I picked up The Autopsy of Vikram Shenoy largely because of its title. The word autopsy made me expect a forensic thriller, but apart from the opening chapter, where Dr. Vishnudathan conducts Vikram Shenoy’s autopsy, the forensic element largely disappears.
Vikram Shenoy, a journalist who had uncovered sensitive information about a powerful crime syndicate, dies in what initially appears to be an accidental drowning. Dr. Vishnudathan suspects otherwise, only to find himself caught in a larger conspiracy. With Inspector Shekhar by his side, he soon becomes the hunted, while Vikram’s family too suffers the consequences.
The book reads more like an old-school pulp thriller, reminiscent of the thrillers of Veloor P. K. Ramachandran and Kottayam Pushpanath, complete with corrupt politicians, senior police officials, betrayals and a climactic showdown in a godown. Many of its tropes feel dated, but the double twist involving the mysterious “device” towards the end genuinely caught me off guard.
For a debut novel, the author deserves credit for bringing the various threads together and tying up the loose ends. It may not be the forensic thriller its title suggests, nor does it reinvent the genre, but as a straightforward, old-fashioned thriller, it has its moments.
A dated thriller, perhaps, but a reasonably promising debut.
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