Insincerely Yours-Manasi Singh

Book: Insincerely Yours
Author: Manasi Singh
Publisher: Self Published

Do you believe that places can be haunted by our past?

Insincerely Yours by Manasi Singh tells the story of Atreya ‘Ray’ Sen, who spent most of her childhood in the USA. When she finally comes to Vishakhapatnam, she befriends Mira and hopes that her life would be a  smooth journey henceforth. When Mira invites her to a late-night adventure with Mira’s boyfriend and his pals, Ray jumps at the chance for some excitement. When one of the boys suggests they take a detour to one of Vizag’s most famous haunted houses, the night takes a turn for the dark. The spirit of a mean old man seems to be following them, killing them off one by one, until a near-death experience makes her realize that she is the one who can release him. With a Victorian-era mansion, a girl with no memories of her past and a spirit with a vengeance, it is a race against time.

This is a story that is filled with twists and turns at every page. The plot of the book is detailed and quite a few aspects have been explored well. The storytelling is quite imaginative, and the descriptions are vivid. The concept of the story is unique in the way it is conceived and executed. The idea to incorporate paranormal along with psychological thriller is a very fine art and Manasi manages to walk that rope very carefully. There are moments when you want to hold your breath as the events that are unfolding are very unique. I loved that the central plot of the book is not revealed till the very end and the secret is very well maintained throughout. The language of the book is easy to understand and the narrative is pretty straightforward as well. The climax at a certain point shocked me, specially when the threads start unravelling.

Coming to the characters, Manasi has brought together a collection of people that is believable, and one would relate with the group of teenagers out on a midnight trip. I liked way Ray’s character is shrouded in that wee bit of mystery right till the end that keeps the reader guessing. Another character I loved was that of Rohan and how his arc pans out throughout the story. Aman as a character did impress me and kudos to the author for keeping his moments in the story which added to the aura that you get while reading it. Lastly, creating a paranormal character is no easy task and to keep that character in the story minus the bells and whistles deserves a mention.

Overall, I would love to recommend this story to anyone who loves a well-crafted psychological thriller, with a side of horror, served on the side! The book scores a 4.75/5 for me.

Grab a copy of the book from Amazon India.