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Sharmishtha Shenoy
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Behind the Scenes: A Vikram Rana Mystery (Vikram Rana Mystery Series) Kindle Edition

by Sharmishtha Shenoy (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.1 out of 5 stars 284 ratings
Behind the Scenes...
Fading superstar of the Bengali film industry Ryan Gomez is poisoned to death while shooting for a film in the pretty hill town of Darjeeling. Sheila Dhar, the film’s beautiful female lead with whom Ryan had recently broken his engagement is the chief suspect. Sheila attempts suicide and is shifted to a hospital in Kolkata for treatment. The CID, Kolkata, takes over the investigation and the film crew is allowed to move back to the “City of Joy”.
Though revenge for the broken engagement seems the obvious motive for the murder, there are several others who had reason to wish Ryan dead. Powerful film producer Rustom, the love of whose life ended up becoming Ryan’s first wife. Screenplay writer Allan, who was in danger of being fired from the production house thanks to a public tiff with Ryan. Acclaimed film director Paddy, who was in love with Sheila. Sheila’s mother, Jaya, who was strongly opposed to her marrying Ryan. The family of Ryan’s first wife, who bear a deep grudge against him.
There are suspects galore, but the murderer has not reckoned with the tenacity of Vikram Rana.
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  1. Print length
    250 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publication date
    October 30, 2017
  4. File size
    530 KB
  5. Page Flip
    Enabled
  6. Word Wise
    Enabled
  7. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
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Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0771NXNXX
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ October 30, 2017
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 530 KB
  • Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 250 pages
  • Page numbers source ISBN ‏ : ‎ 1979334188
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.1 out of 5 stars 284 ratings

About the author

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Sharmishtha Shenoy

Sharmishtha Shenoy

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Sharmishtha Shenoy is the author "Murder in the Chowdhury Palace" published by Vishwakarma Publications. She is also the author of the Vikram Rana Mystery series. The books that are part of the series are: Vikram Rana Investigates, A Season for Dying, Behind the Scenes and Fatal Fallout. Murder in the Chowdhury Palace, A Season for Dying and Behind the Scenes has reached #1 in hot new releases.

Her short stories have been published in reputed magazines. She loves writing murder mysteries, the kind of books that she herself likes to read. Before starting to write, she had been an IT professional and had worked in TCS, Satyam, Infosys, and Microsoft. She is a big foodie and enjoys Biriyani (both Hyderabadi and Awadhi versions) and rasgullas like most Bengalis. She is also a lusty singer of the bathroom singing variety. Though she is happily married to Mr. Shenoy in real life, in her fantasy world she is wedded to her creation, Vikram Rana. You can get to her blog by typing the word “Sharmishtha Rana” into Google. No, seriously, try it. She was born in Calcutta. She is an M Tech from the University of Reading, Great Britain and had received a 100% British Government Scholarship to study there. She lives in Hyderabad.

You can reach her at sharmishtha.shenoy@gmail.com

Customer reviews

4.1 out of 5 stars
284 global ratings

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Top reviews from the United States

  • Kumar Garimella
    5.0 out of 5 stars especially the characterization is extremely good. The story goes through various twists keeping the ...
    Reviewed in the United States on November 2, 2017
    Verified Purchase
    Very interesting story, kept me glued all thru...especially the characterization is extremely good. The story goes through various twists keeping the readers guessing about how the conclusion /climax. The style of writing and narration of the story are very simple and native - which can potentially make readers connect back with their own experiences with the legacy of the cities where the story takes place, for example - names of places, streets, eating joints and even the very description of attires of the characters in the story.
    At the time where novels, books and in some sense the current neo literature morphed into fantasy based heroic techie adventures or on contemporary romance, social, religious, faction, biopic route, this book provides a soft and calming experience which is different from the main stream, typically can make readers ruminate an era in the past (probably 70's and 80's) where these type of story telling was prevalent - it is not to say "an old wine in new bottle" rather to say " a new way of story telling with legacy and charm of the past"
    One person found this helpful
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  • Yalt Stonesmith
    4.0 out of 5 stars An Exotic Murder Mystery
    Reviewed in the United States on December 29, 2017
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    Behind the Scenes, by Sharmishtha Shenoy, is a murder mystery set within the Bengali film industry in which detective Vikram Rana must search for clues and hidden motives in an industry where everyone has something to hide. The novel’s plot goes through several twists and turns that keeps the reader guessing until the very end.
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  • Amita Patel
    5.0 out of 5 stars A must read mystery
    Reviewed in the United States on November 23, 2017
    A very intriguing whodunit. The writing is excellent. I also recommend the other Vikram Rana mysteries. You will not be disappointed.
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Top reviews from other countries

