‘Lead Tin Yellow’ is not a painter’s dream, but it definitely is, this painter of 'words' dream.
Because it seems to be so, considering it is not a writer’s but this pseudonym’s.
More about that later.
Oh,
well, now to come out with the review. It starts off with the protagonist,
Robin Miller. Robin is a journalist working in Massachusetts, and is just about
getting ready to go to work, when his reserved father comes to visit. In between
a few words, Rob goes in to work, with a fleeting glimpse, of what his father
might have said.
His
father, a Vietnam veteran, keeps talking of some wartime ‘documents’ that he keeps
hinting at showing. Robin finally leaves for work but he keeps wondering at
what his father had almost said. He returns in the evening, to find his father
missing. Concluding that he had gone for a walk, he sits waiting for him. The wait
which turns into a non-stop one, ends up bringing the police home.
The
police headed by Captain Cooley, brought some bad news. Found shot dead, was
his father. Beside him is a suitcase full of Robin’s old newspapers. The police
want to know why. And what was he doing with this suitcase? Coming to grips
with the whole situation, Robin, along with his girlfriend, Linda must make the
best of it.
As
Robin tries to figure it out, he must move closer to his mother and his
half-brother. Clue by clue, he figures out more of his father’s double life. He
discovers his uncommunicative father and his former love too. He also finds out
more about 16th century painters and the process of mixing lead and
yellow to not just give this book, its title but also of it, leading to the
colour, yellow.
As he tries his best to solve this puzzle, he has to stay ahead of the
villains and the police, too. Robin and Linda uncover what the ‘documents’ are and their value, and are not shocked
anymore at why they must be kept secret.
The adventurous espionage story could be yours
if you are looking for a mystery, this afternoon.
The book kept me up and its pace was fairly quick, it also had its
various artistic parts, which definitely had my ears up. Does he manage to solve
the mystery and become closer to his family? And what of his girlfriend and the
police?
The language was very good, though I found a few editorial mistakes,
which kind of took me off the story. Overall, a good read.
Okay, now to an interesting point. The book has been written by an acclaimed sociologist,
who has for almost thirty years, taught in universities, worldwide. He has authored and edited several books, though this is his first work of fiction. He is
currently serving on the Board of his country’s Central Bank. Doug Gunnery is a
pseudonym, too. I think, with those surprises, we should not be surprised that
he has a love for mystery thrillers and am sure that this book is not the end. He lives in India, though this book was set in the midwest of the US.
Author: Doug Gunnery
Genre: Fiction
ISBN : 9781482833935
Publisher: Partridge
Price: Rs 450 /-
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