I Met A Man Who Wasn’t There-Sakyajit Bhattacharya (Tr. Arunava Sinha)

Book: I Met A Man Who Wasn’t There
Author: Sakyajit Bhattacharya
Translator: Arunava Sinha
Publisher: Speaking Tiger

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

Would you take up a chance to solve a decades old murder mystery?

Tanaya, a journalist who writes on cold cases, arrives in Darjeeling to investigate the decades-old murder of Amitava Mitra, a young poet. The prime accused was Arun Chowdhury, the victim’s best friend. Arun was released for lack of evidence, and Amitava’s murder has remained unsolved for forty years, the case files buried in the police archives. Tanaya’s investigations take her around the famed hill station, sleepy and mist-wrapped in the monsoons. She interviews a whole cast of characters, including the taciturn Arun Chowdhury, who is a best-selling crime novelist now. She reconstructs the sequence of events that led to the murder and in doing this, comes across an unpublished crime novel written by Amitava himself that has eerie parallels with his own subsequent murder. As she digs deeper, and the clues get more and more twisted, Tanaya realises there was a devious killer at work here, who killed with impunity. And when Darjeeling witnesses yet another murder, she is convinced the killer is still alive, and hunting. Published to critical and popular acclaim in Bengali as Shesh Mrito Pakhi, this is crime fiction at its most sophisticated. Weaving in the politics of 1970s Bengal, the lives of poets and the literary scene of the times into a contemporary story of betrayal, murder and revenge, I Met a Man Who Wasn’t There is the work of a compellingly intelligent and entertaining writer.

There are thrillers that keep you on the edge of your seat, and then there are thrillers that make you get comfortable on the chair and keep turning the pages. Sakyajit’s book firmly falls in the second category. Right from the first page, you are presented this case that seems simple in the first glance, and you are slowly drawn into it from Tanaya’s perspective. As the story moves and you discover the “thriller-inside-a-thriller”, the sleuth inside comes to life and you are suddenly solving both the stories. While Amitava’s novel is revealed slowly, the reader is hungry for it, and honestly, I was in love with Suddhasatwa’s character and how he is presented just like Holmes and Byomkesh, but at the same time there was something very different about him as well. Coming back to the primary novel, the entire story is written beautifully and the mystery is quite complex. Every solution that you come up with turns out to be wrong, and as you journey along with Tanaya, you start feeling complex emotions about the characters, and it is quite difficult to ascertain what is right and what is a misdirect. The storytelling keeps you hooked and the charm of solving the crime keeps you into the book right till the last page. The peak detailing by the author in the book, specially in a few scenes were quite interesting to read. When the reveal happens, I was quite surprised with the cold bloodedness of the crime, and the meticulous nature of the act. The climax is something that is set up perfectly, and it delivers a perfect punch at the end.

Coming to the characters, I liked the way Tanaya’s character has been sketched. The quest for sniffing out the story from the annals of history and the steadfastness has been portrayed perfectly. Arun Chowdhury’s character is layered and I liked that the pendulum between his innocence and guilt keeps swinging to keep you guessing whether he did it or not. Another character that surprised me was that of Siddhartha and how he deals with the entire situation at hand. His eureka moment in the book was something that I really loved, and I link that was executed perfectly.

While we talk about the story and the storytelling, the translation by Arunava is quite well done, and the story does not lose out on the essence and the intent of the author as he would have planned in the original Bengali version. I loved the fact that the language and the storytelling was balanced enough to keep the story intact as well as maintain the language.

The book is a recommendation for anyone looking to pick up a murder mystery and is looking for a book to devour in a single sitting. The book scores a 5/5 for me.

Grab a copy of the book on Amazon India or at a bookstore near you.

Vikram and Betaal: Night of the Blood Moon-Amit Juneja

Book: Vikram and Betaal: Night of the Blood Moon
Author: Amit Juneja
Publisher: Penguin India

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

What would you do if you encountered a real-life Betaal?

Vikram Chauhan, a brilliant fintech entrepreneur with no belief in the supernatural, is at the peak of his Silicon Valley career. But when his wife, Meera, is diagnosed with terminal cancer, his world collapses. He abandons everything to chase a cure at any cost. His desperate search leads him to the whispers of a hidden temple in the remote town of Gresham, Rajasthan, said to perform miraculous healings. But Gresham hides darker truths. On the ominous night of the Blood Moon, Vikram is brought before the temple’s enigmatic high priest, who offers him a single, terrifying bargain: salvation for Meera, in exchange for capturing the ancient pishach―Betaal. Bound by an otherworldly oath to Vikram’s bloodline, the pishach draws him into a harrowing cycle of encounters. Each time Vikram closes in, Betaal tells the story of its current host and poses a riddle that tests his morality, forcing him to confront the limits of love, logic, and faith. As Meera’s time slips away and the curse of his lineage resurfaces, Vikram must face an impossible question: how much of his humanity is he willing to sacrifice to save the woman he loves? Vikram and Betaal: Night of the Blood Moon plunges into a world where ancient folklore collides with modern reason, a haunting tale of love, legacy, and the darkness that binds them both.

