📑THE JASMINE MURDERS: An Uma-Jayan Mystery by Roopa Unnikrishnan

BOOK DETAILS : 

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Aleph Book Company
• Publication date ‏ : ‎ 10 January 2026
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Print length ‏ : ‎ 240 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9365236290
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-9365236293

ABOUT THE AUTHOR : 

WINNER OF THE INDEPENDENT PRESS AWARD!

Roopa Unnikrishnan bases her books on her research and experience in the business world - where she has been a master coach, an innovation consultant and strategist.

A Rhodes scholar who completed both an MPhil in Economic and Social History and an M.B.A. at the University of Oxford, Unnikrishnan also has a varied extracurricular life, being both a published poet and a world-class athlete in sports riflery. She has captained an Oxford University team and won many medals for her nation in the International arena. In 1999, she received the Arjuna Award from the President of India for her sporting achievements.

Roopa Unnikrishnan builds on almost two decades of experience in roles where she has seeded and driven change and innovation in several Fortune 500 companies. Roopa has worked with Consumer Goods,Education and Technology clients, helping them establish and improve key processes around strategic planning, innovation space identification and idea development. Current clients include Estee Lauder,Johnson & Johnson, Harman Kardon, New York Presbyterian Hospitals, among others.

Roopa started her career with seven years in consulting at Katzenbach Partners LLC (KPL), a New York consultancy where she was part of the early start-up team (1999-2006). Roopa progressed to be Practice Lead, Outsourcing, specializing in issues dealing with strategy development and managing people and innovative technology. Her financial services experience covers credit cards and asset management, as the strategy director at one of Citibank's CitiCards (2006 -2007), and in her time at BlackRock responsible for strategic people efforts in the sales and marketing divisions (2012). Roopa was with Pfizer Inc. for five years, with stints as VP, Corporate Strategy and Global Head of Pfizer's worldwide talent and organizational team for Sales (2007-2012)

BOOK REVIEW :

Some books announce their intent quietly. The Jasmine Murders does the opposite—it grips you by the throat from the very first image and refuses to loosen its hold.

A man walking through the stillness of a backwater town, carrying a severed woman’s head in his hand. Jasmine flowers still intact in her braid.

That image alone tells you this is not going to be a comfortable read, and that’s exactly its power.

Set in Manamadurai, Tamil Nadu, in December 1964, the novel unfolds against a deceptively sleepy landscape. When Uma and her husband Jayan move there following his posting as the new ASP, unease settles in almost immediately. The town is steeped in old resentments, whispered violence, and the shadow of Jayan’s predecessor—brutal, feared, and mysteriously dead. What should have been a fresh start becomes a descent into something far darker when the man carrying the severed head walks straight up to their porch, bows calmly. 

From that chilling moment, the story spirals into a series of interconnected murders; each distinct, each disturbing, and each peeling back another layer of Manamadurai’s carefully guarded secrets. Alongside the killings runs a seemingly unrelated theft at the local zamindar’s house, hinting at an old family secret that refuses to stay buried. Over everything looms an approaching cyclone, mirroring the moral and emotional turbulence brewing beneath the town’s fragile calm.

What truly elevates The Jasmine Murders is Uma. She isn’t a police officer, nor does she wield official authority. Instead, she becomes the quiet intelligence behind the investigation; observant, intuitive, and deeply perceptive. Through her access to gossip, silences, and village hearsay, she uncovers truths that power and position alone cannot reach. Watching her organically step into this role is one of the novel’s most rewarding aspects. The partnership between Uma and Jayan feels grounded and refreshingly rational, especially as they push back against superstition, fear, and easy explanations.

The Jasmine Murders is not just a whodunit; it’s a why-and-how-did-we-get-here kind of mystery. Atmospheric, unsettling, and thoughtful, it’s a compelling read for anyone who enjoys crime fiction rooted in place, history, and social reality. If you’re looking for a mystery that lingers long after the final page and nudges you to question easy truths, this one is absolutely worth your time.

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