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Review: The Woman Who Saw the Future by Amit Sharma

The Woman Who Saw the Future by Amit Sharma
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I really liked the blurb when I first saw the book on kindle. And though I had the vague idea where the book headed as I started it, this was a ride I thoroughly enjoyed . One woman who started seeing future deaths and thus began a decade of saving people, being famous and dealing with personal relationship that become a public trial. One mistake and it never is the same again , but is it all worth the price ? This book raises some good questions about fame and relationships while never being too judgemental. All characters are well sketched and very realistic. There is no spare cast or scene and that keeps the book very entertaining till the end.

Brilliant writing and the plot was without loop holes. The book is in multiple narration format that kept the book very interesting and varied voices gave it a unique feel. This is the kind of book that makes me hopeful about the Indian fiction genre. One of the best thriller I read this year from Indian author.

My rating : 4/5

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#Review: Unlawful Justice by Vish Dhamija

Unlawful Justice by Vish Dhamija
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

I discovered Vish Dhamija books on Kindle Unlimited and I was intrigued by the blurb. The writing and the thrill of the stories made me read three of his books in succession. So when this book came out , I had already decided to buy the paperback. Luckily, writermelon sent this to me for review.

A quick , super engaging book that highlights a lot that goes unpunished and unnoticed in the society till some one stands up and say , enough. This is a book that start predictable but by the middle it just takes a turn that makes you sit straight and pay more attention. I wish the court scenes were a little more and the lawyers matched in capabilities. The drama leading to the court was done well though. Typical Vish Dhamija book ! Enjoyed this one a lot as I raced to reach the climax.

Having said that , do check his previous works as I find them a little better than this one.

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Skyfire by Aroon Raman

Skyfire features Syed Hassan , Meenakshi and Chandrashekahr from Aroon's previous book "the shadow throne" which also was a crime thriller from the way it finds mention it in the current one :)

Skyfire is a story of manipulation of weather and kidnapping of random kids from Delhi that gets noticed when one of Hassan's protegee disappears and the police come asking for him pertaining to a fake robbery case. While Hassan ( whose cover is of ACP but is actually is one of India's top secret service agent ) is stuck with issues of national security , his friends Meena and Chandar are left to do some poking and thinking on their own about the disappearance and the weird clues that the boy Gopal has left behind. The story felt like watching a movie where in you have a feel for the bad guy right from beginning but you are curious to know how it all unfolds. As the story progressed , I kind of felt compelled to finish it but there was a sense of disappointment too for the events became a little too difficult to accept on face value. It sure felt like an old movie where the villain needs an audience for all that he has been trying to do from years.

There are few twists and sequences that I liked more than the rest and the portrayal of how mistrust and miscommunication can be so dangerous in today's world is something so dreadful and shocking. Skyfire is engaging and fast paced, so much that I took barely 60 hours to finish. A new form of weapon , an intelligently researched theme but a little too stretched plot frankly.

My rating : 3/5

Checkmate by Hrishikesh Joshi

An upright judge is used as a pawn by the terrorists to hijack a plane. The militants strike with vengeance to free their most dangerous fidayeen from the Indian prisons, as they hold a hundred passengers in the plane to ransom. Calling the shots for jihadis from Pakistan is once upon a time the right hand man of Osama Bin Laden and now the most dangerous terrorist in the world, Muhammad Zia ul Afridi. With the Prime Minister in a soup, there is only one man to stop the diabolical scheme of the dreaded jihadis—Vikram Roy, chief Secretary of RAW, a dashing young man of action. As the Prime Minister is about to surrender the prisoners, Vikram Roy discovers the most shocking truth about activities inside the RAW. The weary nation holds its breath as the fate of a hundred hostages and the prisoners hangs in a limbo. However, the events that are about to follow are so unforeseen that they shock everyone to the core.

The blurb and the story would remind the reader of a lot of events in the news of past. A little predictable a little fresh , the story rushes forward smoothly right from the beginning. There are lot of subtle hints that make the characters resemble some real people and that was quite amusing for me. But at the moment I had given up on the book , the writer turns the tables not just in the story but at the reader too. Well done, I must say !

The writing is simple , conversations light and the whole situation has a ring of credibility built around it. This is not a book that you have to assume that this is all made up. There is just a fraction of reality mixed which have happened or might happen any day.

