If there is one complaint
many readers feel
about Indian writers it is that
they are depressing. Poignant and seemingly literary tales that rely
heavily on the oppression factor to lend it weight whilst proportionately extracting from its
readability .
However, in the process of general discrimination, books
striving to carve a niche for themselves are
missed out on. These books
thrill and chill with comic relief.
A slow but steady stream that will in a few years time become a genre
unto itself, domestic thrillers are gaining steady ground.
MANREET SODHI
SOMESHWAR- THE TAJ CONSPIRACY
One of the best contemporary ‘ easy-read’ thriller by an Indian Woman in recent years.
Well written, well researched and gripping, this modern day
historical thriller has it all. The
first novel to feature Mehrunisa Khosa. On her return to India Mehrunisa starts
work with her godfather, an eminent scholar on Taj Mahal. One night she
discovers the body of the Taj supervisor, slain according to Sharia law, and
the Quranic calligraphy on the tomb of Queen Mumtaz altered to suggest a Hindu
origin of the Taj Mahal! Mehrunisa’s investigation of the Taj conspiracy
reveals several threads: Islamic militants are planning an attack on Taj to
coincide with the visit of the US President, while a Hindu right wing party
looking to reverse its electoral loss is ratcheting up its anti-Muslim agenda
by discrediting the famed Muslim monument. In a series of suspenseful twists
and turns, the action traverses from the warrens of insurgent Peshawar to the
serene splendour of Taj Mahal in Agra, from intrigue-laden corridors of Delhi
to snowy Himalayan hideouts. Can Mehrunisa unmask the culprit in time to
prevent a major catastrophe.
BEN COES- COUP D’ETAT
The wait is over—Ben Coes, whose debut Power Down was called
“the must read thriller of the year” (Vince Flynn) is back and at the top of
his game with a mesmerizing new novel.
Powerful and well
researched, the book jumps right from the first page. In its relentless action
paced narrative, the consequences and implications of war between India and
Pakistan are vividly and analytically portrayed.
Ben Coes- the former speechwriter for George W Bush, brings
his wordsmith talents and how! Coupled with exhaustive insider political know how and its inner
functioning’s, he uses his knowledge to create lifelike fiction.
Wanting only a peaceful, obscure life, Dewey Andreas has
gone to rural Australia, far from turbulent forces that he once fought against.
But powerful men, seeking revenge, have been scouring the earth looking for
Dewey. And now, they've finally found him - forcing Dewey to abandon his home
and to fight for his life against a very well armed, well trained group of
assassins. Meanwhile, a radical cleric has been elected president of Pakistan
and, upon taking power, sets off a rapidly escalating conflict with India. As the situation spins quickly out of
control, it becomes clear that India is only days from resorting to a nuclear
response, one that will have unimaginably disastrous results for the world at
large. With only days to head this off,
the President sends in his best people, including Jessica Tanzer, to do
whatever it takes to restore the fragile peace to the region. Tanzer has only one viable option - to set
up and execute a coup d'etat in Pakistan - and only one man in mind to lead the
team that will try to pull off this almost unimaginable task in the
nerve-wrackingly short time frame, Dewey Andreas. If, that is, Jessica can even
get to Dewey and if Dewey can get out of Australia alive...
SATYAJIT RAY- FELUDA SERIES
Satyajit Ray
requires almost no introduction. India’s greatest director of artistic cinema
with suave style and substance was also a noted translator and writer. The
Feluda series are a rather adorable desi Sherlock Holmes with originality.
Feluda moves up from amateur detective to famous
professional detective whilst solving ingenious crimes with a startling display
of logic. Thirty-ish , bright and enthusiastic, his interests include jujitsu,
yoga, geometry, space travel and anything in between.
He solves crimes with his younger cousin Tapesh who is the
ever helpful assistant and travel companion. The stories are well translated
and capture the Bengali artistic strain
beautifully.
