Batshit-Kritika Kapoor

Book: Batshit
Author: Kritika Kapoor
Publisher: Pan Macmillan India

I was provided a media copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

What if there was a demon being inside you?

A monster is on the loose. And it’s dressed to impress the posh South Delhi social scene. Twenty-something Pia Bhandari has the ideal life – or so it seems. As long as she puts on a happy face, no one is any the wiser about the sinister voices in her head. Not her boyfriend Raghav, or her soon-to-be-married younger sister Khushi, her long-time psychiatrist Dr Agarwal, her father Ajit or even her mother Neeta, who is otherwise obsessed with controlling her daughter’s life. But Pia’s demons follow her wherever she goes. One yellow-eyed demon in particular. Feral and bloodthirsty, it threatens to rip through Pia’s life, leaving a murderous trail in its wake. Hurtling between the opulent kothis of GK-2 and the plush bungalows of Sainik Farms, this twisted tale about a Delhi girl’s fight against the dark forces is about to get batshit.

Batshit explores an interesting concept where the author has tried to pen a psychological thriller by using a paranormal being as a central idea to the plot. The overall storytelling is interesting and keeps you turning the pages. What worked me in the book was that the events in the book keep you interested in the future of the characters. Another aspect which I liked was that the author has kept the pace of the book steady. What didn’t work for me was that the first half of the book and the second part seem completely poles apart. The idea of a possessed character seemed interesting, but the initial part of the story takes too long to set up the plot, and the clarification seems rushed towards the end. Blending the idea of Mother Complex with the concept of a Yakshini, Kritika has attempted to bridge horror and thriller genres. The plot justifies the concept, however the blend could have been a bit more detailed to extract the best of both worlds. The climax, for me, could have been a bit more worked upon to get that moment where the reader holds their breath.

Coming to the characters in the book, I felt that while Pia’s character had the complexity and the depth that the plot needed, the details were too little, too late. The level of detail about her character could have been explored a bit more and the background to her actions could have been introduced earlier on, so as to help the reader connect with the concept throughout the book. Neeta as a character did catch my attention and her actions were interesting to note, specially in hindsight of the climax.

Overall, Batshit has an interesting concept that will impress the lovers of both the thriller genre and the horror buffs. The book scores a 3.88/5 for me.

Get a copy of the book on Amazon India or your nearest bookstore.