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You Can’t Press Pause On Murder

You Can’t Press Pause On Murder

Bhargavi Kumaran
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‘My mother keeps shadows from the past in her room, to taunt me with when I least expect it.’

When Anjali decides to poison her mother, the plan is great in theory. A sip, a collapse and freedom at last. The reality is her mother gasping on the kitchen tiles, ugly burn marks and probing questions. Her mother is on the floor, and Anjali is on her knees, realizing suddenly that she doesn’t want her mother to die. Yet. The problem with murder, however, is that it doesn’t come with a pause button.

In a race against time, fate and suspicion, Anjali performs a desperate pantomime of grief while scrambling for an antidote she was never supposed to need. When every attempt to undo her crime risks exposing it, whose life will she pick? Narrated in an obsessive, claustrophobic prose that mirrors her spiraling sanity, You Can’t Press Pause on Murder is a dissection of the aftermath of a catastrophic mistake. It’s a portrait of unspooling grief, monstrous guilt and the horrifying discovery that the person you truly wanted to destroy might have been yourself all along.

Imprint: India Penguin

Published: Dec/2026

ISBN: 9789377309886 (Paperback)

Length : 256 Pages

MRP : ₹399.00

You Can’t Press Pause On Murder

Bhargavi Kumaran

‘My mother keeps shadows from the past in her room, to taunt me with when I least expect it.’

When Anjali decides to poison her mother, the plan is great in theory. A sip, a collapse and freedom at last. The reality is her mother gasping on the kitchen tiles, ugly burn marks and probing questions. Her mother is on the floor, and Anjali is on her knees, realizing suddenly that she doesn’t want her mother to die. Yet. The problem with murder, however, is that it doesn’t come with a pause button.

In a race against time, fate and suspicion, Anjali performs a desperate pantomime of grief while scrambling for an antidote she was never supposed to need. When every attempt to undo her crime risks exposing it, whose life will she pick? Narrated in an obsessive, claustrophobic prose that mirrors her spiraling sanity, You Can’t Press Pause on Murder is a dissection of the aftermath of a catastrophic mistake. It’s a portrait of unspooling grief, monstrous guilt and the horrifying discovery that the person you truly wanted to destroy might have been yourself all along.

Buying Options
Paperback / Hardback

Bhargavi Kumaran

Bhargavi Kumaran hails from Chennai and has been crafting stories since her earliest memories. She spends her time researching underrepresented women in history, finding excuses to dive into the ocean, and pining for that one cat that blinked at her slowly.

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