#BookReview ; The Tree Bears Witness by Sharath Komarraju

Barely a month has passed since the royal wedding of Emperor Akbar to the legendary Jodha, when the new queen’s brother, Sujjamal, is found murdered in the palace gardens. 
With his honour and reputation at stake, Akbar asks his trusted advisor Birbal to solve the mystery. The murder has taken place in a garden, at a spot between two mango trees, and the two guards who are eyewitnesses have conflicting versions of what could have happened. Was it suicide? Was it Akbar himself who ordered the killing or was it the Rajputs who accompanied Sujjamal, his uncles and cousin, who are guilty?
Set in a period that has been described as the golden age of the Mughals, the novel draws us into the royal court of Agra, abuzz with political intrigue, personal enmities and hidden rivalries, where everyone is a suspect until proven otherwise.

The Tree Bears Witness is a historical fiction written by Sharath Komarraju & published by Westland Books. He is an author of fiction & nonfiction based in Bangalore, India. His best known work to date is the Hastinapur series, in which he speaks into the silences of the Mahabharata story through the voices of the epic’s many women characters. His first novel, Murder in Amaravati was longlisted for the Commonwealth Book Prize, 2013.

The story is set during the golden era of Mughal dynasty under the leadership of Emperor Akbar. Few weeks after Akbar got married to Rajput princess Hira Kunwari to form an alliance between the Rajputs & Mughals, the newlywed queen’s brother, Sujjamal is found dead at the palace gardens under mysterious circumstances. With the alliance in danger & the reputation of Mughal dynasty under radar, Akbar seeks help from his favorite courtier Mahesh Das AKA Raja Birbal. As he investigates he finds out that the body was found between 2 mango trees & the 2 guards who witnessed the act had no idea whatsoever how & who could’ve done the deed as they didn’t saw anyone else near Sujjamal. Follow Birbal’s quest to find the invisible murderer & get the book here,

This time as I started my 2018 reading goal, I made sure that I would only read books which will truly interest me & I’m glad that I picked up this one as my first read of the year. I was quite excited to read this book as I have heard good things about the author from several readers as well in the past. The story has been written extremely well, where the author has succeeded to help the reader picturize the scenes according to the chapter. The thrill to find the killer kept me hooked up till the end & made it difficult for me to put the book down. The language used is very easy, the cover is beautiful & the title can’t be any better. A must read!
Thank you Westland Publishers for the review copy.