Blurb
On New Year’s Day, a man is found brutally murdered on the outskirts of
Pune City. Pune’s leading investigative journalist, Chakradhar, is shocked by
this gory and puzzling crime. The dead man is found with multiple stab wounds
in the shape of hideous smile carved on his face. Post-mortem results show that
the wounds were inflicted with an old fashioned fountain pen while the victim
was still alive. Chakradhar, assisted by his spunky kickboxer protege Mukta, a
genius anti-social computer hacker Aatif, and Chakradhar’s best friend Dr.
Poonawala – an eccentric bumbling GP – is drawn into a spine-chilling
investigation. The case starts spiralling out of control when bodies start
piling up with the killer’s signature – the smile carved on victims’ face. As
Chakradhar races on with determination to get to the bottom of this mystery, he
uncovers a terrible secret in corporate Pune. But, even when he solves one clue
after another, the architect of this crime puzzle – the murderer – is still at
large. And, suddenly, Chakradhar is a target.
Pune City. Pune’s leading investigative journalist, Chakradhar, is shocked by
this gory and puzzling crime. The dead man is found with multiple stab wounds
in the shape of hideous smile carved on his face. Post-mortem results show that
the wounds were inflicted with an old fashioned fountain pen while the victim
was still alive. Chakradhar, assisted by his spunky kickboxer protege Mukta, a
genius anti-social computer hacker Aatif, and Chakradhar’s best friend Dr.
Poonawala – an eccentric bumbling GP – is drawn into a spine-chilling
investigation. The case starts spiralling out of control when bodies start
piling up with the killer’s signature – the smile carved on victims’ face. As
Chakradhar races on with determination to get to the bottom of this mystery, he
uncovers a terrible secret in corporate Pune. But, even when he solves one clue
after another, the architect of this crime puzzle – the murderer – is still at
large. And, suddenly, Chakradhar is a target.
My Review
Intriguing cover image and compelling blurb makes the expectations of the readers sky high. I wouldn’t say the book is disappointing but could have been better. The suspense was predictable.The narration is unique. Character craft is also good. Lack of novelty is the major drawback of the story. We feel like I have read this somewhere.
Unlike the cliched , so called bestsellers , language of the book is good. The book cannot be considered as easy breezy. Nor can it be counted as a cliffhanger. It is a good effort from the author but could have been better with a little more polishing.
Reviewed for the publisher
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book as a
complimentary copy in exchange for a honest review. I was not required to write
a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.
complimentary copy in exchange for a honest review. I was not required to write
a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.
About the author
Manasi Sapre studied
English Literature at Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi and got her
Masters degree in Media Studies from the University of North Texas. Since 2002,
she has worked has the Head of Content and Programming for various national
Hindi and English TV channels. She has been part of the core leaership team at
UT and has launched several successful channels in Movies an Kids television
space. Her passion for cinema and animation, from acclaimed and award winning
international cinema to Bollywood entertainers to Hollywood blockbusters, to
Japanese anime, led her to conceptualise and head highly successful niche TV
channels. Manasi is a compulsive esoteric reader. She loves 19th century
Russian Novels, Marathi literature, modern literary suspense and horror from
Scandanavia, Europe and Japan. Her studies and work have taken her to various
parts of the worl and flamed her passion for literature and cinema. Manasi
lives with her husband Ronojoy and their dog Myshkin in Mumbai. When not
brainstorming about television content with a twist, she can be found
mountaineering in North-East India and burning the midnight oil reader her
favourite genre : murder mysteries.
English Literature at Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi and got her
Masters degree in Media Studies from the University of North Texas. Since 2002,
she has worked has the Head of Content and Programming for various national
Hindi and English TV channels. She has been part of the core leaership team at
UT and has launched several successful channels in Movies an Kids television
space. Her passion for cinema and animation, from acclaimed and award winning
international cinema to Bollywood entertainers to Hollywood blockbusters, to
Japanese anime, led her to conceptualise and head highly successful niche TV
channels. Manasi is a compulsive esoteric reader. She loves 19th century
Russian Novels, Marathi literature, modern literary suspense and horror from
Scandanavia, Europe and Japan. Her studies and work have taken her to various
parts of the worl and flamed her passion for literature and cinema. Manasi
lives with her husband Ronojoy and their dog Myshkin in Mumbai. When not
brainstorming about television content with a twist, she can be found
mountaineering in North-East India and burning the midnight oil reader her
favourite genre : murder mysteries.
