Cover reveal: Love, Marriage, and Other Disasters by Shilpa Suraj

About the Book:

She believes in love, family and…squiggles!

Alisha Rana is not your typical single desi girl. For one, she is on the wrong side of 30.  For another, she is divorced. And last but definitely not least, she is still, gasp, a virgin!

Alisha doesn’t want much. But what she does want is that elusive thing all women search for – A man who gets her…but a man who gets her hot! She calls it “feeling the squiggle.”

Enter Dr. Vivaan Kapoor, cute, hot, squiggle-worthy. The younger brother of her cousin’s prospective groom, he’s got the squiggle factor in spades. The only catch? He’s never been married and is years younger than Alisha. Basically, completely off-limits.

And then there is Arjun. Widowed, older than her by the right number of years and a genuinely nice guy. He’s Vivaan’s cousin and a so-called perfect match for Alisha. The problem is, Alisha’s squiggle-o-meter refuses to budge for him.

What will Alisha choose? A lifetime together with the ‘right’ man or a chance at happiness with the ‘wrong’ one?

About Shilpa Suraj:

Shilpa Suraj wears many hats – corporate drone, homemaker, mother to a fabulous toddler and author.

An avid reader with an overactive imagination, Shilpa has weaved stories in her head since she was a child. Her previous stints at Google, in an ad agency and as an entrepreneur provide colour to her present day stories, both fiction and non-fiction.

Shilpa on the Web:

Website * Facebook * Twitter * Instagram

Cover reveal-Murder in Chowdhury Palace by Sharmistha Shenoy

About the Book:

What if someone you loved… was murdered? How far would you go to bring a killer to justice?

Orphaned in her childhood, Durga has always longed for wealth, security and, above all, a sense of belonging. She finds it all when she marries Debnarayan Chowdhury, heir to an immense, multi-crore estate. But the Chowdhury family has been under a curse that dates back to the British era. The first-born of each generation dies young, purportedly killed by the spirit of Kadambari, a young woman murdered by the notorious Shankar Dakat, the founder of the Chowdhury family and their Zamindari. When her father-in-law Birendranath dies unexpectedly, Durga and Debnarayan come down to the ancestral home in Kakdihi, a small village near Kolkata. The moment Durga enters her new palatial home, she crosses a threshold of terror. She loses her husband within a month of her marriage and finds herself a widow in a house full of strangers. Are Debnarayan’s and Birendranath’s deaths accidental? Everyone in her new family and the neighborhood appear to be friendly. Most of them have a motive to kill her. A well-meaning neighbor tells her, ‘Run from this place. You have no friends here.’ Is she, the current owner of the estate, now on the murderer’s radar?

Read an Excerpt from Murder in the Chowdhury Palace

The trees were denser beyond the pond on the northern side, and the area was unkempt and full of thorny bushes and nettles.  Debu remarked, ‘Not many people venture into the northern part of the woods from this point because the haunted house is less than a mile from here. So this part of the estate is in a rather wild state.’

‘Yes, I can see that nature has completely taken over this part. But still, let’s go there.’ I said excitedly.

‘Some other day…,’ Debu murmured. His face was slightly pale.

‘Debu! You really seem to believe in these ghosts and all that nonsense…,’ I said rather incredulously.

‘No… no… of course not!’ Debu exclaimed.

‘Then prove it! Let’s go and visit the house.’

‘Look… it won’t be very safe. The walls are crumbling, and I am sure that bats have made their home there.’

‘Please, Debu, let’s go, I have never seen a haunted house,’ I said, cajolingly. I gripped his hand and almost dragged him towards the house.

We came upon the abandoned temple first. The plaster was coming off the walls, and the aerial roots of a huge banyan tree had encroached upon the temple and gone in through the walls causing rainwater to leak into the walls and damage them further. The house was located a further quarter kilometer away.

There was a strange, sinister silence all around. Even the birds did not twitter in this part of the woods. The house with its closed shutters and peeling walls was a one-storey medium-sized building. It was dark and uninviting, steeped in shadow due to the jungle of trees that had flourished around it. Darkness echoed and folded upon itself. I walked resolutely to the main door, only to find it locked. 

‘Where is the key to this door?’

‘I don’t think anybody has it.’

I was in a naughty mood. ‘Then let’s break it open. I really want to see what’s inside.’ 

In spite of Debu’s protests, I picked up a heavy rock and hit the rusty lock with it. The lock broke easily.

