Suparna Chatterjee
Cosy Mystery writer
Suparna lived the first half of her life in Kolkata, India, then travelled with her globe-trotting husband, setting up home in a different corner of the world every few years - in New Delhi (India), in Richmond, Virginia (USA), in Fontainebleau (France), in Singapore, before moving back to India. Her stint away from home gave her a different perspective - the sheer charm of it became apparent. The reflections of those times, away from home and family, resulted in her first novel The All Bengali Crime Detectives (Rupa) - a cosy detective mystery, where four recently retired men take to solving neighbourhood crimes. This was followed by the sequel - The Mysterious Death of Probhat Sanyal. Her musical play Anand and Benaifer has been staged in Mumbai and Bengaluru.
​
When she is not plotting murder, she spends her time reading, listening to classical music or meditating. She currently lives in Bengaluru with her husband and daughter.
Books
In a middle class Calcutta neighborhood, the lives of four recently retired men take an unexpected turn when they stumble upon a crime. Will the unlikely ‘detectives’ be able to catch the criminal? Or will they unravel something even more sinister? The protagonists grab this exciting opportunity to rise above their mundane existence. They defy the ordinary, stretch their boundaries and in the process discover something precious. Meanwhile, a lot is going on in the Paara (neighborhood) a rather difficult match making process for a ‘wheatish complexioned’ daughter, rivalry between two neighboring clubs over Durga Pujo, squabbles between the ‘ outdated’ seniors and the younger members of the local club, attempts at an impossible romance by a road side Romeo.
A ghost that was ostensibly spotted in eerie Makaibari one of the oldest tea gardens in Darjeeling finds its way to modern day Calcutta, to the home of Probhat Sanyal, the erstwhile manager of the tea estate. ‘The ghost has returned!’ exclaims a horrified Sanyal, whose sudden death raises questions. Was the phantom sighting merely a figment of his imagination? Or was it connected to solid facts? In the All Bengali Crime Detectives II, an eclectic mix of four retired Bengali men return to solve this new mystery, and recreate what might have happened one night in Makaibari, so many years ago. Even as our crime detectives forage for clues, a colourful array of characters demand attention - from Poltu, the roadside Romeo, who works on his romantic advances; to the local lass, Piya, whose parents are convinced they have found her the perfect groom! To complicate matters, the rivalry between Milonee and Sabuj Kalyan clubs intensifies, making things uptight and personal between the two. With so many diversions, will our four intrepid investigators piece together Sanyal’s secret life? Find out in this page-turning, rollicking ‘all Bengali’ whodunit!
INTERVIEWS
The Hindu
Suparna Chatterjee tells Sravasti Datta she loves to write simple stories that are, at their core, very Bengali
With her doll-like face, large eyes and the red bindi on her forehead, Suparna Chatterjee looks every bit the quintessential Bengali. In fact so strong is her sense of roots — despite having lived in three different continents — that it’s one of her strengths as a writer. Her debut novel “The All Bengali Crime Detectives” (Rupa, Rs. 150) provides a word picture of the sights and scenes of Kolkata, Chatterjee’s birth place. Chatterjee, though settled in Bangalore, still remembers her childhood days growing up in the City of Joy. “This novel is a release of nostalgia I felt for home.”
The Chemistry graduate’s sojourns in the United States, France and Singapore made her think of home like she never did before. “Staying away from home gave me a different perspective. The sheer charm of it became more apparent.”
​
​
​
​
The New Indian Express
Kolkata-born Suparna Chatterjee has travelled extensively—she lived in the US, France and Singapore—and is currently based in Bangalore. It’s these experiences that piqued her to come up with her debut novel. However, the characters, the culture and the location that she brings alive in The All Bengali Crime Detectives (ABCD) is from her birth place, Kolkata.
“People abroad are very inquisitive about India, specially in France, where I was enquired by many about Bengali culture, Tagore, Ray and Amartya Sen among other things. It was in France that I wrote the novel,” says the author, who writes short stories, poems and adventure stories for children. ABCD is a release of nostalgia she felt for her home city, coupled with her love for the mystery/adventure genre. “I wanted to show life in Kolkata through ABCD. And since I had been a fan of detective stories, I thought a detective angle would make it interesting,” says the novelist.
​
​
COMING SOON
PRESS REVIEWS
"A Combo of Blyton, Christie and Ray! Chatterjee's novel is loaded with colloquial punnery and wit.."
The Sunday Guardian
Unlikely sleuths :
“There may have been many books released over the past few years that were set in Kolkata, but only few have been able to portray its nuances and quirkiness so beautifully. Suparna Chatterjee’s ‘All Bengali Crime Detectives’ (note the abbreviation, ABCD) tells the story of four recently retired Bengali men in a middle class Kolkata neighbourhood, who struggle to come to terms with lack of work after retirement, giving them a feeling of absence of purpose in life…”
​
The Times of India
Write where the Heart is
“Suparna has crafted endearing stories of individual characters around the central story…Suparna tells profound stories through a simple style.”
​
The Hindu
The dynamics of cozy mystery books
“But the one book recently released that snugly fits the bill of a Cozy is Suparna Chatterjee’s All Bengali Crime Detectives. Four retired men, endearing in their own ways, solve a neighbourhood crime. Suparna brings Calcutta to life through her protagonists.”
​
DNA
“The All Bengali Crime Detectives (Rupa, Rs 150) by Suparna Chatterjee presents the latest slew of super-sleuths, the rising stars of detective fiction. A self- confessed fan of Enid Blyton, Agatha Christie and Satyajit Ray, Chatterjee combines the charm of the familiar with the thrill of a good mystery.”
​
The Telegraph
"What one enjoys immensely is Chatterjee's humour, more precisely the quintessential Bengali humour.."