Saharu Nusaiba Kannanari’s The Menon Investigation is not your typical whodunit. On the surface, it follows Inspector General Vijay Menon reopening an eight-year-old cold case,the murder of Sub-Inspector Kannan Moses, a Dalit Christian. But very quickly, the book reveals itself to be less about the crime itself and more about the social and moral crimes lurking beneath the surface of Indian society like casteism, colour prejudice, institutional corruption, and the hypocrisies that power structures feed upon.
This is not an easy book. Not because the book is impenetrable,it is, in fact, highly readable, but because it forces the reader to look squarely at the rot we would rather leave hidden. The author doesn’t allow the comfort of a clean resolution or the thrill of a purely procedural investigation. Instead, he makes the investigation a mirror of the State, of the institutions that hold it up, and of the protagonist himself.
At its heart, this book is an excavation of identity. Vijay Menon, a high-ranking officer with a dark complexion, carries within him a constant dissonance, a Menon by caste marker, but betrayed by his skin, a symbol of the very biases he benefits from and despises. This contradiction defines him and makes him both insufferable and deeply compelling.
The book also probes the idea of institutional violence, how caste hierarchies and systemic prejudices are perpetuated not by extraordinary villains, but by everyday complicities. In one sense, Menon’s pursuit of justice is really a pursuit of self-understanding. The “trial” is not just of culprits but of Menon’s own illusions. The result is a narrative that destabilises the familiar rules of the police procedural and morphs into something closer to social tragedy.
✍️ Strengths :
🔸Vijay Menon is one of those rare characters who linger in your head long after you’ve closed the book. He is not designed to be likeable; he is designed to be human. His humour, insecurities, contradictions, and half-baked ideals make him a paradox in motion. That alone elevates the book beyond genre fiction.
🔸The book takes the scaffolding of a police procedural and turns it into a meditation on privilege, prejudice, and the mechanics of power. The author shows that murder investigations don’t exist in vacuums,they are shaped by history, caste, and communal fault lines.
🔸The writing is atmospheric without being indulgent. Dialogues cut sharp, and the narrative voice carries both weight and wit. Author’s sentences linger with rhythm and punch, proving again why he is considered one of India’s most exciting literary voices.
🔸A surprising strength is the humour. It sneaks in at unexpected moments, disarming the reader. Rather than making light of suffering, it sharpens our perception of injustice by showing how absurd it all is.
✒️ Areas for Improvement :
▪️While the book subverts the genre, it still occasionally leans too heavily on familiar tropes of “corrupt system” and “dark-skinned man facing prejudice.” These are important, yes, but at moments they feel over-explained instead of allowed to breathe in the narrative.
▪️The momentum occasionally sags in the middle, where the narrative lingers more on Menon’s internal monologues than the case. While this deepens characterisation, some readers may feel the investigation itself is sidelined.
▪️The ending, devastating as it is, may frustrate readers who expect tighter closure in crime fiction. The author deliberately resists tying all knots, but the choice might alienate those coming to the book looking for a “mystery solved.”
In conclusion, it is less a police procedural and more a social reckoning wearing the clothes of a crime book. It demands from its readers not just attention, but introspection. Yes, it has flaws like occasional indulgence, uneven pacing but its thematic depth, its dry humour, and its refusal to play by the rules make it a powerful and unforgettable work. Saharu Nusaiba Kannanari proves here that literature’s true role is not merely to entertain but to unsettle, to provoke, and to remind us of the invisible violence that shapes our lives. If his debut showed promise, this second book confirms mastery.
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