We stepped inside a large hall. It was full of cobwebs and broken dilapidated furniture. Suddenly, a bat swept past my face. I let out a startled cry and drew back. I would have fallen to the ground had Debu not caught me.

‘Let’s get out of here. You shouldn’t be so adventurous in your present condition. The baby might get hurt,’ he said in a quavering voice. 

‘Oh come on… please Debu…let’s explore a bit more.’

I went further in and switched on the torch of my mobile to see better. At the center of the hall, were the remains of a havan done a long time back. The bricks used for the havan were blackened, charred and crumbling with spiders spinning their webs over the layers of dust. There was a portrait of Shankar Dakat and another of a woman on a wooden platform near which the havan had been performed.

‘This is, of course, Shankar Dakat’s portrait. And this must be Kadambari…,’ I said. ‘Who painted this?’ The painting of Kadambari mesmerized me. She was little more than a young girl in a green sari, worn without a blouse in the traditional fashion. Her big eyes were strangely life-like and sad and her long, thick, curly hair cascaded down her bare shoulders like a cloud.

‘I don’t know who painted this, nor do I care. Let’s go, Durga. I feel really uncomfortable here.’ Debu said a little impatiently. I started coughing because of the dirt. ‘Durga, you know you are allergic to dust. Come away now. I don’t want our baby to get hurt.’ He clutched my hand in a death grip, and almost dragged me out of the house.

The fear in his voice was contagious. Also, to be honest, the life-like painting had spooked me. We hurried back towards the pond. As we almost ran back and neared our home, there was a shout from the ground-floor east-wing balcony. It was Kanak. She shouted, ‘Who goes there?’

About Sharmishtha Shenoy:

Sharmishtha Shenoy is the author of the Vikram Rana Mystery series. The books under the series are “Vikram Rana Investigates,” “A Season for Dying,” “Behind the Scenes” and “Fatal Fallout”. She has also published a book of short stories, “Quirky Tales.”

Her short stories have been published in efiction magazine and Woman’s era. She loves writing murder mysteries, the kind of books that she likes to read. Her favorite authors are Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Agatha Christie. She also likes the work of Satyajit Ray – especially the Feluda Series. 

Before starting to write, she had been an IT professional and had worked in TCS, Satyam, Infosys, and Microsoft. 

She is a big foodie and enjoys Biriyani (both Hyderabadi and Awadhi versions) and rasgullas like most Bengalis. She is also a lusty singer of the bathroom singing variety.

Though she is happily married to Mr. Shenoy in real life, in her fantasy world she is wedded to her creation Vikram Rana.  You can get to her blog by typing the word “Sharmishtha Rana” into Google. No, seriously, try it.

She was born in Calcutta. She is an M Tech from the University of Reading, Great Britain and had received a 100% British Government Scholarship to study there. She lives in Hyderabad.

Sharmishtha on the Web:

Website * Facebook * Twitter * Instagram * YouTube 

Book review: True Love at the Lonely Hearts Bookshop

Author: Annie Darling
Format: Kindle
No. of pages: 400 (according to my Kindle reader)
Rating: ⭐⭐.5/5

I was sold at the title of this book, and the name of the author. Like, fully sold.

It was the obvious choice for the February prompt of the #ReadingWithMuffy reading challenge, hosted by the very awesome Shalini on her blog. (The prompt for February was A book that has the words ‘Love’, ‘Kiss’, or ‘Hug’ in the title.

Unobviously, this one turned out to such a disappointment. Such. A. Disappointment.

Disclaimer: This review may read a little disjointed to you, because it is taking some effort to translate my thoughts into something coherent.

I haven’t read any of Annie Darling’s other books, so I don’t know if this is her writing style, but I thought it was very mundane. And yet it was not. True Love at the Lonely Hearts Bookshop is funny, dry, like a slow roller coaster that also stops very frequently for an adventure junkie’s liking. (I hope this gives you a fair idea of why my thoughts lack structure.) The best thing about this book is the story behind its title, which I am dying to tell you, but I won’t because, like I said, it is the best thing about this one.

The narrative is difficult to keep track of; it is easy to get lost in the narrative, in a way where you don’t know what is happening and why it is happening, and in most places, I wasn’t even bothered to find my way back. The descriptions are exaggerated. It gets funny in places, like really funny, and warm, but most of it is dry. That said, the funny and warm is good enough to give this book one chance on a Sunday afternoon, when you want your brain cells to not do a thing, not be excited about a thing. Because this one does not really evoke any strong emotions. It is just…something happening.

