Let Her Rest Now - Vijay Nair

LET HER REST NOW

ISBN - 978-935-00-92828
FIRST PUBLISHED - 2012
PUBLISHER - Hachette
PAGES - 236
GENRE - Fiction
BINDING - Paperback
SOURCE - Publishers

AUTHOR - Vijay Nair

SYNOPSIS - Neha has suppressed her rage and anguish at her mother's brutal death for a long time, convinced that it was her mother's own scheming ways that brought about her death, after all, she thinks, don't the murdered invite retribution?

But then a distress call from her childhood friend Samir brings Neha back to the hills of Coonoor, to find he has been implicated in the murder of the new paramour of his married lover, Sujala. And much though Neha would like to help him, she cannot shut her mind to the fact that the circumstances in which the victim was found bear an uncanny resemblance to the manner in which her own mother had been murdered.

Nor can she deny the fact that she, too, is irresistibly drawn to the seductive charms of the luminously beautiful Sujala...

FL Speak - This was so NOT what I expected. Either I need to read more Indian readers or stop reading them at all.

Neha's mom was murdered and somehow her bff [apparently] was involved. Inspite of that, he's the one closest to her. So when the call comes, she leaves everything behind and hops on to save the lad in distress.

But everything is not black or white. She reaches Coonoor only to find him Samir missing and his mother being cryptic about his availability. As Neha spends some more days at his place, she meets their nosy neighbors and hears for the first time, of Sujala and her husband. And how Samir was/is infatuated with the lady. When Neha does meet Sujala, she falls in love with her.

*pause*

I turn to the cover page to check if the author is actually Indian. He is. For this alone, I give him 10 points for bringing up such a topic. However, Sujala does not reciprocate her feelings as much as Neha would've wanted. That becomes a fact when she catches Sujala and her husband cavorting. And thus, the woman issues began. Jealousy, betrayal, angst.

Neha is angry at Sujala. She is angry at Samir's mother for trying to get rid of her, she is angry at her supposed step-father, she is angry at everyone. And when things started to tone down, another murder occurs. In the same way her mother died, in the same way the other victim died.

And the danger is somewhere very close to home. Someone who is related to everyone in a bizarre turn of events. As Neha tries to unearth Sujala's mysterious disappearing acts and find clues to solve her mother's murder, as well as rescuing Samir from being framed, the killer is almost upon her.

For a book with a beautiful synopsis, the plot even though interesting at times, is loosely tied up. The ending is rushed. You can read the first 50 pages and the last 50 and you'll feel like you know enough.

Recommended for a light read and an extremely beautiful narrative.

My Rating - 3/5 stars

PRICE - INR 295/-