Book Review : 'In the Name of God' by Ravi Subramanian

Ravi Subramanian’s ‘In the Name of God’ starts off with a story around the Anantha Padmanabha Swamy temple in Kerala’s Thiruvananthapuram. The possessions that the temple holds in its vaults, and finally, the series of controversies, which follow, when the Supreme Court asked a committee to open the walls are all a part of this story.

 

A dead body is discovered in a pond there, and the story starts. It is not the end, as it sets off a series of events. A series of murders follow the opening of the vault, which most people believe to be God’s ire. (These were supposedly, happening due to the rage of the lord himself, considering that he actually owns the treasure.) 

The temple’s custodian, Aswathi Thirunal Dharmaraja Varma, the titular king of Travancore finds himself, suddenly a central part of this affair. Not just this, there is a lot of smuggling of antiques from temples in South India, and also a massive theft at a mall in Dubai. Also, considering the many cultural rituals, which the temple has, the confusion is built up, all the more.

Enter Kabir Khan from the Central Bureau of Investigation. He tries to unfold the many aspects of the investigation, along with the state police team, which is headed by Krishnan. There are interesting parts to the entire suspense drama.

Padmanabha Swamy Temple (Wikipedia)

In Mumbai, we are thrown into a series of bomb blasts, and some of the victims are part of the most wanted diamond industry. Interestingly, a few of these victims are involved with the vault opening at the Padmanabha Swamy temple. So, Kabir finds himself shifting focus from Thiruvananthapuram to Mumbai and back again.

Will the shared connection, between these events be discovered? Will the wrath of the lord be uncovered? There are a couple of love stories too in this puzzle, how will they end?

It all falls upon Kabir to unearth the story behind these actual events. Can he do it? Will he be able to keep pace with the succession of happenings? There are facts and a whole load of stories, so the need for clearing history from faith and its beliefs are all a part of this thriller.

Ravi Subramanian

Subramanian has discovered a whole new zeal to his usual repertoire of books, related to financial/economic issues, whether it was insurance or banking; this one does not deal with either of them. So, probably a hint of space is left behind. But, he does have a hand at dealing with the usual  thrillers…  

Oh and I must mention, a tiny mistake on Page 70. The sentence does not begin with a capital ‘T’; instead, it starts off with ‘the courtroom...’

You can Buy the Book, right here.