To give the author her due, the characters are good. It is easy to like Verity; she is an introvert and everything that goes on in her mind was so on point, so relatable to the introvert in me. Perhaps for the first time, but I didn’t like a hero in a romance so much. Johnny is like a child who has lost his way, knows that he has lost his way, but refuses to go back. I admit that while it is endearing at one point, it is difficult to be so patient with him.

That’s all for this one. Read it; you might like it.

Book review: Something Old, Something New

Authors: Aarti V Raman, Andaleeb Wajid, Shilpa Suraj, Devika Fernando, Preethi Venugopala, Ruchi Singh, and Neil D’Silva
Format: Kindle
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

There’s romances that hold the excitement, the newness of first love. And there’s romances that hold the hope of a second chance. Something Old, Something New is one of the best books I’ve read in the latter category.

SOSN is a collection of novellas by 7 seasoned and very, very brilliant authors: Aarti V Raman, Andaleeb Wajid, Shilpa Suraj, Devika Fernando, Preethi Venugopala, Ruchi Singh, and Neil D’Silva. I’ve read most of their previous works, and not one of them has been anything short of a page-turner. The novellas in this collection are in the same vein.

If romances can be predictable, then second chance romances can be even more predictable. Especially for someone like me, who’s been a voracious romance reader, the Mills & Boon kind, all her life. SOSN, however, does brilliantly as it surpasses expectations. Each story is nothing less than a breath of fresh air.

SOSN, obviously, is a perfect read when you are craving for feel-good romance, because they are short reads, and they are short reads that are very well-written. More than that, though, if one is an aspiring author, this collection is exemplary of brilliant writing.

While every story is beautiful and aww-inspiring, and it is difficult to pick a favorite, I’d like to make a special mention of Neil D’Silva’s novella. Neil D’Silva is a well known and expert author of horrors, and I haven’t read much of his work because I cannot stomach horror. (I’ve read some of his short stories and excerpts on Facebook, from which I know his expertise as a writer.) In his story in this collection, he combines romance with his preferred genre so so so well, tell me if your jaw does not drop in the end.

A definite recommendation, whether or not you are a romance buff.

Spotlight: Blood Red Love (Something Old, Something New) by Neil D’Silva

Something Old, Something New
– A DRA Production

Seven bestselling authors. Seven incredible second chance romances. One epic anthology. 

What would you do for another chance with the one you love? 

Something Old, Something New – a unique novella anthology – tries to answer this question with fantastic, different, desi dramas. 

Whether it is shapeshifters or shifting interracial relationships, single moms in small towns or rich alpha heroes, friends-to-lovers or passionate ex-husbands; this anthology has something for everyone. 

Something Old, Something New explores the many different facets of love, forgiveness, fated mates and more in seven, distinctly Indian tales!

Blood Red Love by Neil D’Silva

When beauty becomes the beast…is love enough to save her?

Vimal, the most eligible bachelor in town, falls in love with the elusive Yamini, the most beautiful girl he has ever seen. 

It sounds like a match made in heaven, but wait—the darkest of secrets besmirches their love. Yamini is not all human, and the non-human part of her, which she transforms into once a week, is the most terrifying anyone has ever seen. 

Throwing all caution to the wind, Vimal plunges headlong in her love and vows to do whatever it takes to be with her, even if it means playing with his own life every single night.

For a while, everything goes according to plan. But strange are the ways of the supernatural! Yamini loses control her transformation, and to much greater horror, she has no control over her actions.

Will Vimal be able to find a cure for Yamini’s rare condition and make her his eternally? Will Yamini be able to find true love in Vimal? Or does destiny have something else in store for both of them, something that they could never have imagined in their wildest of fancies?

To know the answers, read Blood Red Love, the newest offering from Neil D’Silva.

Read an Excerpt from Blood Red Love

Vimal wanted this night to last, which was not different from any other night that they were together, and he used every method he had learnt with her to prolong the night. His greatest pleasure lay in giving the gift of himself to her and then withdrawing it just when she was about to savor it fully, and then give himself again. 

That pandered to his male ego—even the most decent of men cannot escape the male ego—for it placed control in his hands, and he would have it no other way. 

Yamini did not mind it either. 

She loved every bit of what he did to him—even the deprivation—because she knew one thing that all women know. And that is, men never have the power in their hands. Even when they think they have the power, they are fools because it is the woman who has given it to them. 

The house around them had gone to sleep. The city was silent too. 

The only thing that could be heard now was the soft swishing of the eiderdown quilt that was sometimes over them and sometimes under them, and the movements of the two bodies in their heightened moments. 