This is a good book for crime fiction lovers. Good attempt at desi thrillers involving terrorists and the agencies that work hard to keep us away from harm.

My rating : 3/5

Buy Checkmate here

A Three Faced Coin by Bhalindra Singh

Title:A Three Faced Coin

Author:Bhalindra Singh

Publisher: Notion Press

Pages:281+

Price:350/-

Source: review copy via Tales Pensieve

I accepted this book for review expecting it to be a corporate thriller(I don't know what made me think so, may be it was it's cover page!)but what I got was something entirely different.This debut work by banker-turned-author Bhalindra Singh, is essentially the story of a U.S. settled upper-middle class couple,Zubien and Mekha Arora.They have decided to shift back to India and soon after,they chance upon a mysterious man named Adeeb.The chain of events which ensues and how it afffects the life of the young couple is what 'A Three Faced Coin' is all about.The story which starts off as a cliched,predictable horror story soon shifts gears(for it's own good!)and metamorphoses itself into a crime-thriller(yielding mixed results!).

As I have mentioned in the beginning of this post,'A Three Faced Coin' is Singh's first work as an author.It's pretty evident that the author has got a rather innovative premise and an interesting concept to convey but the way it's told leaves a lot to be desired which is the biggest issue I have with this book.Anyways,let's look at the good things about this book first.

First and foremost,the basic thread of this novel is quite appealing.Full marks to Singh for that.Though the language used is pretty functional,I liked his writing style-it's simple,yet effective.There aren't many lengthy descriptions and tiring blocks of prose which might weigh down the average reader.As a result, this work easily qualifies as an easy,light read.Having said that,I should also point out that that the book tries too hard to sound philosophical at times and ends up being preachy towards the middle portions (the conversation between Adeb and Mekha,for instance).These 'intellectual' pretensions stick out like a sore thumb,not gelling with the overall mood of the narrative.

Singh has divided his first work into three parts and this is exactly where he has faltered.There is absolutely no connection between the first and the 'second' part(which narrates the story of the cunning Charlie)and the reader almost gets the feeling that he has suddenly started reading an altogether different tale.The 'flash-back' portions of Charlie are not only poorly written with lengthy,bland (gambling/betting) sequences coming one after the other but also kills the curiosity of the reader and only results in testing his patience.I hope the author edits out these un-inspiring sequences in the subsequent editions of the book and thereby make his debut novel more racy and entertaining.The way Charlie executes his ponsy schemes are entirely unconvincing(even silly at times).C'mmon,in this age of digitalization where there is easy access to information,why would someone risk all his life savings in a half-baked,ill-conceived scheme as proposed by Charlie?

It's in the third part that the tale regains it's pace again(to a certain extend) where the missing dots are connected before it culminates in a rather ordinary climax.But by this time,I'm sure that half the readers would have lost their interest in the proceedings.The characters are also poorly developed with the reader not getting a chance to know the 'real' Charlie at any point of time.The 'Villains' are pretty weak and it's not very clear why 'Rambo' chose 'Charlie' for his illegitimate activities.

The book has got a decent lay out and cover design (hats off to notion press for their quality work!).The formatting is also good.

If you are ready to overlook the occasional grammatical errors,the few illogical sequences,half-hearted 'comic' lines and the bland writing in the second part,you might find this as an okay,one time read.It definitely has it's own share of flaws,but is not a bad work by any stretch of imagination.Lend it from your nearest library.You won't regret it!

Verdict-An okay,one time-read.Rating-2.5/5

The book was received as part of Reviewers Programme on The Tales Pensieve

-nikhimenon

The Nidhi Kapoor story by Saurabh Garg

Two dogs and a cat are butchered at the home of Nidhi Kapoor, a leading Bollywood actress. Left behind is a mysterious letter threatening Nidhi and her family. Nishant Kapoor, Nidhi’s father and a superstar of the yesteryears is confined to a retirement facility in the hills. Tormenting him are his recurring dreams of someone trying to hurt him and his family. A film set where Nidhi Kapoor is shooting for her much anticipated film goes up in flames. Trapped inside are Nidhi and her sister, Payal.

ACP Prakash Mohile is forced to take up the investigation. Rujuta Singh, a photojournalist chronicling the lives of policemen in Mumbai and shadowing Prakash, gets embroiled in the case. The answers however continue to elude Prakash and Rujuta.

