Just You, Me and a Secret, by Ganga Bharani Vasudevan

Mysteries intrigue me, and I end up playing the sleuth to find out what happened. This book is a mystery, but not one to sleuth. Just You, Me and a Secret is a book where the protagonist Meera is a mystery, not only to me, the reader, but to herself as well. And as she finds out more about herself, so do we. When we first meet Meera, she has woken up in a hospital. She doesn't know who are the people around her, and she doesn't remember anything, not even her own name. She is in the care of Ashruth, a man who says that they were going to marry soon when fate brought that unexpected obstacle in their way. Can she believe him? And will her memory ever return?

This book is a very easy read. It's not light, but the mystery of Meera's life had enough in it to keep me engaged for some time. The author has done justice to her character, and I felt the pathos for her predicament, which is essential. The twists that come with parts of her life coming to light are good, and help in no small amount to keep it interesting. Writing down moments in a journal or diary is useful should one need to revisit them, and I thought introducing "Clara" - Meera's diary/journal was a nice touch.

At times though, Meera's actions to unravel the mystery of herself feel a little unbelievable. And though we see Meera's character come to life with the story, the sub-characters, some of whom are quite important, don't seem that important. The story, which develops nicely in the first part feels hurried towards the end, and perhaps diluted the read a little for me as well. I thought the presentation was a little odd, but I don't know if it was because I read it on the Kindle. Some of these points aren't deal breakers, but the book would definitely improve more with these in mind, I feel.

The language is easy to read, and quite simple, and for this book, I think that worked quite well. All in all, if you're looking for an interesting book to keep you occupied for a few hours, this book might be worth considering. I'll rate it between 3 and 3.5 stars.

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3 Stars < Rating < 3.5 Stars
Genre: Love/Mystery

Reviewed by: Vinay Leo R.

This is not a paid review. The opinions expressed are my own and unbiased.