Unicorns in the City Book Review by Sameer Gudhate Insights and Reflections

Some mysteries begin with a dead body. Others begin with a whisper.

Unicorns in the City by Deepti L. Sharma begins with something far more unsettling — a child’s quiet secret.

While reading this book, I found myself smiling at the innocence of the moment and yet feeling a subtle unease creeping in. A little girl, Gullu, casually mentions that her best friend’s grandmother has been murdered. But when her mother, Karishma Singh, tries to know more, the conversation hits a wall. Children guard their secrets fiercely, and this one refuse to reveal anything further.

That simple moment becomes the spark that ignites the entire narrative.

What fascinated me most about the book is that the mystery does not begin with evidence, police reports, or dramatic crime scenes. It begins with uncertainty. No body. No confirmed victim. Just a child’s statement floating in the air like a strange riddle.

Karishma, confused and concerned, turns to her friend Veera Shivaraman — a toxicologist with a curious mind and an instinct for investigation. Together they begin observing the small universe around them: a bustling Mumbai housing society filled with neighbours who appear ordinary on the surface but slowly reveal their peculiarities.

Reading these sections reminded me of something we all experience in city life. We live door-to-door with people whose lives we barely know. We exchange polite smiles in elevators, share festival sweets during celebrations, and yet remain strangers in many ways. Behind those closed doors could be anything — joy, conflict, secrets… or sometimes something darker.

The author uses this familiar urban setting beautifully. The society becomes almost like a living organism — buzzing with gossip, personalities, and hidden tensions. Characters like the Fake Yogini, the Toxic Boss, Mrs Pseudo, and Mrs Roark add colour to the narrative. Each one feels like someone you might actually encounter in an apartment complex — slightly exaggerated perhaps, but believable enough to make you grin.

And then there is the strange thread of the mysterious old lady involved in a hit-and-run accident, quietly lingering in the background like a shadow waiting for the right moment to step into the light.

What makes this story particularly interesting is its identity as an ecothriller. The narrative subtly brings in concerns about urban living — water shortages, pollution, waste management, and the fragile balance between city expansion and nature. These themes never feel forced or preachy. Instead, they flow naturally through the story, like background currents that occasionally rise to the surface and remind the reader that modern cities carry environmental consequences we often ignore.

In that sense, the novel works on two levels. On the surface, it is a lively mystery with suspects, secrets, and twists. Beneath that, it gently nudges the reader to reflect on the ecological pressures of contemporary urban life.

I particularly enjoyed the pacing. The story moves quickly, and just when you feel confident about where things might be heading, another turn appears. It has the rhythm of a conversation that keeps revealing new layers.

There were moments, however, when the sheer number of characters made me pause and flip back a few pages to remind myself who was who. In a housing society filled with so many personalities, that confusion is perhaps inevitable, but a brief guide to the characters might have made the journey slightly smoother.

Still, the central idea of investigating a murder where even the victim is uncertain is wonderfully inventive. It creates a puzzle that keeps the mind engaged long after you close the book for the night.

One thought stayed with me as I finished the last pages: sometimes mysteries are not hidden in dark alleys or abandoned houses. Sometimes they exist in brightly lit apartment corridors, behind doors we pass every single day.

Unicorns in the City is an entertaining, fast-moving mystery that blends humour, suspense, and environmental awareness in a refreshing way. If you enjoy stories where ordinary settings slowly reveal extraordinary secrets, this one is worth picking up.

And who knows — the next time a child casually tells you a strange story, you might listen a little more carefully.

#BookReview #UnicornsInTheCity #DeeptiLSharma #MysteryReads #EcoThriller #IndianAuthors #CrimeFiction #ReadingCommunity #BookLoversIndia #SameerReads #sameergudhate #thebookreviewman