Dirty Women by Madhumita Bhattacharya will make you feel uncomfortable : Much more than a thriller

4-YO Tara disappears from the house, leaving no clue to trace.

She is the daughter of Drishti Sengupta, an unapologetic singer from Kolkata and a single mother.

Nobody knows if this is an abduction or murder and how even a four-year kid disappeared from her own house?

Drishti being a mystery herself, the case unfolds in many unexpected ways.

A lifestyle journalist Ahana gets involved in the case and goes deep enough to find some hopeful clues. But most of the time, the clues lead to nothing significant. She is the narrator of this book.

There are many people to suspect. Who did this and why?

For me, Dirty Women was a slow-paced thriller. It gained speed in the last 150 pages. The book revolves around the disappearance case of Tara. As a story, it is entertaining and hooking. With every new character and clue, you try to reach some conclusion, but it does not end there.

The writing style is brilliant in parts but might not appeal to all. The themes this book touched upon other than being a mystery novel are superb. It talks about how single mothers, independent and bold women, rebellious women are seen as dirty women, the reaction of media, police, politicians to such cases, how incidents like this are more likely to get sidetracked by the personal details of the people involved, especially women. The book is splendid that way.

There are points where readers need to put extra effort to understand where the story is leading. I feel that the plot took a lot of time to build the story. It could be me because I am not a regular reader of this genre. But I felt some stretched information made this book longer and slower. I read the last 150 pages in a go because it finally created that rush.

To me, the book was much more than a thriller since it outdid itself in delivering messages. But I wish I could love it the way I expected to. It thrilled me in parts, but not entirely. I know, these are mixed views, but I would recommend you to read this! For some thrill and food for your thoughts.

I personally would like to see this as a movie soon.