In this darkly humorous mystery, a 30-something undergoing a major life change takes time off at a decadent spa in India full of murder.

Ro is a ridiculously wealthy man who has recently separated from his employer. He meets some friends at a meditation retreat in India. The weird treatments don't seem too outrageous to Ro, but when someone dies in an obvious case of murder, his old profession comes to the fore as he tries to help the local police in their inquiries. Fans of internationally-set cozy contemporaries will enjoy this.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of Death in the Air.

Once again, I'm an outlier because I didn't like this.

Oh...where to begin?

From the beginning, where else?

First, the mystery is a subplot to the main narrative, a bunch of enormously wealthy, entitled, privileged unlikable people who swan around talking about the exotic destinations they've been, their expensive jewelry and clothes.

I don't mind unlikable characters, but even unlikable people have some decent qualities to like.

No one here has any, including Ro.

Ro is bland, not compelling, and seems almost like a minor character in the narrative.

The other half of the narrative is chock full of filler about the spa and its services; talking with the therapist, getting a massage.

Seriously?

And let's not forget the chapters about Pendy.

Yup, there's nearly a whole chapter where Ro and his social circle ask a pendulum to predict the future.

I kid you not.

I read this a few weeks ago and I can't remember what the mystery was about, But I do remember Pendy.

How sad.

For me or the book, I haven't figured that out yet.

Death in the Air is an intriguing "locked room" mystery whose main protagonist , Ro, has, for a reason unknown to us, lost his job, and therefore, is visiting an upscale spa, Samsara, in the Himalayas. He is Indian by birth, but has lived and attended university in the US and UK. He knows some of the other characters in the book, and he trusts some of them and is unsure of others. As we get to know him, he appears to be dashing and rich; many of the main characters in the book are in fact exceptionally wealthy which doesn't mean that they are moral and ethical as well.

The explicit details of massage, meditation, saunas, and cold showers adds to the descriptions of Ro's interaction with other characters. Some, like Mrs. Banerjee, seem to have endless funds and jewels and even private airplanes, but she is kind and helpful to Ro. At the beginning of the book, Ro is introduced to an animated or even anthropomorphic pendulum, nick-named Pendy, that guides him to various decisions throughout the book.

Some characters are who they seem; others are not, and that may apply to Ro as well. There are certainly red herrings and unexpected twists of plot which keep the reader interested in the next chapter of the book. The book moves fairly swiftly, and there are surprises galore. Humor is also part of interactions as well as dark plot turns.

Thanks to Net Galley for the opportunity to read this book.

This was such a strange book. I'm not sure what I think of it. But despite being baffled several times over, I really enjoyed it, and I suppose that's what counts the most. I am very curious to see what else comes from this author.

I am not usually so ambivalent about a book, especially a mystery, but I am not sure what I think about this book.

I CAN say how I felt reading it: anxious.. the author was very successful in creating a sense of anticipation… and evil, but the book’s moral code is such that the reader is asked to evaluate their thoughts on what is “ right” or “ wrong.” I found that the most interesting aspect of the book.

I also enjoyed the cultural observations, and to some extent, the luxury spa descriptions. I didnt enjoy the pacing of the novel and I struggled to stay with it until the end.

This is a very, very interesting locked room sort of mystery.

Set in the Indian Himalayas, there is lots to learn about culture (and culture appropriation) as well as the lives of the very, very wealthy.

When the story starts, Ro Krishna is fleeing a job that has injured his psyche. A manager/supervisor has been stabbing him in the back for quite some time and he has left the job and visits a very swanky spa owned by friends of his family. The World-Class Spa Samsara, is just what you would expect, and I loved living vicariously through him during his visit.

Ro has a lot of thoughts, and sometimes no thoughts at all! I wasn't sure how to take that until the end... He is interesting for sure and he is our default detective as more than one death happens at the spa. The actual murder mystery is a bit less interesting than the characters, but I loved it and would be interested in following him to his next adventure.

While Ram Murali was giving us quite a few hints about the hero, there were plenty of red herrings. Some of the most important info but they lost in all the excess thoughts and opinions of characters. Even so, it was incredibly interesting once you got into the rhythm of the writing and I would recommend this book to any Agatha Christie aficionado It would surely make a spectacular movie! Grab this now if you like a locked room, a visit to a spa/holiday, or just want to hear a sharp new voice!
#harper #RamMurali #deathintheair

This was a silly but entertaining locked “resort” mystery - Glass Onion vibes. At times, the main character seemed very stilted and the prose a bit canned, but the story and set up of the resort sucked me in. Looking forward to see what the author writes next. Thanks to NetGalley for the chance to review and review this one!