Vikram and Betaal is a wonderful take on the original folklore, set in the modern times. Amit presents a story that is rooted in the traditional story of Vikram and Betaal, but at the same time also aligns perfectly with the present times. The storytelling is very vivid and you are drawn into the story as Amit weaves this tale, page after page. Another aspect of the book I really loved was the background to the folklore and how the endless cycle across the ages has been set into the plot. When the book started, I was honestly expecting a conventional retelling of Vikram and Betaal, with sub-plots and Vikram answering questions. I was pleasantly surprised how Amit not just retains the core of the conventional idea of questioning morality through Betaal’s stories, but takes it a step forward by linking the host bodies and the names. As a reader, you are compelled to also think from Vikram’s perspective and try to answer Betaal’s questions, and that is there the newspaper clippings, police report etc. come into picture, which feel that you are living the story in Gresham, and not just reading the book in your room. The climax of the book is not just a moment, but a series of events that was truly not expected and while I was envisaging a climax basis what had happened, Amit did take me by surprise, especially with that one death of which I was certain would not happen (not revealing it here!).

The book reads like the horror shows that used to air on TV some years back with those grainy graphics and questionable costumes, but the horror was real, and the chills were guaranteed. Amit also manages to tease about some other characters that dwell in the forests of Gresham, and with our very home-grown tech billionaire at the helm, I am sure the book is the first of many encounters with the otherworldly creatures.

Coming to the character development, I loved the way in which Vikram’s character has been written. His transformation from a career-driven tech entrepreneur to a family focused person was sketched quickly but quite nicely. His character arc, post his arrival in Gresham, however, was something that really shines out. I was initially concerned that with the current times, Amit might have taken a 180-degree on Vikram, but even with the modern times, the essence of Vikramaditya was written beautifully. Another character I really loved was that of Dushyant. A friend who responds on one phone call is truly precious, and I loved how Amit created this friend in Dushyant. His ability to work around the toughest of the situations was very well written. Meera’s character, while a small part of the book, is one of the most important aspects of storytelling that Amit uses.

Overall, Vikram and Betaal is one of the best pieces of writing I have read recently and I am eager to see more adventures of Vikram and his cohorts. In my opinion, the book deserves 5 Betaals out of the 5 in Gresham forest.

Grab a copy of the book on Amazon India or a bookstore near you.

Swansong-Vandana Kumari Jena

Book: Swansong
Author: Vandana Kumari Jena
Publisher: Rupa Publications

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

Do you like reading stories that end with a twist?

It begins with a whisper from the pages of a locked diary, a farewell song, a leap into the void. The surface of life trembles and the ripples spread outwards, pulling what is hidden into the light. In Swansong, nothing is what it seems. A birthday marks the beginning of the end, a neighbour hides more than gossip, an ordinary home turns into a stage for a final performance. By turns poignant, chilling and quietly defiant, these twenty-four stories do not soothe. They disturb, provoke and linger. With unflinching honesty and lyrical precision, Vandana Kumari Jena draws you into unexpected depths, where lives fracture, certainties unravel, and revelations arrive in ways both devastating and redemptive. This is not a book of endings. It is a book of reckonings.

The writing in Swansong is quite interesting and as a reader you are presented with stories with endings you would not have guessed at all. Each of the stories is unique and is set in a different setting. While the stories are short, they are precise and deliver the message that they are written to convey. I went into the book expecting a collection of short stories that would have a thriller element, or might also have some bit of twists, but Vandana turns each of the 24 stories into a masterpiece, keeping you turning the pages till you finish the book. It is a page-turner and I can surely attest to the writing prowess of the author, specially with the endings of some of the stories. The very first story, Swansong, presents so many options and opoortunities, yet the author picked the one ending that you would usually not guess at all. Memories of Happier Times is another story that cannot be slotted in any conventional genre, but presents a situation that has become all to common, and the author presents it in a wonderful manner. Angel of Mercy stood out for me for the sheer coldness of the characters and how the author writes the last line of the story, that spine chilling was exhilarating.

