Inspector Ghote Trusts the Heart (1972) by H. R. F. Keating
GoodReads meta-data is 201 pages, rated 3.65 by 100 litizns.
Genre: Krimi.
DNA: Indian; sub-species: Anglo-Indian.
Tagline: High and Low.
Verdict: Diverting.
The ever reliable, though painfully diffident, Inspector Ganesh Ghote does it again with slow and steady perseverance.
A very rich man’s son is kidnapped and a gigantic ransom is demanded. But wait! It is not the rich man’s son but his playmate in a case of mistaken identity. Nonetheless, the kidnappers press their demands.
The rich man would certainly have paid anything for his own son, but for the son of an underling who happened to be playing with his boy, well, that is different, or is it? That is the question.
As usual, Ghote’s approach is compromised and hampered by a bumptious superior. Nor is Ghote aided by the imperious, if confused, father who thinks he knows better than anyone else, including this nondescript police officer.
While the others turn this way and that, Ghote sees what is in plain sight, and follows up on it to discover the plot is nearly home-grown, but…..
***
The portrayal of Indian urban life is rich and provides a crucial context for the story. As well done as it is, I could not help but think of the Akira Kurosawa film High and Low (1963) on the same theme played out with Shakespearean intensity and irony.