| The Quill of the Porcupine | |
| Title Orig: | Shajarur Kanta |
| Author: | Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay |
| Country: | India |
| Language: | Bengali |
| Genre: | Detective, Crime, Mystery |
| Publisher: | P.C. Sorkar and Sons (also anthologized by Ananda Publishers) |
| Release Date: | 1967 in hardcover Byomkesher diary and in the Sharadindu Omnibus in 1972 |
| Media Type: | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
| Pages: | 182 pp |
| Preceded By: | Chholonar Chhondo |
| Followed By: | Benishanghar |
Shajarur Kanta is a Bengali mystery novel written by Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay in 1967. The murderer kills people using porcupine quills thrust from behind into the heart.[1]
The story starts with the death of a beggar, found dead with a porcupine's quill embedded to his heart. The police initially dismiss any foul play, but when a few more people end up dead in the same way, police are confused. Byomkesh is asked to investigate when a man is injured grievously, but survives the attack.
The man is Debashish Bhatto, a rich businessman, who has recently married Deepa in an arranged marriage. Byomkesh discovers that everything is not what it seems, especially when the gathering at Nripati Laha's allows him to interact with Debashish's friends and Deepa's family. Deepa's past is intricately entwined with her present, threatening to ruin her and Debashish's life.