The Murder of Sonia Raikkonen is Salil Desai‘s 4th published work and 3rd crime thriller. The book brings back the team of Inspector Saralkar and Constable Motkar from Desai’s debut – Killing Ashish Karve. And thankfully so. After a dismissal 2nd book – Murder on the Side Street, where the author attempted with a group of young investigators, I am glad
Read moreMurder on the Side Street by Salil Desai is the author’s second novel. I happened to read Desai for the first time while reading a review copy of Killing Ashish Karve, which was his debut work. And it was impressive. Tightly written. When I started using Kindle, I came across his second work on a monthly deal and the author’s name
Read moreI have always maintained that regional literature, like regional cinema, is what can enthrall and excite the minds of the story lovers; opening up new dimensions beyond the conventional genres. Thanks to translators and their tribe, the gems of vernacular languages are making way to mainstream publishing and what a pleasure they are on the reading senses. I have begun
Read moreThis is the story of a year, in fact of a lifetime narrated in the time span of a day. Rajesh Talwar in this novel chooses to not have to do much with dialogues and chooses on a monologue narration. There is only one man who talks in How To Kill A Billionaire, the protagonist himself. This is his story.
Read moreCrime fiction in India especially Indian writing in English (IWE) has always lacked that one awesome, swish-buckling investigator. Barring the ones in regional literature translations like Byomkesh Bakshi or Feluda, our crime fiction is still very nascent as far as looking forward to a rocking investigator and his/ her awe inspiring criminal invincibility is concerned. Though authors like Piyush Jha
Read moreI am making a comeback to solicited book reviews and City of Death by Abheek Barua is the book that marks it. A review copy accepted after long and was it worth it or not? Lets find out. City of Death is primarily the story of a serial killer who is trying to perfect his act of slaughter. It is
Read moreRalph Findlay, a successful businessman, commits suicide. Jack, his son, is devastated. But soon after the suicide, a note finds its way to Jack from someone named The Saldirgan, claiming to know Jack’s secret. Already traumatized by the loss of his father, the note makes no sense to him. Not till his dear friend is killed, and he discovers the
Read moreThe Siege is a book on the 26/11 terror attacks in Mumbai, focused almost entirely on the Taj Hotel, by career journalists Adrian Levy and Catherine Scott-Clark. The duo happen to be married and are co-authors of an impressive array of investigative journalism style books on terrorism. While reading the book, it is easy to forget that the book is fact
Read moreWhen I took up the book for reading expecting some run of the mill stuff with perhaps a touch of suspense laced in to a romantic story… just to catch the fancy of the casual reader! ! But let me tell you… I was in for a pleasant surprise. Love Kills is unique.. it is not what you would look
Read more‘Being an avid reader of crime fiction myself, I have always harbored an ambition to make my own humble contribution to this genre,’ said writer Sourabh Mukherjee in an interview. ‘The story, of course, had its germs in my own interests in human psychology and in the complexities of human relationships, especially in these times of changing social order.’ ‘Also,
Read moreWhen I went through the book blurb for the first time I knew the story is going to be something that is totally unlike other thrillers. As the cover of the book hints, the sole theme of the story is based on the significance of the emblem printed on the cover of the book. The story, Borrowed Plumes, revolves around
Read moreNirbhaya case had taken the entire nation by shock. It was one of the most talked about and heartfelt case in the history of Delhi Rapes. This particular incident has again come to the limelight, due to the juvenile being released free after committing such an atrocious crime. In the midst of all of this when I got the opportunity
Read moreI devour crime fiction. There are not many Indian authors who attempt this genre. So when I got an the opportunity to read this crime fiction by Joygopal, I immediately took it up. Joygopal had written 5 novels in 9 months in 2012. Also 10 novels in 21 months. Alarmed by his speed, I was pretty excited to read Chief Minister’s
Read moreWhen I discovered The Edge of Desire by Tuhin A. Sinha, I wasn’t sure what to expect. The blurb sounded promising and the reviews gave a positive feedback. But, the thing about Indian writing is that I could never feel connected to it. Some books just work out fine for me, while others lead to utter disappointment. So it is
Read moreI changed my job recently and was sent on training to a location where so far I have not been able to locate a single bookstore that sells English novels; the only ones me and a colleague could hunt for are a couple of stores that sell Kannada novels! Left with no paperback options I retorted to an option I
Read moreI first heard of the ePublishing venture – Bloody Good Book (BGB) on Twitter (through the tweets of the founder herself – Rashmi Bansal). BGB is a unique eBook publishing venture where the power of crowd sourcing & crowd curating is used to find the book that is considered for publishing by BGB & Westland Books. Brutal by Uday Satpathy
Read moreBest known for writing crime fiction, Vish Dhamija’s latest offering Deja Karma is a legal psychological fiction. Crowned as the India’s John Grisham, Deja Karma has undoubtedly stimulated the genre of legal fiction in India which was almost non-existent before the arrival of Dhamija on the scene. As suggested by the title, the book commences with the imploration of the
Read moreStories can go on and on…..they can entangle us in webs and when we are trying to come out of it, wrap us around in another. Can we ever say that there is an end to any story? The novel End of Story? written brilliantly by Arjun Shekhar is a dark, humorous, intriguing thriller which brings us to some probing
Read moreOur country , India, offers all things exotic and out-of-the-ordinary to the foreign palette. India is a land as full of mysteries as it is of corroded ideas and conventions. Few writers, from across the seas, have empathized with us, with our feelings for compassion and our historical past. Tarquin Hall is a British author, travel writer and journalist, who
Read moreThrillers tend to be either similar to creaking bones oozing with wisdom or strut with the irreverent arrogance of youth that has little to convey. It is rare to come across one that defies these clichés and defines itself as being both young and sane… and I can say with a lot of confidence that Kulpreet Yadav has managed to
Read moreOriginally published in the year 2002 by Indialog Publications, Just the Facts, Madamji is authoress Sharmila Kantha’s debut work of fiction that introduces us to her very authentic detective, Mr. Ramji. Now, I won’t for a second believe that the Indian publishing industry back then was anything close to like what it is nowadays; especially in fiction—especially in the mystery genre.