Vimal whispered, ‘Are you tired?’

Yamini just about managed a grunt.

‘Okay then,’ he said, and dove in for one last time for that night. Holding her close, he grabbed her by the small of her back. 

That was the moment when he felt something at her back and withdrew in shock.

‘What is it? What’s wrong?’ Yamini asked, afraid.

He quickly picked her up and brought her to the full-length wardrobe mirror. He directed her back at the mirror and their eyes grew wide in shared horror.

‘How is that possible?’ Vimal gasped.

‘I-I-I don’t know…’ she stammered. ‘Tonight is a safe night.’

But apparently it was not. For, sprouting from her waist, just above the coccygeal vertebrae of her tailbone, was a tuft of black feathers.

‘You… you are turning!’ he said, aghast.

‘I am!’

She should have run into her room at once, but the shock was so heavy for both of them they couldn’t think! 

They kept staring at the tuft of feathers until they grew out prominently and took the shape of wings, and even as that happened, feathers sprouted from all over her skin; not the tiniest space was spared. 

But the most wondrous transformation was on her face. 

Vimal watched in horror as her ears retracted into her skull, her eyebrows grew heavy and covered with a fuzzy, fibrous growth… her upper lip retreated while her lower lip and nose grew till their tips touched each other and assumed the shape of a beak. 

Yamini grew in size too, and when she was so large that her head hit the ceiling, deadly talons erupted from her toes, popping out like from an automatic gun, and repeatedly clacked on the floor with a manic fury.

It was that sound that broke Vimal’s reverie. 

About the Author:

Neil D’Silva primarily writes horror and is published with  Penguin Random House, Rupa Publications, and Hachette among others. His books and other stories are in the process of being adapted for screen on various platforms. He is the founder and festival-director of Mumbai’s interschool litfest, Litventure, and mentors aspiring writers. He has conducted workshops on writing at several places, notably at IIT Kanpur, and has also spoken on a TEDx stage on the art of writing a bestseller. He hails from Mumbai and pursues writing as his full-time vocation.

Giveaway:
First Prize – A Kindle
Second Prize – 6 Months Kindle Unlimited Subscription

a Rafflecopter giveaway
https://widget-prime.rafflecopter.com/launch.js

Five Have a Mystery to Solve-Enid Blyton

The first prompt for the #ReadingWithMuffy challenge, Of Boops, Bleps, and Borks, (hosted by Shalini on her blog) was to read a book with a dog on the cover or in the title of the book, or with a dog as the protagonist. While she’s got some amazing recommendations in her post here, my choice was the first dog that came to mind when I heard ‘dog’: Timmy.

If you’ve grown up on a literary diet that comprised of a lot of Enid Blyton, you’ll know and probably adore Timmy, Georgina’s dog. (I know, I know, she prefers to be called George, but hey, Georgina is such a pretty name!)

And here’s my review of the book I chose for this prompt: Five Have a Mystery to Solve.

Blurb

(Via Goodreads)

Whispering Island – another mysterious place, with a million stories sorrounding it . . . Is it haunted? The Five are intrigued, but scared, too. Are they brave enough to go there and find out.

My review

At 148 pages, and given the size of the book, Five Have a Mystery to Solve is a quick read. I was able to read it in two days, with a normal, packed-as-usual schedule, where I can read for about 1-1.5 hours in a day.

Like all of the Famous Five books I’ve read till now (I’ve read very little of Enid Blyton’s other works, something I intend to correct this year), this one is rich in visualization—especially when it comes to food—and language. The twists and turns are surprising and all of it together make this book a decent read, even a page turner.

My rating

🍕🍕🍕🍕/5

Quite fantastic, this KHANtastic

In India, Bollywood is a religion in itself. And, it wouldn’t be wrong to say, Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, and Aamir Khan are the holy trinity. In their individual personalities, these three megastars embody everything Bollywood stands for.

And KHANtastic by Sanjukta Nandy is an incredible compilation of episodes that show how well-written a script by the Universe their lives are. I had goosebumps when I read that all three of them were born in the same year, just months apart. Not just that, the coincidences extend far beyond, and you might want to read the book to live them in their full effect.

Full points to Sanjukta Nandy to such well thought out compilation; she’s been amazing in knowing where exactly to break an episode and how much to reveal at one time. If you are a fan of even one of these megastars, this book is the probably the most perfect thing to show you that their backgrounds were far from how seemingly perfect their lives today are. Not just that, without being preachy, Sanjukta gives excellent insight into their determination, their dedication towards their dreams. If that does not inspire to you to work on achieving yours, I’m not sure what will.