  • S. J. Hall
    5.0 out of 5 stars Murder in India, and the food is good as well.
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 11, 2018
    Verified Purchase
    Wow! What an amazing novel by a writer who counts Agatha Christie as one of her favourites. This follows a similar format where a death occurs and we are immediately misled as to who may or may not have been the murderer. A second murder was almost inevitable.The private detective, with sidekick (a police officer), interview each potential murderer until he calls all of the cast together for a big reveal.
    The twists and turns are always a great surprise. The biggest twist was impossible to guess.
    I'm sure that readers of Agatha Christie will approve of this novel.
    I have particularly enjoyed the location set in India, a country I know very little about, but having read this author's three books, I now know a lot more and would like to visit; but to stay away from the murderers. The consistent food offered through this story sounds most inviting.
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  • Anupama Dalmia
    5.0 out of 5 stars A delicious thriller which will keep you hooked till the end
    Reviewed in India on November 5, 2017
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    I had loved the last book in this series and the only thing that didn't work for me in that one was the sloppy editing. I am so glad that with "Behind the scenes", the author has ensured that the reader has a smooth journey through her book without the editing glitches. This is truly the hallmark of a good writer.
    "Behind the scenes" is a taut, captivating and racy whodunit which takes us through the cities of Darjeeling and Kolkata. A superstar is murdered and Ms. Shenoy gets to the point right away. I loved how we get a glimpse of the locales in which the story unfolds with just the right amount of description that a tale of this kind requires. Vikram Rana is in form yet again supported by the endearing character Lobo in this edition. The plot is juicy and the backdrop of the film industry adds spice to the story. In between, somewhere I did guess the identity of the murderer but even then the climax caught me by surprise because I didn't expect it to unfold the way it did. The moment you think you have cracked it, you will be caught off guard by a twist in the tale. I also liked the structure of the narrative because it leaves no room for any confusion. Vikram Rana's clear analysis of all suspects makes everything clear to the readers too and we feel like we are a part of his investigation. The emotional touch in this murder mystery is also a factor that works in favor of the book. There were a few typographical errors here and there and I felt there was a minor blooper in the climax revealing which would give away too much. I don't want to kill the suspense hence I would reserve my comment on it. All in all, a fantastic read that deserves to be made into a Bollywood flick. Go for it if you are looking for a quick and riveting read!
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  • Pankaj Goyal
    4.0 out of 5 stars A very well written detective fiction
    Reviewed in India on January 21, 2018
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    Behind the Scenes by Sharmishtha Shenoy is the third installment of A Vikram Rana Mystery series. I have already read and reviewed the first book of the series – Vikram Rana Investigates: Tales of Murder and Deception in Hyderabad. You can read my review of the same here. This book was a collection of two short detective stories and introduced me to Vikram Rana (the detective). In this first installment, I got my first impression of this sleuth and I gradually developed a liking towards him. I liked both the stories too but, at the same time, felt that something was missing. However, both the writing and the character of Vikram Rana left a good impression on me and I planned to read the upcoming books of this series. Sadly I missed my opportunity to read the second book featuring Vikram Rana, but my happiness knew no bounds when I got an opportunity to read and review the third book of the series. So, is this book better than the first one? My answer is a big yes. While with the first book of the Vikram Rana series Sharmishtha Shenoy introduced herself as an upcoming author, with this book she has definitely established herself as a major new talent. I really liked the way she has developed herself as an author.