Read moreMost of us who are devout fans of the mystery genre have a certain degree of fixation with the whodunits. They suck you into its mystery unlike any other sub-genre. They seduce you to have a look into them and before you even know it, you’ll have immersed yourself into the action in the form of an invisible detective—someone who
Read moreNothing hurts a reader as much than a disappointing read from his/her expectations of a book. When I picked this book, it sounded promising with it’s back cover description of a plot that involved a female vigilante fighting the evils thriving in the capital city, I was looking forward to have a great time with what sounded like a Kick-Ass
Read moreI really love reading books where foreign authors ramble on India or stories with an Indian backdrop. It is not their story or ideas that attract me but rather their perspectives on the Indian culture and how they entwine them with their characters. Its also the curiosity that I develop to see if they have got their facts right, judgmental
Read moreMeet Sonia Samarth, a private investigator with a twist – she solves cases uses Hindu astrology as a crime solving tool. Within a day of advertising her services her phone starts ringing non-stop. Of course, there are a lot of calls from people asking her if she is an astrologer and can help them with their family problems!
Read morePart of Debut Indian Writers Challenge 2013 Tell us who is your favourite character from The Mahabharata and why? Answer in the form below. The best answer makes you the Reader-Winner of September 2013 and gets fun-express The Average Indian Male by Cyrus Broacha home delivered at your place. Sandipan Deb’s debut novel, The Last War surely is a page-turner. Having a corporate and
Read moreCAST AND WIN CONTEST Here’s something to rake the filmi imagination and satisfy the book hoarder in you, Pensievers… Hello Casting Director (Dear Pensiever). Read the character sketches listed below. Cast an actor/ actress from the hindi film industry to the characters. Answer in the form below. Go dream about the movie having a 100 crore weekend, till you get a winner announcement eMail from us
Read moreCertain things when they associate with certain places hold a very different level of excitement. Crime and Mumbai have a similar association. Blame it on the reputation of the city or hindi cinema but the association runs deep and the proposition always excites. Last year when filmmaker Piyush Jha decided to move his mode of story telling from celluloid to pulp he took it upon himself to explore the fascinating yet rarely explored genre ( in India) of crime thriller. And choose his favourite muse Mumbai as the canvas. Mumbai and crime – the stage was set.
Read morePart of South Asian Challenge 2013, Debut Indian Writers Challenge 2013 and Reading Challenge 2013: First Reads A crime thriller should have pace. It should have multiple suspects. All suspects should have motives. All motives should be equally compelling. And finally the fun is in spite of all the suspects and their motives, the murderer turns out to be someone we (the reader) suspected
Read morePart of South Asian Challenge 2012 Title: The Edge of the Machete Author: Abhisar Sharma Publisher: Westland Publications ISBN: 978-93-81626-67-2 Pages: 333 Genre: Fiction/ Thriller Rating: 3 of 5 Reviewed for: Blogadda.com Islamic mendicants centric novels seem to be on the rise with The Edge of the Machete by Abhisar Sharma being the third one, after Red Jihad and Zombiestan,
Read moreEntry no. #4 – Debut Indian Writers Month: October 2012 Part of Debut Indian Writers Challenge and South Asian Challenge 2012 Title: Mumbaistan Author: Piyush Jha Publisher: Rupa Publications ISBN: 978-81-291-2017-5 Pages: 239 Genre: Fiction Rating: 3 of 5 Reviewed for: Rupa Publications This review is honored to be part of the official page of the book.
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