Moonrise, Sunset

Baratham (A Candle or the Sun) takes the traditional mystery format apart piece by piece, then puts it together again to create a mystical and cerebral novel. How Kum Menon-the son of a Chinese woman and an Indian man-falls asleep in a Singapore park with his fiancee, Vanita Sundram, after a romantic evening; but when he wakes up, her bloody, lifeless body is draped over his. She has been stabbed to death, as have a couple in another area of the park, and Menon, after being initially suspected of the murder, is enlisted to help find the real guilty party. The characters are clear and distinct: Jafri al-Misris, Menon's slick lawyer friend; Sundram's vindictive brother and her deeply religious father; and Menon's worried mother (who is suspiciously missing a kitchen knife). Tragedy brings the charlatans out of the woodwork: the ""Ayurvedic physician"" who advises Sundram's father; the American serial-killer expert brought in to detail the killer's ""biosocial make-up""; and psychic Zelda Zoroastris, who plans to solve the murder with the help of a polygraph. Sundram herself continues to appear to Menon after her death, and gives him a hand. Even more impressive than the sharp characterization is Menon's measured narration. Strong, controlled writing full of concrete images keeps the ethereal subject matter in check and carries the plot along with just the right amount of skepticism. (Apr.)