Lajo Jose tells us the story of five mysterious murders and the person behind those murders, Benjamin, who is awaiting prosecution by the law. This is the first book in the Esther Immanuel series. So, in short, this is one of the trendsetters in Malayalam both from a literature and silver screen point of view. This trend also got transpired in the Malayalam movies during the lockdown.

The success of this novel also inspired many other authors to write crime thrillers. We all will have to say special thanks to the author for the same. The same lack of detail is evident in the case of Esther’s characterization.This is one of the main books which revived the love for crime thrillers in Malayalam recently. As a result, the reader never gets to empathise for him. There is a passing mention about Benjamin’s family but the author hasn’t really bothered to elaborate on his back story. The characters are too shallow and none of them have been well etched out. Lajo also makes some interesting remarks about Kottayam town and pretty much succeeds in making this central Kerala town also a part of the narrative. Quality work of crime fiction is a rare thing as far as new age Malayalam writing is concerned and hats off to Lijo for trying to revive a long lost genre! As mentioned before, the writing is straight forward, the language used being simple and easy to comprehend even for the lay reader. How she manages to solve the puzzle and clear Benjamin's name of the murder/murders is what 'CH' is all about.Also aiding her in her journey are Peter Achan ,Sub Inspector Chris and Aparna, the scribe's colleague and best-friend.įirst things first.This debut novel is undoubtedly a quick and easy read ( no long, boring prose or pretentious metaphors thrown in just for the sake of it).Even an occassional/newbie reader can finish it off in a couple of hours.

Esther who works with a leading Malayalam Magazine, 'Kuleena' ( modelled on 'Vanitha' and the Malayala Manorama group) half- heartedly accepts the invite and decides to 're-investigate' the case. A few days before his execution he expresses desire to meet the journalist (Esther) who has been instrumental in his conviction and wants to convince the world of his innocence.

Benjamin is convicted for multiple homicides and is awaiting execution.

കോഫി ഹൗസ് | Coffee House by Lajo Jose