A thriller novel for me
is when I finish reading it I have to pinch myself to realize that I have. PRIVATE INDIA by Ashwin Sanghi and James Patterson
was more or less one. When two writers of the same genre from different
corners of the world team up to write a collaborative fiction we have a lot for
a good debate. It is easy to figure out who has contributed what to which
section of this story if you have read their previous works. I could guess
where the mythology came from and where the pace came from. Comparison with
their previous independent works would not be reasonable though, for this
seemed to be a different experiment.
A
private investigating agency headed by an ex CIA agent with branches across the
world in cities like London and Berlin has a branch in India. The head makes
sure that he has the best in business employed in his team, or so we readers are told. The members of this Indian team,
starting right from the chief
with the cane and a Johnnie Walker bottle calling him day and night (a
substitute to his troubled past) well each one of them are unsettled two
dimensional characters. Read the book to know about the rest, and you will
agree that they are not for your memory, not one passes as an Investigation
Agent. What initially seemed like a series of high profile murders in a
metropolitan city turns out to be a handiwork of a ritualistic serial killer.
One complicated reality about a city like
Mumbai is this- even death does not shake its spirit much. The police of this city being overworked are more than happy to hand
over these cases to this agency. I wonder what the Central Bureau of
Investigation in the real India has to say about such situations. The story is an
absolute page turner, no second thoughts, the short chapters and font size help
along with the speed at which the murders happen. The gadgets and the facilities at
their office, detailed description of the tests, for example the vitreous humor
and eye swabs, DNA tests with hair reminded me of Dr Salunkhe’s forensic
laboratory in CID for some amusing reason.
Certain aspects of
Indian mythology have also been drummed into the murder scenes, especially the
concept of sacred feminine in Indian mythology and how the killer leaves tell
tale signs. If the authors had gone beyond these surface details, particularly
with regards to the nine forms of Goddess Durga and cared to tell the readers
what this had to do with the mindset of this particular killer against women,
bringing this part of mythology to these crime scenes in my opinion was more
justified. The motive beyond the murders also remains an illusion. I now know the
killer wanted to kill nine women, but to kill all of them in the same manner,
nine times? So much spite? In Private India’s chief’s own words: “If you enjoy painting do you
paint the same picture every time?” As
a reader I am without knowledge about the killer’s intentions even after the
end.
At some places,
information provided about Indian history and some particular happenings could
potentially misguide readers, say the Westerners. Research well done is
appreciated only when well portrayed. Gangsters, godmen, celebrities,
politicians, beggars, orphans, prostitutes, police, journalists, nomadic
tribes, local trains, dilapidated buildings, terror attacks and millions of
people- every bone of the skeleton of an Indian city has been touched upon by
the authors like it is intended to be the right blend for a Bollywood project,
nothing more.With suspense in each scene I bet there will be many takers.
Sorry too many things in this soup for me.
The narration by the
killer in between gave me goose bumps but I wasn’t impressed by the language.
There are avoidable grammatical errors and irksome puns. C’mon not one but two
authors for the book, one could have afforded to correct the other! I was on
the edge of my seat with the turn of events but with many
facepalm moments to be precise. Criminal psychology is one interesting subject. I wish it had some
place in the story too, given that there was one strong character, also the issue of transsexuality is overly simplified.
Private India for me was only about major
twists which kept me curious and left me so. I finished this book in two nights of bedtime
reading. I am only sure of one
thing now, no more yellow scarves and dupattas for the next few days for me,
thanks to this thriller, one run of the mill read.
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Book Details:
Title:- Private India
Series:-
Author:- Ashwin Sanghi & James Patterson
Publisher:- Arrow Books
Publication Year:- 2014
ISBN 13:- 9780099586395
Binding:- Paperback
Number of pages:- 470
My rating:- 2/5
PS: This review is a part of the biggest Book Review Program for Indian Bloggers. Participate now to get free books!
1 comment:
@SB : Ah well, reviewing a book is much easier than writing one. I truly appreciate the work by the authors but if we as reviewers do not do justice to what we feel about it while reading, there is no way for us to let them know where is the scope for improving. One cannot come up with sugar coated words just like that, it is human nature to be opinionated. It is a learning process for all of us :-)
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