What is it in their past that Kapoors are hiding from the world?
What grudge does the assailant hold against the Kapoors?
And, can they save Nidhi?

Nimue Says : First thing ,I loved the cover of the book. And then the plot had enough to intrigue any reader. The opening chapter of the book set up the base of a dysfunctional family and the roots that Nidhi Kapoor comes from. The book then alternates between the past and the present randomly but always linked to one of the sins that humanity is plagued with.

Prakash Mohile is your hard working , never-at-fault ACP whose only relationship seems to be with Tambe , the inspector who follows all commands and knows Mohile best. Then there is Rujuta who is an independent photojournalist who is initially unaffected by Prakash's waysand work but once she witnesses the crime scene at Nidhi Kapoor's home , she is hooked to the investigation and is determined to be useful in solving this mystery.

The characters , are well sketched and the research done for the sketch and development of all people mentioned , shows in the book . My favorite is Tarana whose philosophies I so well relate to.Some descriptions seem a little cliched but the overall effect is never lost. The writing is simple and without much frills which do not take attention away from the story at any given moment. The story has a good pace that does not feel forced or bores with a stretched timeline. The switch between the present and the background story is neat and helps the reader make sense of the now and s dread for tomorrow.

And yet , Some times you close even a wonderfully penned book with mixed feelings – Happy that it had a proper closure but still not satisfied with the way it ended. “The Nidhi Kapoor Story” for me was somewhat similar in effect. While I liked the plot and the way the layers of the story reveal themselves as the author conducted his orchestra with the plots , I felt the layers needed to be reshuffled a bit. The answers were all out there for the keen reader and it felt that the last few pages were not needed at all or perhaps they should have been in some other place !

Overall , a very engaging and thoughtful read.

My Rating : 4/5

God is a Gamer by Ravi Subramanian

Aditya runs a gaming company that is struggling to break even. A banker slips off a
highrise building, plunging to her death. The finance minister has made some promises
that he is finding hard to keep. The LTTE has unleashed terror in America that sends
the FBI on a wild goose chase, bringing them to Mumbai.

Enter Varun, part-time drug dealer and full time genius. He turns around the gaming
company before disaster strikes. Meanwhile, the investigators plunge headlong into
the shady world of bitcoins and the Dark Net, websites that only exist for illegal
transactions—drugs, sex and money. God Is a Gamer culminates in a stunning climax
where money means nothing, assassination is taught by the ancient Greeks, and nothing
is as it seems.

God is a gamer is the first book of the author that I read. And I was very cautious of the book since the author has been already branded as India's No 1 thriller writer. What attracted me to the book was this being based on bitcoins. Although I have read a bit about them,a well researched novel usually offers more perspective and a wider reach into the implications of any technology - both good and bad of it , whether real or fictionalized.

The opening chapter reveals why bitcoins would have been thought of - to prevent government or corporate control over flow over money. It also introduces us to a central character Gillian Tan who is though murdered soon as the book jumps to current times, but is also pivotal till the book's end. Only after I had finished the book , did I realize that the tagline on the book cover , "Is revenge a crime" refers to him in more ways than one. The world is much more connected than we ever admit, thanks to technology and so the book now jumps from USA to India immediately and also between multiple characters all powerful and dangerous.

From introducing ( or say informing ) the readers about the phising scams, the loses and the security breaches we can be subjected to any day, the illegal trading ways and network , the book has linked many of economy's key events in the book is a way that reading about them is so much fun. The amount of research and the synchronization of all plot twists show that the author has put in a lot of thought and hard work in writing. The events in the book appear to be loosely inspired or based on some recent events and technology advancements we hear of.This is a really good way to connect to the young readers who also judge any book on its relatability.

The same though is the weak point of the book since some of the events seem too easy or imaginative. One can not totally ignore the impossibility or the low probability of such attacks ( malware , hacking , stealing account information ) in today's world when everyone is so hyper aware of the security measures.

The language of the book mostly conversational and without frills which doesn't take the attention away from the fast paced flow. The chapters switch between places and people which keeps your mind alert but sometimes that becomes too fast and disorienting. Also, the end disappointed me a bit. The false end was more convincing to me. The epilogue appeared too much of a stretch to me. And it not just created a lot of questions in my mind but also the image I created for a character I liked were hurt big time. Some characters were there for not much significant development and I wished either they were covered more or not at all.

