I have always had a liking towards reading thriller-detective type of books. Be it Nancy Drew & Sherlock Holmes in younger age or the latest one ‘Private India’, these fictional/non-fictional stories never seem to disappoint me. Perhaps I seem to get a kind of kick while reading such stories quite similar to the adventure activities that I often indulge in.
Talking about this particular book ‘Private India’ I completed it in a straight set time of 12 hours. This was actually quite surprising for me as well since this is the first time I have completed reading a 500 pager book in such short duration.
Book Title – Private India
Authors – Ashwin Sanghi & James Patterson
Genre – Suspense, Thriller, Fiction
Publisher – Random House India
Published in – July 2014
Pages – 448
Available Formats – Paperback, Hardcover & Kindle Edition
Price – Rs. 193 for Paperback
Available Online at – Flipkart.com & Amazon.com
The Plot:
Being ‘Private India’, the story is based in Mumbai, the business capital of India. One fine day it all begins with serial murders of women happening in the city. Who is doing it? Why is he doing it? How many more? are some of the questions that the police & people want to know. This is when the Indian branch of world renowned detective agency named ‘Private India’ comes into picture. Mr. Santosh Wagh, the main protagonist of the story, heads it and under him is a team of superbly talented individuals. Do they successfully solve the case? Are they able to catch the murderer? These are some of the mysterious questions that the readers need to read and find out.
About Authors & Writing Style:
Ashwin Sanghi is an enterpreneur and one of the best selling English fiction authors in India. His previous works include The Rozabal Line, Chanakya’s Chant and The Krishna Key.
James B. Patterson is a popular American author and his most famous books include Alex Cross series, Private series, Women’s Murder Club and Detective Michael Bennett.
Basically there are three intriguing sub-stories that have been merged into one wholesome suspense thriller. The authors flawlessly introduce you to the three plots at a roller coaster speed which is exciting and increases the curiosity level. The fine detailing of events, places & people is what makes the story reading a thrilling experience; with story line touching different sections of people dwelling in present day Mumbai like the gangster, prostitute, politician, Bollywood actor and so on. There is a gamut of emotions that have been carefully imbibed in the plot and described to perfection be it anger, revenge, love, pain of loosing your loved one etc.
What Worked for Me:
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Smaller chapters.
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Clear crisp font & font size.
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Being a murder mystery the fine detailing of varied places & investigating techniques in context. Be it the Mubeen’s laboratory description or the description of The Tower of Silence towards the climax of story; give the reader’s imagination the power to visualize each scene clearly like a thrilling TV series.
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The mention of all the main places of Mumbai making most of them relevant to the story line.
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The intertwining of religious mythology and the concept of ‘Thugee’ into the story.
What Didn’t Work for Me:
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The terrorism plot didn’t really match the core flavor of the story.
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The occasional one line indirect mentions of #Delhi & #Mumbai Rape cases. Well either they could have been given more weight-age or could totally be omitted.
Verdict:
For all those avid thriller novel readers like me, ‘Private India’ is a must grab book. It stands tall up to your expectation. I would give it a 4.25/5 as a rating. So grab one now!
Happy Reading!
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I am a big fan of such thrillers 🙂 will definitely read it.
A must read for me… its getting hotter by every passing day… nince review and without going through the book I seem to agree with you on your ‘what I don’t like second point’ … incidents like this ought to be treated sensitively with some weight-age or relevance to the story or to be omitted entirely .er
i have a doubt indeed …WHAT HAPPENED IN THE END? (Not in the case they are dealing with I’m asking about SHELBY (ANDY’S WIFE who is a friend to JACK ) )
I reviewed it too 😉 and gave similar rating. The book is a good read. 🙂 😀
Private India – Book Review
While I liked the book, I wasn’t satisfied the way different characters have been developed in the book.
[…] Though a bit late at reviewing this thrilling novel but I am sure its better than never. Perhaps a book lover like me couldn’t actually miss out on this so another thriller-detective type of novel on my shelf after Private India. […]