Thank you, Rupa Publications, for offering me a review copy of this KHANtastic book!

IT IS THAT TIME OF THE YEAR! #December Delights

I’ve always had a strange and strong fascination with December, and Christmas. It’s such a wonderful time, filled with so many wonderful things: Christmas, the winters, a combined celebration of the end of one year and the beginning of another, Secret Santa. My most favorite out of all things December, however, is all books that are centered around a winters and/or Christmas theme.Before I begin what this post is about, a shoutout to Vidhya Thakkar for organizing this blog train; I wouldn’t have written this post otherwise, certainly not this year.

Here’s my list of 5 Christmasy and/or Wintery books that I think you can consider for putting up on your list too:

The Christmas She Always Wanted by Stella Bagwell (Mills & Boon)

I bought The Christmas She Always Wanted in the November of 2009, and since then I read it at least once every year, definitely around Christmas time. This book is super super special; it isn’t just my first Mills & Boon, it is also my most favorite Christmas tradition.

Blurb (taken as is from Goodreads): Angie Malone left Christmas wishes to her daughter. After all, nothing could fix the broken heart Angie had had since Jubal Jamison married another woman. She had never seen Jubal again…not even to say she was carrying his child.But now a miracle might happen for Angie and her little girl. With Jubal hired as the vet for the Sandbur Ranch, there was a chance for father and daughter to find each other. And with Christmas just around the corner, perhaps Jubal and Angie could finally forgive the past – and become the family they’d always wanted to be…

Let It Snow by John Green, Maureen Johnson, and Lauren Myracle

I read Let It Snow only a few months back, and I looovvvveeeee it! It isn’t all nice and warm and Christmasy, it is also very brilliantly written.

Blurb (taken as is from Goodreads): It’s Christmas Eve and Gracetown has been buried by snow. But the weather is more than just an inconvenience. When one girl unexpectedly steps off a stranded train, she sets off a series of life-changing events.

Soon fourteen pumped-up cheerleaders will descend on the local Waffle House, the Duke’s DVD night will be rudely interrupted for a Twister mission, and a lovesick barista will determine the fate of a single teacup pig …As the three stories collide, strangers cross paths and romance blossoms with heart-warming consequences.

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by J K Rowling

Why this one is on the list, is pretty obvious, isn’t it?! Why specifically this book? Because such exciting new beginnings, that’s why. For me, books 1 and 2 of Harry Potter will always be better than the rest of the series because they are the start of something so so fabulous, and also well-written.

Blurb (taken as is from Goodreads): Harry Potter’s life is miserable. His parents are dead and he’s stuck with his heartless relatives, who force him to live in a tiny closet under the stairs. But his fortune changes when he receives a letter that tells him the truth about himself: he’s a wizard. A mysterious visitor rescues him from his relatives and takes him to his new home, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

After a lifetime of bottling up his magical powers, Harry finally feels like a normal kid. But even within the Wizarding community, he is special. He is the boy who lived: the only person to have ever survived a killing curse inflicted by the evil Lord Voldemort, who launched a brutal takeover of the Wizarding world, only to vanish after failing to kill Harry.Though Harry’s first year at Hogwarts is the best of his life, not everything is perfect. There is a dangerous secret object hidden within the castle walls, and Harry believes it’s his responsibility to prevent it from falling into evil hands. But doing so will bring him into contact with forces more terrifying than he ever could have imagined.

Winter Stories by Enid Blyton

I am yet to read this one, even though its been a while since I bought it. But the cover is so pleasing to look at, just having it on my shelf is such a feel-good thing. This year, of course, I’ve managed to pull it on my immediate TBR and I cannot wait for a cold winter night to devour this one.

Blurb (As taken from Goodreads): Snuggle down with this heartwarming collection of classic tales, celebrating the magic and excitement of winter. These fun, entertaining stories are ideal for newly confident readers and are the perfect length for reading aloud at bedtime or in the classroom. It’s an ideal stocking-filler too!

Christmas Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella

This one, again, is on my immediate TBR, simply because I’ve just bought it. But I am pretty confident that I’ll like it, because Sophie Kinsella and Becky Bloomwood are quite the combination you need to have the perfect winter, and a perfect Christmas in this case.