All in all, a one time but engrossing read.

My Rating : 3.5/5

I will definitely pick up Ravi's previous books though.

This review is a part of the biggest Book Review Program for Indian Bloggers. Participate now to get free books!

Ten Days by Leena Nandan

Title:Ten Days
Author:Leena Nandan
Publisher:Wisdom Tree/Chlorophyll
Pages:200+
Price:295 INR
Source:Review Copy (Publisher) via alop
Genre:Crime Fiction
Year:2014

IAS officer- turned- author Leena Nandan's Ten Days is a (wannabe) crime thriller which narrates the strange incidents happening in the life of it's protagonist,Tina-a young,beautiful executive working in a call centre(24*365).Set in the innovative backdrop a BPO,this desi thriller tries to expose the 'grey' side of the 'new-age' professionals!

Tina is a bright call centre executive who is assisting Inspector Vikram in a cyber fraud case which had happened in their office not so long ago.Thanks to her smart,uber cool attitude and occassionally blunt demenaour,she has made enough of admirers and enemies in her workplace itself.Certain unpleasant incidents happen in her office(rape of a female colleague,arrest and suicide of a young executive and the death of the much senior scientist,Dr Maken) and pretty soon she finds herself stalked by a mysterious intruder.Parallely,Inspector Vikram gets to know that his ex(Leila,the daughter of Dr Maken) is also in danger.Though the death of her father(Dr Maken) seems to be attributed more to a natural cause,he realises that there is more to it than what is apparently visible.

Coming to the good things about the book-Well,'Ten Days' has got a rather fresh theme.The English is pretty simple and conversational and for those of you who are looking for a book which won't weigh you down with it's literary pretensions ,this one might be the ideal choice.The investigation part(even with it's ample share of loop holes) is quite decently written and the suspense is well maintained till the end of the book.The final revelation(though not out of the world or anything) is also quite unexpected.The Cover design is also pretty well done and suits the overall mood of the work.

The book has it's own share of flaws though.For an aspiring crime thriller,’Ten days’ is too slow to thrill.Apart from a couple of seemingly unrelated(crimes) incidents,nothing much really happens in the first hundred pages or so and too many pages are spent on describing Tina's childhood friends and the office politics at 24*365.Also,there are a lot of poorly developed,un-interesting characters(Deepthi,Rita,Jeet et al) and a lot of unnecessary detailing(the portions describing Tina's childhood might have been retained for it's inherent charm,but I honestly feel that those portions only served to slacken the pace of the narrative)which could have been easily done away with(the school girl club/password thing scenes looked straight out of an Enid Blyton/Secret Seven adventure and adds nothing to the narrative).Though the basic plot is somewhat innovative,the way it has been handled leaves much to be desired.The author seems to be confused on what to focus and what not to.As a result,she ends up confusing the reader.The stalker track(which reminds one of atleast a couple of American thriller novels -Sheldon's 'Tell Me Your Dreams' and Nicci French's 'Killing Me softly',to name a few)lacks fizz and fails to leave the desired impact .It'll neither horrify you nor scare you,thanks to the lack of focus on the principal track from the part of the author. All the genre cliches are also there in place-be it the investigator with a troubled past or the damsel in distress for which he slowly develops a liking for(in this case,for the second time!).C'mmon,we have read all this before!There are a couple of cringe worthy dialogues too.Sample this-“We’re a dynamic bunch of people here,sorry we’re dynamite actually”(!!!!!!).Though the book is a little over 200 pages long,I took almost two weeks to complete reading it.I think that sort of explains what is wrong with the book.

Bottomline-On the whole,'Ten Days' is an okay read.With a rather innovative premise and an interesting theme,it had the potential to be a real page turner.Sad that it's not,in the present form.I'm giving it a 2.5 out of 5.

-nikhimenon

10 days by Leena Nandan

Being a crime and mystery novel, the story revolves around Tina, a bright executive who works at a call center. The story proceeds with her love affair when, all of a sudden, a stalker creates havoc in her life.

