R. Giridharan is a general manager with the Reserve Bank of India, and presently lives in Mumbai. In the last two and a half decades, he has worked in Goa, Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur, Chandigarh, Delhi and Jaipur. A multifaceted personality, he has anchored many panel discussions and compèred shows; and he churns out murder mysteries both in the form of books and screenplays. He is also an international sports commentator with All India Radio and has covered many test matches and one-day internationals, including World Cup matches. He is also an expert panellist on Doordarshan. He has recently come out with his debut book Right Under Your Nose, which is a murder mystery thriller.

I chat with him about his book Right Under Your Nose, his inspiration for writing the book, book recommendations, and much more.

Hello! Please tell us a bit about yourself!

I am a family man wedded to Suchitra, an architect, and am the father of a creative and lovable daughter, Avanti. I work as a General Manager in RBI. I am an expert trainer in Emotional Intelligence, Communication, Conflict Management, Team Building, etc. I am also a television panellist and an international radio commentator in cricket.

Which authors and books were your early formative influences?

Amar Chitra Katha books and The Adventures of Tintin were some of my early influences. The Day of the Jackal by Frederick Forsyth and The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle, apart from Agatha Christie’s books left an impact on me. Now my favourite author is Keigo Higashino.

If you could only describe your book Right Under Your Nose in five words, what would they be?

Enthralling, unputdownable, original howdunnit novel.

Now tell us a little more about the book! What can readers expect?

The book is a murder mystery thriller. It is cast in typically Indian conditions in the locale of Nagpur, a tier 2 Indian city. The characters are those with whom readers can easily identify. The murders, however, are amazing. A man is killed twice at the same moment, in the middle of the road. Two scientists drink the same liquid from the same glass at the same time in front of 100 people, however only one dies and the other survives. A man enters a room and dies immediately due to poisoning, but no one has entered the room and the poison was administered in the room only.

There is also love blossoming between the male and female leads. This, I think, is the first book with a male and a female detective being given equal importance.

I promise that the readers won’t be able to put down the book, once they start reading it.

What inspired you to write this book?

These things inspired me to write this book:

1) I wanted to write an original Indian crime thriller.

2) I wanted to prove that imagination can trump hi-tech narrative thrillers and big bucks.

3) I wanted to tell readers, that in almost every thriller, most of the answers lie right under our nose.

What were some things you had to research for the purpose of writing this book?

I had to do a lot of research on these topics – Snake Charmers, Toxicology, Morgues, and Forensic Practices.

Is there a scene, element, or character in the novel that you really enjoyed creating and writing?

I loved all the characters. In the novel, I loved writing the shootout scene near the jewellery mart. When readers read the book, I hope they would enjoy reading it too.

How have you been coping with the current pandemic and what will be the new normal for you post it?

It has been tough, as my mother had also tested positive for Covid-19 and is undergoing post-Covid pangs. The new normal would be more like the time pre-Feb 2020.

What are you reading currently, and do you have any book recommendations for our readers?

I am reading Shubira Prasad’s book The Demons of Jaitraya, which is a mythological thriller. I recommend this book.

The book ‘Right Under Your Nose’ is available online and at your nearest bookstore.