Book Review #15: Private India

Published in: 2014
 

The blurb of the book says: In Mumbai seemingly unconnected people are dying, strangled in a chilling ritual and with strange objects carefully arranged with the corpses. For Santosh Wagh, head of Private India, the Mumbai branch of the world’s finest investigation agency, it's a race against time to stop the killer striking again. In a city of over thirteen million, hed have his work cut out at the best of times but this case has him battling Mumbai's biggest ganglord and a godman who isn't all he seems and then he discovers there may be an even greater danger facing Private India. Hidden in the shadows is someone who could destroy the whole organisation along with thousands of innocent Mumbai citizens.

Ashwin Sanghi is an entrepreneur by profession but writing historical fiction is his passion and hobby. He self-published his first novel, The Rozabal Line in 2007 under his pseudonym, Shawn Haigins. It was subsequently acquired by Westland in 2009 and went on to become a national bestseller. His second novel, Chanakya's Chant remained on AC Nielsen's india Top 10 for over two years, won the Vodafone Crossword Popular Choice Award and UTV acquired movie rights. His latest thriller, The Krishna Key, was released in August 2012 and went straight to number 1 in the charts. Further information on www.ashwinsanghi.com

James Patterson is one of the best-known and biggest-selling writers of all time. He is the author of some of the most popular series of the past decade - the Alex Cross, Women's Murder Club and Detective Michael Bennett novels and he has written many other number one bestsellers including romance novels and stand-alone thrillers. He lives in Florida with his wife and son.

James is passionate about encouraging children to read. Inspired by his own son who was a reluctant reader, he also writes a range of books specifically for young readers. James is a founding partner of Booktrust's Children's Reading Fund in the UK. In 2010, he was voted Author of the Year at the Children's Choice Book Awards in New York. More on www.jamespatterson.co.uk

MY THOUGHTS:

Writing: The writing style is lucid, yet engaging and expressive.

Story:  The plot involves serial killings of unconnected women using a simple weapon of yellow scarf and uncanny props are left at the death scene. Private is a renowned investigation company with branches around the globe run by former CIA agent Jack Morgan. Santosh Wagh (ex-agent of RAW), the head of Private India, have his own personal demons to fight and yet has to solve the mystery behind the murders. Then there is ex-best friend Rupesh who is a cop, a godman and a ganglord who are somehow involved. Apart from Santosh, the investigation team consists of Nisha (an ex-cop), the forensic expert Mubeen and the techie geek Hari.

I received this book from Blogadda in exchange of a honest review. I was supposed to read it and post a review within a week of receiving the book. This is the first Private series book that I have read. And I thoroughly enjoyed it. The mystery unravels gradually at a good pace and I was kept hooked throughout. The plot is in Mumbai. The serial train bomb blasts  which took place in the city few years back also gets a place in the story. Other than that the ISI and Mujahideen are also a part of the plot. Other then my reading time, I was turning the pages between my mundane chores. I was eager to learn what connected the killings, the relation between the victims, why the yellow scarf was used and what is the significance of the strange items left at the murder scene.

At the end of the novel, there is also an extract of the story behind Private; why and how 'Private' came into being.