Death in the Air by Ram Murali is a fun mystery with a twist or two set in the Indian Himalayas. Ro Krishna escapes from his crumbling life to the spa, Samsara, where he hopes to relax and figure out what's next. When murder happens among the varied guests, Ro sets off to solve the crimes before becoming one himself. I heartily recommend this book and hope to see more from the author.

Review: This was so, so boring. Slower than a slug at a salt lick. Boring as a bag of wet hammers. Did I say smug? Oh, yeah. Every instance was presaged with "He looked at his Cartier watch.......her gold/pearl/diamond jewelry" blah blah blah. Right, everyone is filthy rich. We get it. But, do we have to be reminded of it on EVERY FRICKIN' PAGE? I don't think so, as well read people are generally more aware than most.

If the author had moved the story line towards building better characters from within rather than from an external source, like the world, this may have flown higher.

As it is, DNF

Thank you to NetGalley and to Harper for the ARC of Death in the Air by Ram Murali.

This cover is absolutely gorgeous and immediately drew me in - though my first thought upon seeing it was something more related to the mountains/altitude for death in the air vs the setting in the spa. That was more than fine though, especially with a bit of reflection after finishing the book, and with the comparison of the novel to "Knives Out" meets "The White Lotus" meets "Crazy Rich Asians".

Ro Krishna has just left his job before the holidays and is convinced by some friends of friends to spend Christmas at Samsara, a world-class spa above Rishikesh, India, and the yoga capitol of the world (even the Beatles stayed there for meditation). A few of his friends, and some friends of friends, are also staying there. When, 48-hours into the trip Ro finds the body of one of the guests, a whodunit officially begins as Ro, the hotel owner and another guest work with a detective to internally solve the murder to avoid any bad press. From there the story heads in multiple different directions with multiple different murders piling up and it seems everyone has a motive.

Murali has a great sense of humor and timing - including a Catch-22 esque ending and plenty of cultural commentary on race, class and colonialism that manages to be light/funny while still being damning. He has developed some very interesting characters and placed callbacks and subtle movements and actions carefully to create a compelling mystery. The story is engaging, the setting is very well thought out and described.

Having only just finished the book a few hours ago it's possible I need more time to process all the finer details and story building contained here. I just can't help thinking that some parts of the story have gone a bit over my head. I think I lost some pieces in not understanding the nomenclature and multilingualism of the ultra rich. Perhaps I don't have a strong connection to pendy as Ro has, but there were times I didn't fully understand him as a character and I couldn't fully grasp all the final pieces he was processing or things that were happening to him. Of all of the characters, I think I just wanted to know him better (which may be what he wanted too). This is definitely going to keep me up tonight because even now some scenes are still piecing themselves together as "A-ha" moments.

All in all, this is a great debut novel that infuses today's pop culture/culture with the multi-angled motive lens of Agatha Christie.

Interesting characters, a novel exotic setting, good twists and several murders all add up to a very compelling read. The use of a Oujui like prop to further the plot was off-putting and the ending was a little ambiguous. 4.5 rounded up to 5

A wonderful locked room mystery. Some of the prose felt a little stilted but all the elements of a good murder mystery were there. I enjoyed the book. Looking forward to future work from the author

Lawyer Ro Krishna is an Indian American living in London who was raised in a posh lifestyle. He’s a bit adrift after being forced out of a prestigious job under less than ideal circumstances. To regroup he plans to spend Christmas and New Years at Samsara a five star resort in the Indian Himalayas.

Some of the other guests include a horrible politician and his delightful wife, an American movie star preparing for a new role, and his interesting wife, one of Ro’s closest friends from college, a gorgeous heiress to a jewelry fortune and a yogi at the resort to teach meditation. At least one person isn’t going to leave Samsara alive. And someone at the resort is a murderer. Can Ro get to the truth?

Oh, joy, a locked room mystery. I love and adore these! And while Ro could be a bit much at times, and was a little bossy to the women around him (check that, to everyone around him,) I loved this book. Resorts are a common setting for this type of mystery, but Samsara was described so vividly. The notecards for the guests (I love that we knew what colors each guest chose, thank you for that detail…I just kept worrying whether or not purple would be available for me, so if the author could send me a private message letting me know it would really ease my mind!), the laundry area, the specifics of the menu…SWOON!

And a wonderful cast of characters. The movie star wasn’t annoying! Mrs. B. was so charming. Connie had such bite and didn’t seem to like anyone - I loved her! The whole thing wasn’t perfect at all, but it so wasn’t a formulaic thriller, and that was so very refreshing. Definitely highly recommending this book. A strong 4.5 stars rounded up.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy of Death in the Air by Ram Murali.

Death in the Air is sure to be a hit. Locked room mysteries are always fun, and this modern take on it will keep you guessing. The characters are pretty despicable and unrelatable, but that makes it all the more fun to watch them spin. I think this will appeal to a lot of readers.