Tina's life at the call center is quite hectic and her office romance brings some spice into her life. But she cannot live peacefully as a stalker starts threatening her. The cyber-crime investigating police officer, Vikram, is deputed to deal with this case and he arrives at the call center. Unfortunately he meets his ex-girl friend, Leila, here, who is now married to someone else. But the real mystery begins soon after this event. One evening, Tina stumbles upon a plot which turns her life upside down.

My Review : 10 days offers you something different and definitely more than you expect when you begin. There is a lot happening in the book, mostly with and around Tina but that doesn't let you lose track of any of the cast introduced in the flow. There are sunshine moments when Tina thinks of her childhood and her old friends and then there are creepy moments when as a woman I could feel and relate the pains of being stalked , being terrified even of walking down the street after dark.

What put me off a bit was not too much happening , but too many unnecessary scenes and casts. I did not like knowing of all and every person on Tina's team nor did some of the crimes seem important enough being written in the plot. The multiple rackets being run in the company were spread a little thin. Though some of the culprits were hinted at different stages, it was not too difficult to guess them except the stalker. that was quite an interesting twist.

Leena's writing is very much realistic and I like the way she has described the call center culture and in general the behavior of different people around us.

Rating : 3.5/5

Dead in a Mumbai Minute (Reema Ray#2) by Madhumita Bhattacharya

Reema Ray is a rare combination of beauty and brains. She is a brilliant sleuth who had once impressed the eccentric security professional Shayak Gupta. Reema is given a case in Mumbai – a murder case, of an Ashutosh Dhingre, a former assistant of the Bollywood superstar Kimaaya Kapoor, whose fame is on the decline. Ashutosh was found dead in Kimaaya’s private island. The suspects happen to be the house guests and Kimaaya herself. Reema also learns that Kimaaya was in a relationship with Shayak in the past. Shayak keeps disappearing very often and Reema finds this very unusual. This case is assigned to Reema by the firm Titanium, where Shayak works in. How is all this intertwined? Does Shayak have anything to do with the murder? Will Reema be able solve the case of the year? Find out the answers and more in this page-turner mystery novel.

My review : Crime fiction is one of my favorite genre to read. Having a female protagonist is all the more fun . Reema Ray is new to the city but not at all to solving mysteries. Being objective, relentless and able to use all her resources to the best is what brought her to Mumbai. She has been awarded the biggest case of not just her career but more so for the firm she is a part of and the man who brought her to Mumbai - Shayak. The case at hand looks tricky cause of the people involved - bollywood star , Rich businessman and another guy high on not just costliest wines. A double murder throws a lot of possibilities and questions into the mix and so does Shayak's mysterious absence and lose ends from previous dealings.

I liked the characters of the book for being not single dimensional and rather fitting seamlessly to the plot. Situations are well described and nothing seems far fetched in the plot. The surprise elements and the layers of the mystery are well in place till the very end where you suddenly are able to guess the person behind the murders. But then Madhumita plays a last card and leaves the master planner hidden. She leaves questions for next book and so am hooked.

I am infact going to pick up the first book soon to know more about Reema.

Rating : 4/5

Piyush Jha's Anti-Social Network

Title:Anti-Social Network

Author:Piyush Jha
Published by: Rupa

Pages:192

Price:INR 195/-

Source:the talespensieve book review program

'Anti-Social Network' is the third book in Piyush Jha's 'Mumbaistaan' series featuring the maverik cop,'Inspector Virkar'.Set in Mumbai,the book is an edge- of the-seat thriller (well,almost!) with ample doses of twists and turns happening at regular intervals.

Plot and Characters: In the opening scene itself,we are introduced to the protagonist,the no nonsense Inspector Virkar.He is seen chasing an informer-turned- extortionist Usman Teacher which inturn sets the tone of the book.Though the cop is unsuccesful in nabbing the criminal,his possible suspension is averted thanks to the gruesome serial killings which is rocking the city of Mumbai.The victims are twenty something students from the suburbs of Mumbai who don't seem to be related to each other in anyway.Joining Virkar in the investigation is the petite psychologist,Naina for whom the Cop develops a liking quite (un)expectedly.As the mystery unfolds,the computer challenged policeman realizes that things cannot be the same ever again.Apart from Usman,Virkar and Naina the book has another important character in Richard,a Computer geek and an expert hacker.There are atleast a dozen suspects/peripheral characters acting as the crucial links between Virkar and the principal antagonist(s).

