Shut the Lights by Smita Bhattacharya

A dark and unpredictable tale of family secrets… and the lengths we go to, to save the ones we love. For lovers of non-formulaic domestic noir suspense.

“A lockdown thriller that will keep you on the edge as you read.” – Aashisha Chakraborty, Author, Mis(s)adventures of a Salesgirl.

For this family, the lockdown came as a blessing.

On 24 March 2020, with merely a four-hour notice, the Indian government declared a three-week lockdown as a containment measure for COVID-19. In terms of scale and severity, this lockdown was unparalleled worldwide. However, quite unexpectedly, for a family of four, cooped up in a plush Mumbai apartment, it came as a blessing.

On the face of it, Suvini, Mridul, Damien, and Tara belonged to an upper-middle-class family, with its typical privileges and pressures. But inwardly, each of them held a dark secret that threatened to derail their very existence. And the shutting down of everything had given them the unique opportunity to get away with it.

Or not.

Inspired by actual events.

The darkly suspenseful tale of a family struggling with the hardest phase of their lives. Chilling, shocking, and unputdownable. A unique suspense book that will leave you unsettled. For readers of Herman Koch, Tana French, and Ashley Audrain.