Overall, Swansong is a book that I would recommend to anyone looking to read a wonderfully penned book that would surprise you with each of the 24 stories. The book scores a 4.88/5 for me.

Get a copy of the book on Amazon India or a Bookstore near you.

Creepy Crawlies-Kanika Sharma

Book: Creepy Crawlies
Author: Kanika Sharma
Publisher: Hachette India

What if things were not what they seem?

Something creepy hides in the cracks... It's watching you, waiting to crawl out. In this unsettling anthology of psychological and supernatural horror, the line between the living and the demonic blurs, boundaries between nightmare and reality collapse, and sanity is only a mirage. A boy returns from the asylum after years, and his neighbour's infant goes missing. A reclusive homeowner begins to suspect the spiders in his house aren't intruders, but guardians. In a chilling psychiatric interview, a young girl recounts why her brother had to die. The darkly audacious stories in Creepy Crawlies twist the familiar into the grotesque. Drawing inspiration from ancient folklore, urban legends and the darkest corners of the human mind, this collection dares readers to peek behind the curtain with a fair warning that they may find something sinister watching from the dark.

Creepy Crawlies is written in an interesting concept where Kanika takes 10 paranormal entities across folklores and weaves a story around them in the Indian context. Kanika’s storytelling is interesting and keeps you hooked in the stories one after the other. Another aspect of the book that works is the concept of the book, and how the idea of these paranormal entities has been woven into seemingly normal stories. Kanika’s writing will keep you guessing what is going to happen in the end.  The story about Dybbuk stood out for me for the fact that the author uses the idea of the paranormal entity and a diary in a good manner and while the perpetrator is quite visible, you keep turning the pages to see what happens in the end. Similarly, the story with the Ghoul was another that I liked for the manner in which Kanika treats the concept. What did not work for me in the book, however, was the length of the stories. I think that with the concept that Kanika brought in, and with her storytelling, the characters needed a bit more of space and time for the creep and thrill to blossom. While the stories kept me turning the pages, the spine-chilling fear that I had expected somehow did not materialize completely. That being said, I loved the way each of the stories end.

The book is a recommendation who love reading about paranormal entities and happenings, specially in the Indian context. The book scores a 4/5 for me.

Grab a copy of the book on Amazon India or a bookstore near you.

The Divine Duel-Pratik Sahay

Book: The Divine Duel
Author: Pratik Sahay
Publisher: Book Leaf Publishing

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

In the peaceful town of New Delhi, a few tragedies befall Anugrah, a devoted family man, a loyal lover and pillar of the friends. Malevolent instances sweep through, leaving his family and friends brutally taken from him. Consumed by grief and fueled by a thirst for justice, Anugrah descends into the shadows, emerging as a vengeful force against the world that betrayed him. Haunted by unanswered questions and a deep-seated anger, Anugrah adopts a new identity – "GOD." Under this dark guise, he seeks answers not from the earthly realm but from the divine. As Anugrah amasses power, his actions draw the attention of a group of heroes called the ATF, determined to stop the spreading darkness. Led by General Daksh and others, the ATF embarks on a journey to save the world from Anugrah’s wrath. The novel unfolds as a gripping exploration of revenge, redemption, and the blurred lines between good and evil. "The Divine Duel" delves into the complexities of loss, the fragility of the human psyche, and the consequences of unchecked power. The novel weaves a tapestry of mysticism, morality, and the indomitable human spirit, as Anugrah navigates the thin line between justice and vengeance while confronting the gods themselves in his quest for answers. Will he find solace in revenge, or will the light of redemption pierce through the veil of darkness shrouding his heart?

Pratik’s attempt to mould mythology and science fiction together is a commendable attempt. He explores the idea of the circle of time in an interesting manner. The book explores the story of Anugrah, a boy with dreams and purity in his heart, forced by the actions of others to turn to the other side and turn evil. Pratik’s idea of showing the entire arc of a good guy turning bad was nicely penned and I liked that the transformation was explored in detail. Another aspect of the book that stands out was the science and how he weaves it into the entire plot of the book. The aspect of friendship, bonds and relationships is also touched upon nicely. What did not work for me in the book was the stark contrast in the first and the second half of the book. The “Too Good” turning “Too Evil”, while ideated nicely, was not executed well in the story. Another aspect of the book that did not work for me was the rushed storytelling, vague codes that seemed like afterthoughts and storylines that did not make sense. The climax, while in line with the theme, could have been explored a bit better and with the build-up, I was expecting a bit more of content.

Overall, the book is a good attempt at mythology and science fiction which could have been treated better. The book scores a 3.75/5 for me.

Get a copy of the book on Amazon India.