Sharath “Da Saint” Shivani’s The Maladies of Life arrives as a striking debut that blends mystery, emotional depth, and a sharply observed portrait of contemporary India. At once a coming-of-age story and a character-driven crime novel, the book introduces readers to an unlikely young sleuth whose investigation becomes inseparable from his own search for identity, truth, and belonging.
Sixteen-year-old Mark never imagines himself as a detective. He is a quiet, troubled teenager growing up in the shadows of Bangalore’s underbelly, burdened by family secrets and the complicated reality of his father’s brothel. When someone he loves is murdered under bizarre, chemically peculiar circumstances, the shock does more than break his heart—it tears open a carefully hidden world around him. The police show little interest in digging deeper, and Mark finds himself forced to do the unthinkable: follow the trail on his own.
His refuge and unexpected support system comes in the form of Rainbow Matters Anonymous, a 12-step support group for the LGBTQ community. What begins as a place of comfort and understanding slowly becomes the backbone of his investigation. Through the warmth, lived wisdom, and street-level instincts of its members, Mark finds not only clues, but courage. As more bodies appear, each death stranger and more deliberate than the last, patterns begin to emerge—patterns no one else seems able or willing to see. And with every new discovery, Mark is pulled further into the secrets his father has tried so hard to keep buried.
The novel’s strength lies not just in its mystery, but in its emotional honesty. Mark’s journey is as much about understanding love, fear, and his own fragile sense of identity as it is about solving crimes. The stakes are deeply personal: every clue forces him to question what he is willing to risk for the truth, and how much he is prepared to lose along the way.
Sharath “Da Saint” Shivani writes with a rare balance of compassion and precision. Fans of Richard Osman’s charm, Alexander McCall Smith’s humanity, and Joanne Fluke’s character-driven mysteries will find a similar warmth here, while readers who admire Agatha Christie’s classic clue-craft will recognize the same spirit of careful deduction—reimagined against the vivid, modern rhythms of India. The city of Bangalore is not just a backdrop, but a living, breathing presence, with all its contradictions, hidden corners, and quiet tensions.
The author’s broader literary vision is clearly felt throughout the novel. Known for exploring how systems, beliefs, and hidden structures shape individual lives, Sharath weaves these themes seamlessly into the story. Whether through the social realities Mark confronts, the moral choices he must make, or the quiet cost of power that lingers behind every crime, The Maladies of Life examines the fractures beneath ordinary lives with sensitivity and insight.
This is more than a mystery novel—it is a story about growing up in a world that is far more complicated than it first appears, about finding allies in unexpected places, and about learning to see what others overlook. With heart, humour, and a sharp eye for human nature, The Maladies of Life introduces a fresh and memorable young protagonist and marks the arrival of a compelling new voice in contemporary fiction.