Black River

In the village of Teetarpur, a few hours from the capital city of Delhi, Chand’s peaceful life is shattered as he is forced into a dangerous quest for justice. At the station house, the jurisdiction of which extends to Teetarpur and the neighbouring villages, Sub-inspector Ombir Singh, who has known Chand’s daughter Munia since she was born, wrestles with his conscience and the vagaries of his personal life as the increasingly murky case unfolds under the watchful eyes of the ‘Delhi boy’, SSP Pilania. Meanwhile, in the rough bylanes of Bright Dairy Colony, Chand’s old companions Rabia and Badshah Miyan fight for their right to home and country as the politics of religion threaten to overwhelm their lives. Framed as a police procedural, Black River is fast-paced and relentless, yet tender and reflective, in its exploration of friendship, love and grief. ‘A riveting murder mystery. A psychological thriller. A magnificent work of literary fiction. Roy brings her formidable experience as a journalist to this story of crime in modern India. Black River addresses a society unravelling in the midst of change, a brutal class divide, the terror of religious strife, relentless violence against women—but it is also suffused with tenderness for the ordinary, heroic decency of those who persist in abiding by different rules. Reading this novel is like holding a prayer in one’s hands.’ — Kiran Desai