Blurb (As taken from Goodreads): Becky Brandon (née Bloomwood) adores Christmas. It’s always the same – Mum and Dad hosting, carols playing, Mum pretending she made the Christmas pudding, and the next-door neighbours coming round for sherry in their terrible festive jumpers.And now it’s even easier with online bargain-shopping sites – if you spend enough you even get free delivery. Sorted!But this year looks set to be different. Unable to resist the draw of craft beer and smashed avocado, Becky’s parents are moving to ultra-trendy Shoreditch and have asked Becky if she’ll host Christmas this year. What could possibly go wrong? With sister Jess demanding a vegan turkey, husband Luke determined that he just wants aftershave again, and little Minnie insisting on a very specific picnic hamper – surely Becky can manage all this, as well as the surprise appearance of an old boyfriend and his pushy new girlfriend, whose motives are far from clear . . .

And that is all from my side. But let’s not stop here; tell me about your favorite seasons and which books you like to read in your favorite season in the comments below, maybe?

This post is part of #DecemberDelights by Vidhya Thakkar and Rupa Publishers should not be repurposed, republished or used otherwise. The content herein is owned by the blogger. Hosts are not responsible for any infringement caused.”

Book Review: Soliloquy of a Small-town Uncivil Servant by K K Srivastava

The book’s blurb makes you want to read the book asap. What it does not tell you is to have patience.

5 pages into the book and I was ready it to DNF it. In the beginning, the narrative is more philosophical than story-based. However, DNFing doesn’t come easy to me. So, I read along.

I’m partly glad I did, because the narrative changes to a story soon after, and it starts to get intriguing too. Characters started coming in and I wanted to see how the story takes shape.

It proceeds well, in terms of the narrative. It is insightful and interspersed with life lessons, some of which left me in awe of the author’s life observation skills. Which is really the book’s USP. It isn’t difficult to guess that the author has lived a life and had done his best to understand it at every twist and turn, and even otherwise.

However, it falls flat when it comes to the prose. Heavy words, long sentences are used to present convoluted thoughts; a single thought, in quite a few places, is rephrased and told several times over. This, for me, was particularly hard to get by, because I couldn’t establish a stream of thought around the narrative.

I’d say, if you are a reader with patience, try this one out. It isn’t easy to make a dent in this one, but with the author’s life lessons, it might just be worth it.

Book review: A Will To Kill by R V Raman

If there is one thing I can say from all the books I’ve spent reading is: A good mystery can pull you out from the deepest of reading slumps. I struggled through two books all of June and I haven’t finished them yet. A Will to Kill was exactly what the doctor prescribed.

A Will to Kill by R V Raman is (seemingly) the first book in the author’s Athreya’s series. (I was hoping it would be this, because Athreya comes across as an interesting character!)

Blurb

An ageing and wheelchair-bound Bhaskar Fernandez has finally reclaimed his family property after a bitter legal battle, and now wants to reunite his aggrieved relatives. So, he invites them to his remote Greybrooke Manor in the misty Nilgiris – a mansion that has played host to several sudden deaths; a colonial edifice that stands alone in a valley that is said to be haunted by the ghost of an Englishman.

But Bhaskar has other, more practical problems to deal with. He knows that his guests expect to gain by his death. To safeguard himself against violence, he writes two conflicting wills. Which one of them comes into force will depend on how he dies.

Into this tinderbox, he brings Harith Athreya, a seasoned investigator. When a landslide occurs, temporarily isolating them and resulting in a murder, Athreya finds that murder is not the only thing the mist conceals.

My review

Quite an interesting book by several standards. It is well-written and well thought out. What really stood out for me was how subtle the book is: in terms of its language, characters, the plot, the narrative, and so on.

So many characters but the story transitions seamlessly; I wasn’t confused between any of the secondary or tertiary characters, and I think that is quite an achievement. The narrative keeps you hooked, except for a few places where it seems to drag, or rather not move ahead.

The other thing that I think could have worked on was the amount of repetition of accounts. It came to a point where I’d proceed without reading chunks of content because it is something that’s already been said. Apart from that though, amazing writing skills, certainly.

Once an editor, always a cautious reader! I couldn’t help but spot a few typos that I personally thought were too obvious not to be taken care of.

But in the end, it all comes together decently. The story takes quite a few unconventional turns and that is what has the potential to keep the reader going. The character sketches are on point too, as is all the description of the location. In all, just a little bit of patience and you have a page turner on your hands.

If mysteries are your game of choice, no harm in picking this one up.

Disclaimer

I got a copy of this book HarperCollins India in exchange of an honest review. The views herein are my own and there has been no monetary transaction involved.