Language and Writing:Blame it on the author's background,the writing is too filmi at times with scant regard for grammar and language.The English is pretty basic and there are quite a number of grammatical errors and typos in this edition('navel' becomes 'naval').But the book is definitely a fast read.At 192 pages, 'ASN' is crisply edited and competently executed.It quite often reads like the screenplay of the next big Bollywood pot-boiler.It is infact this fast paced narrative which covers up for the gaping plot holes and the illogical sequences in the story.Though the graphic descriptions of murders may repulse a few readers,those of you who are big fans of those western crime thrillers will probably find the violence in ''ASN' to be of the kindergarten variety.

Cover Design,Formatting and Overall design:The book cover is quite well designed eventhough it looks quite similar to the author's previous work,'The Compass Box Killer'.The formatting and overall design are also quite apt for a book of this genre.The Book is quite handy with about 44 chapters,each one of them only a couple of pages long.

What I liked the most about the book

1.The scenes between Virkar and Naina

2.The pacing and innovative premise of the book

What I didn’t like-

1.The plot is too generic and the characters aren't well etched out-We have the serial killer who knocks off seemingly random people in the most brutal ways.Though the book starts off by describing the killer and his/her acts in detail,by the time the story reaches half time(yeah,the review is als becoming very filmi) he/she loses importance.On the other hand,even though he is there in every chapter,the reader gets to know very little about the book's protagonist Virkar.Agreed,he is a very intelligent,beer loving cop.But then how is he as an individual?his family?his traits?(I haven't read the first two books,may be I should read them to know more about the hero!)

2.The final revelation/twist was sort of predictable.C'mmon,we have seen similar similar ones so many times in movies!

Verdict:Though built on a wafer thin plot,'ASN' manages to entertain the non-discerning reader to a very large extend.Full credits to the author for achieving that.But even having said so,I must admit that had a little more thought gone into this work,it would have easily become one of the finest desi crime thrillers of all time.I'm giving a three out of five for this latest thriller from Piyush Jha.

The book was received as part of Reviewers Programme on The Tales Pensieve.

-nikhimenon

If you've enjoyed the review, you can buy the book from the following sources below.

The Cosmic Clues by Manjiri Prabhu

Crime fiction is something I love to read. To solve a mystery, to see if I can follow in the detective’s footsteps and make sense of the case file, to become a detective for a little while… that’s quite fun. I’ve read a few detectives from Indian fiction, but when this book came to me for review, I was intrigued. A detective who solves cases by looking at and to the stars? Now there was something different, something to look forward to.

When a student of astrology and criminology decides to start solving crimes, it would only be natural that she feels a mix of both would work wonders in solving crime. A novel idea, but would it fly in a country where people are so obsessed with the stars? Initially it doesn’t. It brings her more prank calls than proper cases. I wonder if it was in the stars that a feline would find the way for her to get a case. An attempt to find a stray cat’s owner brings her a case, and that gets her (, and her perky assistant Jatin) going.

I’m no astrologer, or criminologist. The closest I’ve come to being the latter is trying to deduce the culprits in CSI before the actual ending is revealed. So to have a mix of both in a book was kind of fun and kind of boggling. The detection is fun, and the astrology talk boggling. However, the author’s attempt to make crime fighting seem easy when the stars are aligned in the protagonist’s favor (forgive the pun) works out fine.

Easy language, light-reading, witty and humorous… the Cosmic Clues is a treat at times. It’s not so interesting that it’ll become a collector’s copy, but it’s a one-time read that’s sure not to leave you disappointed.

In A Gist:

Positives: Plot idea, characters, language and narration skill

Negatives: Too much astrology, could have used more detecting

About the author:

Manjiri Prabhu is an Indian author who has written six novels and a non-fiction. She has been writing since she was seven years old. By profession, Manjiri is a Children’s Television Producer and a short filmmaker for over 20 years.

Book Details:
Title: Cosmic Clues
Series: Stellar Investigations Detective Agency #1
Author: Manjiri Prabhu
Genre: Crime Fiction
ISBN/ASIN: 9788184954791
Publisher: Jaico Books
Price: INR. 299

Shared with
1) First Reads Challenge at b00k r3vi3ws
2) Indian Quills 2014 at Tales Pensieve.

