Private India

In Mumbai, seemingly unconnected people are dying, strangled in a chilling ritual and with strange objects carefully arranged with the corpses.

For Santosh Wagh, head of private India, the Mumbai branch of the world’s finest investigation agency, it’s a race against time to stop the killer striking again.

In a city of over thirteen million, he’d have his work cut out at the best of times, but this case has him battling Mumbai’s biggest ganglord and a godman who isn’t all he seems.

And then he discovers there may be an even greater danger facing private India. Hidden in the shadows, someone who could destroy the whole organization – along with thousands of innocent Mumbai citizens.

Raumali Says:

I have always been a fan of mystery novels, so couldn’t resist when Blogadda gave the opportunity to review one. I have read Ashwin Sanghi’s novels before and have liked them. James Patterson, is altogether a new author for me. So before I read this book, I decided to do some research first. What I found was Private series is a collaboration between Patterson and different authors around the globe. So for Private India, Patterson decided to collaborate with Ashwin Sanghi.

The sheer thrill of reading a murder and mystery keeps me hooked. I remember my school days when I used to sneak a Dan Brown or Agatha Christie novel inside one of my study books in class. I continued that in college too, sitting in the last bench with a nice book while the teacher rattled away. Well, my book reading has taken a back stand since I have entered the corporate field. But my hands started itching when I found Blogadda is giving away mystery books for review. I have read Sanghi’s books before and have reviewed them for Blogadda too. They weren’t spine chilling but were not bad either. So, I was disappointed when this book didn’t meet my expectations. The book made me feel lost. There was no cohesiveness in the characters, and the plot was more or less predictable. It took me a lot of motivation and quite a few mails from Blogadda for me to finish reading this book. (I would have done it if my manager promised me a bonus for reading this book). The font was huge which was a real dampener. The end was disappointing.

Writing is a creative job. The authors make stories in their head and pen them down in such a way so people would read it. Hence I am not very fond of doing a bad review, because it will be like criticizing the way they do their work. I do have some good to tell about this book too.

I read Indian authors because they make me feel connected. The language, the story, the culture, everything is my own. Sanghi’s penchant for mythology comes through some Indian festivals in the plot. The books opens with the murder of a Thai doctor in a Mumbai hotel. It’s a serial killer who places some token of his presence beside each of the dead bodies.

Santosh Wagh, and ex-policeman, who heads private India, and also the protagonist of this tale, gets in charge of this case. Wagh is a compelling if somewhat pitiable character with a troubled past. Wagh has a sharp mind and impeccable powers of reasoning. He also has an inexhaustible fund of trivia that helps him solve mysteries.

The characterization was very precise. The thing I liked most was there were alternate chapters on the murder and something else.

Overall, it’s a okay read. You can go for it, if you have time to spare.

Rating – 3/5

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