    Behind the Scenes has everything a detective fiction should have. There is an intriguing murder mystery, a number of well-developed interesting characters, a number of clues, and, most importantly, a good plot. The story revolves around Ryan Gomez, a fading superstar of the Bengal film industry. He gets murdered during the shooting of a film in Darjeeling, a popular hill station town in India. Sheila Dhar, playing the female lead in the film, is the chief suspect because Ryan had recently broken his engagement with her. All the circumstantial evidences point the needle of suspicion towards her. However, she is not the only suspect. There are a number of other people who could have killed Ryan. Rustom (the producer of the film), Paddy (the director of the film) and Allen (the screenplay writer) also had a motive to kill Ryan. In addition, Sheila’s mother and Ryan’s first wife’s relatives are also under suspicion. Vikram Rana investigates this case with one Inspector Lobo. Their investigation forms rest of the story. Read the book if you want to know about the real culprit.

    The story feels fresh and gives us an entertaining read. Sharmishtha manages to make all ends meet in the end and the story reaches to a logical solution. I cannot complain much about the characterisation either as all the characters have been developed with due care. The book has a little bit of history of potato too. So, to sum up, Sharmishtha Shenoy has come back in some style. I thoroughly enjoyed reading the further adventures of Vikram Rana in Behind the Scenes. It was certainly good to meet up with Vikram Rana one more time. In fact, I couldn’t wait to continue the series.

    I will highly recommend this book. Go and read it.
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  • Mr. D. R. Evans
    4.0 out of 5 stars A satisfying read
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 29, 2018
    Verified Purchase
    In looking for something a bit different within my favoured genre of crime fiction and with fond memories of a trip to India a few years ago, I decided to give Behind The Scenes by Sharmishtha Shenoy a try. The hero, Vikram Rana is an ex-Kolkata policeman, with a growing reputation as a private investigator. The story is set against the background of the Bengali film industry. When a big star, Dinesh Kumar is poisoned on-set during the final day of filming of his latest project, there appears to be no shortage of suspects. However, police suspicion falls on two individuals who just happen to be known to Vikram’s wife. And so he is drawn in to help find the truth.
    Behind The Scenes captures the sights, sounds and flavours of India very well, helped by the fact that Vikram appreciates good food. I also know that the author is a big fan of Agatha Christie and in true Christie fashion, the denouement is played out when Vikram assembles the range of suspects to deliver his findings. With many twists and turns, this was a satisfying read.
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  • Akanksha.Mishra
    3.0 out of 5 stars Connect with me on Instagram - thatslytherinreader
    Reviewed in India on November 20, 2018
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    Behind the scenes by Sharmishtha Shenoy is the third book in The Vikram Rana series. It's a crime thriller book and I enjoyed reading it. I completed the book in one sitting as it was quite easy to read due to the use of simple language.

    Vikram Rana is a Private Investigator who is on holiday with his wife in Darjeeling where he stumbles upon a case. His wife Veena's school friend Shiela who is a famous movie actress is charged with Murder of his Fiancee Ryan who was also the hero of the movie they were working on when he died. Veena convinces her husband of Sheila's innocence and requests him to take her case. Though Vikram takes the case, it is not an open and shut case. Every day he inspects he comes across a new suspect and he continuously fails to prove the innocence of Sheila as all proofs are pointing in her direction and there was no way out for her, or so it seemed until Vikram puts his mind together and solves the case. Now this book was really interesting and the Author has done a great job in maintaining the element of suspense. I was surprised rather shocked when I came to climax and find out who the killer really was. It was a mind-blowing revelation and I honestly didn't anticipate that person to be the killer.

    There were many characters in the book but the Author has given each character it's importance and coming of new characters was not confusing at all. There was the mother of Sheila Jayadi, Ryan's ex-wive's sister Olivia, his mother in law, his daughters, Ryan's and Sheila's movie cast and team and each one was suspect in Vikram's eyes. Then how did he manage to find the killer? And was is the mind-blowing twist in the book?

    What I don't like in the book -
    The narration of the book could have been better. The book seems edited still there were few mistakes which can't be ignored.

    This is an entertaining read and you can pick it up if you are looking for a light read to pass time.
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