Ashwin Sanghi and James Patterson have put together this book, ‘Private India’, which had me wondering
exactly what parts were written by each of the authors. Okay, firstly I have
never read a Patterson book, and have read two of Ashwin Sanghi’s novels. So,
basically I could have been at a loss here.
It starts off
excitedly, murder in Mumbai’s hotel room of a Bangkok’s highly accomplished
surgeon. The doctor has her hand tied to a fork and a lotus. And on her foot is
tied, a tiny Viking helmet, and around her neck, a yellow scarf.
Called upon by ACP
Rupesh to solve this one is Santosh Wagh, the head of an Indian version of a global
detective agency, ‘Private’. ‘Private’ is headed by Jack Morgan on the global
scale. Meanwhile, handling things in India is Wagh, Nisha, a former CBI
officer, complete with Hari, a technology expert and Mubeen, the medical
expert.
A series of murders
follow this one, each with different symbols, denoting the fact that they have
all been committed by one person. The one thing in common, that they all have are
the yellow scarves around their neck! After the surgeon, a journalist, pop
singer, a politician, social worker and a school principal are all killed.
Meanwhile, there is another
aspect running. The immoral one. Here we have an underworld don plus, a few terrorists, Bollywood, an attorney general and a godman. There was a little too much to digest here.
Going back
to the story, it occurs during Durga Puja, which means Ashwin Sanghi has to come into play, he with his knowledge of
mythology, and some of the additional stories. The thuggee story bit, which
could have been an eye capturer was not delved into properly, I felt. The nine
avatars of Goddess Durga is another element, which of course, we all know
Sanghi for.
Overall, the book which
started off very well, managed to falter here and there, thanks mainly due to
its varied stories. Wagh with his sad back story lost the plot, in between.
But it is worth a read,
but it depends on how we look at it. If you are expecting the ultimate combination
of crime writers, then one might be a tad disappointed. Though, some of its
stories might not fit in the overall book, the sub-plots are interesting and
have the chance of capturing one’s mind. And probably, another book all their
own.
Authors: Ashwin and James Patterson
Genre: Fiction
Publisher: Random House India
ISBN: 978-0-099-58639-5
Price: Rs 350/-
No comments:
Post a Comment