Reviewed by Leo

The Sea of Innocence by Kishwar Desai

I don't usually read mysteries or thrillers because I do not find much in them to 'take home'. But an occasional read between heavy books serves as good refreshment, given that most mysteries are sharply written and are very pacy. If nothing, a Sidney Sheldon or a Robert Ludlum promise adrenaline-fulled entertainment. But not so a Kishwar Desai. In fact, not only is Desai not like those masters, she's downright BORING. I don't remember the last time it took me THIS long to finish a mystery.

From what I understand, The Sea of Innocence is the third of her Simran Singh series - a 40-something social worker who moonlights as a detective. Desai's first book, Witness the Night won the Costa First Novel Award, which was then followed by Origins of Love. I haven't read the first two, but after this book, I don't think I'll ever read anything by her again.

Inspired by the much publicised case of British tourist, Scarlett Keeling, who was raped and murdered on the beaches of Goa, The Sea of Innocence tries to depict the darker side of the sunny town. Goa's dark underbelly could have made a great setting for a crime thriller, but Desai fails to use it to her advantage. The book is painfully slow, even though she has thrown in all elements like drug-fuelled parties, beaches, holiday romances, ageing Hippies, politicians, power games and even rape tapes!

The feminists may come at me with pitchforks, but Desai 'talks too much'. As I trudged along its pages, I couldn't help comparing her with male authors, whose books seem to have so much more action. And don't even bring up Agatha Christie, okay? The book often sounds like a long rant about the single Simran's weight problems, her failed loves and mommy issues. There are lengthy monologue-y stretches and you want to shake her up and ask her to DO SOMETHING!

The plot is fairly simple; a young British girl goes missing from the beaches of Goa, and a year later, videos of her surface. The case is reopened unofficially, with Simran starting a covert investigation at her ex cop boyfriend's behest. Simran meets the missing girl's sister, Marian, who also implores her to help find her 16-year-old sibling, Lisa. Following trails and anonymous video clues, Simran discovers that the disappearance has to do with a drug cartel and that powerful men are involved.

Desai manages to keep the suspense till the end, but the plot is stretched so thin, that by the end of it, you don't really care. Most of it is predictable, but one must give her points for a scary twist in the end. The story, however, is wrapped up very shoddily, and the last few pages seem to have been written in a hurry.

The jacket of the book quotes the Telegraph praising the book as being 'Terrific'. My verdict is different by just three letters: Terrible.

RATING: 2/5
Author: Kishwar Desai
ISBN: 978-1-47112-837-0
Pages: 356
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Simon & Schuster India
Copy source: Marketmybook.in

Compass box killer by Piyush Jha

The last time I read an Indian thriller ( and liked it too ) was RIP . I have not read Mumbaistan and frankly was not even aware of its success but what attracted me to this book was the name and the fact that it hinted of serial killer. Oh ! I so love serial killer plots 'cause they have so much to offer for a motive of the killer. Fortunately this book will not disappoint you one bit [ Maybe a bit, if you are too critical ].

A crime thriller, set in the by-lanes of Mumbai. One muggy afternoon, a senior police officer is found murdered at his desk. When Inspector Virkar from the Crime Branch arrives at the scene, he finds a cryptic note that spills out of a student s compass box.
Then begins a series of killings and in each, a telltale compass box reveals more clues. Accompanied by the attractive, ambitious TV reporter, Raashi Hunerwal, Virkar has to race against time to catch the Compass Box Killer before the bodies pile up. As the investigation shuttles from Mumbai to Khandala to Belgaum, Virkar is taken deep into a labyrinth of backroom deals that lead to shocking revelations about the ruthless killer s motives.

Except Virkar's habit to say those hindi dialogues , half of which did not mean much to me in the flow of things , I liked the character Piyush has created - honest , hard working , compassionate and a straight forward clever guy who believes in getting justice for all , by any means possible. The book got me hooked from the very first chapter. There is something so damn attractive about a man who knows his ways in the world - his habits , his space , his duty and his sensibility intact under all scenarios. Add to that an intelligent killer who improvises with every strike. who would not love a well matched pair in a book.

Another thing I like about a book is that it should give you a feel and context of the places it is set in , which was done to perfection in compass box killer. The people , the places , their reactions and the expectations from every character was met. Absolute spell binding reading time happened with Compass box killer. I am soon gonna grab Piyush's first book now.

Rating : 4/5