KALPANA SWAMINATHAN-
THE PAGE THREE MURDERS
“Lalli has no patience
with hypocrisy. It worries her that a society so full of sordid crime still
considers itself respectable. Labels like elite middle class or low life carry
no meaning for her. She loves curiosities," interview excerpt
From India club- Every Homicide file has one last blank page
marked LR. That page is meant for Lalli… Sixtyish and silver-haired, she’s
officially retired from the force, but she’s still their Last Resort when it
comes to solving a murder. When Lalli’s niece finds herself at Hilla Driver’s
seaside villa for a foodie weekend, murder is the last thing on her mind. She’s
too busy falling in love with the cook. Also present are a number of Page 3
regulars: a best-selling novelist, a jazz dancer, a broken-hearted model, a
fiery feminist with a dramatic past and a respectable housewife with a sordid
one, a doctor with a fashionable practice and an industrialist with a yen for
horses...Each with a secret waiting to spill. It should have been a great
party. But the cook serves up more than food at the Millennial Banquet. There’s
murder on the menu and luckily for Hilla, Lalli takes charge. For Lalli is not
your ordinary houseguest.
Kalpana Swaminathan’s other novels include The Monochrome
Madonna and The Gardeners Song.
ANJANA BASU- THE BLACK TONGUE
"The story looks
askance at a strange but recurrent socio-political phenomenon typical of West
Bengal: pre-modern superstition existing in the interstices of an enlightened
political apparatus."
Enthralling, compelling and utterly engaging, Basu’s world
is an insightful, comical, absurd look into human foibles, supernatural laws
and everything in between in the struggle betwixt a modern urban Bengal and its
rural past.
Amrita Sinha’s maid is a sly insolent creature, who hired to
look after her young son, seems to have eyes for everything else but the job at
hand.
Maya’ stealing of
oranges is relegated to the background as her more than casual interest
in Sinha’s husband takes foreground. Soon, paranoid delusions and feminine
temperaments take centre stage and Maya is dismissed. Or is she?
Her death begins
to haunt Amrita and soon the shifting sands of time and space collapse on each
other. But is this a case for the witch hunters or the psychiatrist?
Soon its upto Arka her husband, and a former lover to help
untangle the mysterious threads of perceived reality that’s formed a shroud
around Amrita’s conscious state.
Pungent and barbed
Basu strikes at the heart of Bengali truisms’,
commie truths’ and the bhodrolokas.
TUHIN A SINHA - THE EDGE OF DESIRE
With smooth fluidity of thought and skill, Sinha proves with The Edge of Desire that he a writer to watch out for. The author,
scriptwriter and columnist, (an underdog to lay your bets on when compared to
writer’s like Bhagat and Tripathi) explodes with this shocking political
thriller.
Is a LokSabha ticket enough
for being raped?
Can a woman's humiliation change the destiny of a nation? It
did in the Mahabharata. And it does, once again, in the lawless Bihar of the
1990s… When journalist Shruti Ranjan, newly-wed wife of the Deputy Commissioner
of Kishanganj is brutally raped by a 'politically sheltered local goon', all
her attempts at getting justice are crushed by a corrupt and complicit state
government. That’s when the charismatic Sharad Malviya, a leading member of the
Opposition party, offers her an unlikely solution: his party’s ticket to
contest the LokSabha elections.
Sharad will go down in
history as one of the finest opposition leaders that the country has ever
produced. His dynamic, effervescent persona and his no-holds-barred persistence
became instrumental in bringing the first Nationalist League-led coalition to
power. A pan-Indian appeal of zero-compromise on national security and the
nation's self dignity, were what elevated him to this rare high pedestal. He
was a brilliant orator and a superb motivational speaker.
What follows is the exceptional first hand account of a
woman fighting for justice through the tainted grounds of Indian politics. But
when a betrayal hits to close to home, she ony has one choice. Give up
everthing she has fought for or turn her back on her life and past.
Gripping and compelling, it is a read that doesn’t scream to
be heard.
The Taj Conspiracy, the first of a three part trilogy, is highly compelling and befits the genre of a thriller very well. For author Manreet Sodhi Someshwar, it is a literary achievement with brilliant and engaging descriptions as well as a fast paced yet astounding plot.
ReplyDeleteThe characters of the story are diverse, yet easy to associate with and envision as actual people. The author promotes a feeling of tension by creating intricate relationships based on love, hatred, as well as revenge.
This book revolves around a shocking discovery at the Taj Mahal, and although it deals with controversial issues, the author has handled them responsibly; the story has a stunning and unpredictable conclusion reminiscent of even modern day India.
The plot has no lack of fast paced action and some serious fighting scenes that left me openmouthed, desperately flipping through pages. The riddles and puzzles in the story befuddled and engaged me as much as Mehrunisa, the strong willed protagonist of this book.
With the Taj Conspiracy, Manreet Sodhi Someshwar had set the bar high for her sequels.