Near the end, one of the characters in Siddhartha Deb’s Surface says, ‘To conceal surfaces under other surfaces is necessary’ and this is what the entire narrative is all about. Cloaked under layers and layers, this is the ultimate revelation that is dawned upon the reader – ‘projecting attractive images that concealed what lay behind’.…
Narrated in the first – person voice, Sandhya Menon’s funny and quirky debut, When Dimple Met Rishi tells a story of two Indian-American teenagers, who have nothing in common, except their shared pedigree. But what happens, when their parents secretly set these opposites to get “arranged” for marriage. Dimple Shah, a plain looking girl who…
Winner of the Bloody Scotland Crime Novel of the Year, Black Widow narrates a tale of successful and yet ruthless woman-surgeon who ends up loving and marrying the most unlikely guy. But her whirlwind romance meets a tragic end when her husband dies in an accident and she is charged with his murder. This is…
Firmly rooted in the back lanes of the Lutyens’ Delhi, the concluding installment in the Raisina Series, The War Ministry gives the reader a bird’s eye view of the maneuvering, negotiation, coaxing, plotting that goes behind the scenes to secure power and dominance in the political space. More of a political drama than a thriller,…
A runaway Sikh girl. A Muslim ex-con not looking for any trouble. Robbery. Drugs. Kidnapping. Murder. Revenge. Winner of the CWA Debut Dagger, Amer Anwar’s debut novel, Brothers in Blood has all the elements of a great thriller and Anwar gets it right. Just released from prison after a stint of five years for manslaughter,…
Set in the reign of one of the mightiest kings of the time, Empire brings alive the glorious Chola dynasty and culture in all its glory and might during Rajendra Chola’s reign. Dominantly, a patriarchal society, the book brings a fresh perspective by narrating the story of the warrior who is not only female but…
“Even if you catch me, there’s hundreds of thousands just like me all over the world, cruising the web, looking for prey…You’ll never feel safe again.” One of the most chilling thrillers to be published in the recent times, The Intrusions gives a sneak peek into what technology can do, how a crime can be…
Evelyn Beatrice Hall once said, “I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.” In spite of stepping into the twenty-first century with aplomb, we as a human race have not progressed to a point where all written word is cherished and published. Censorship is very…
“Aren’t artistry of language and worthiness of theme both necessary for good poetry?”, asks one of the characters in Half the Night is Gone. Blending grandeur of theme with poetic language, Amitabh Bagchi’s multi-layered narrative leaves the reader spell-bound and ruminative. Unfolding at both the personal and the political level, the book not just explores…
Named as one of the Guardian’s best books of the year, Djinn City evokes the supernatural world of djinns who are permeated in the popular imagination either through the cartoons like Aladdin or television series like I Dream of Jeannie where genies are subservient to their human masters or through movies where they are characterized…
What will you do if you can see your future? When you know the one thing that will give you immense happiness, will also cause you immense pain? Do you embrace the happiness or do you strive to change it knowing that it is futile? This is one of the many thought-provoking themes that run…
Leaving behind a trail of destruction and bloodshed, Koh-i-Noor, the Mountain of Light, ‘retains a fame and celebrity unmatched by any of its larger or more perfect rivals’ even though there are eighty – nine diamonds larger than it. What makes the Koh-i-Noor so infamous and alluring that all the other gems that once rivaled…
A visceral war drama, where the war just doesn’t take place on the battle-scarred wastelands of Okinawa but also in the life of its main protagonist. Based on the life story of the Medal of Honour recipient, Desmond Thomas Doss, the movie explores the conflict between a man’s beliefs and his desire to serve his…
With the final installment of the Camille Verhoeven trilogy, Pierre Lemaitre has permanently registered his name in the annals of the crime writers. Begun with the personal tragedy for Camille Verhoeven, the trilogy finishes the circle and concludes with the professional and personal calamity for Camille. Though the first two installments in the trilogy are…
While the world has officially entered into the twenty-first century seventeen years ago, some Bollywood directors are still stuck in the bygone era of the 70s. Hrithik Roshan’s starred Kaabil offers nothing new to the audience except maybe the love story of two visually impaired leads. Divided into two parts – the first part is a…
