she poured the stories within her onto paper, publishing her first novel, Invisible Shackles, in 2019. Crimson Nacre is her second book.

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