Genre: Crime thriller
Publisher: Arrow Books
Pages: 448
Book Jacket:
When Santosh Wagh isn't struggling out of a bottle of whisky he's head of Private India, the Mumbai branch of the world's finest PI agency.
In a city of over thirteen million he has his work cut out at the best of times. But now someone is killing women - seemingly unconnected women murdered in a chilling ritual, with strange objects placed carefully at their death scenes.
As Santosh and his team race to find the killer, an even greater danger faces Private India - a danger that could threaten the lives of thousands of innocent Mumbai citizens.
Book Review:
Private India written by James Patterson and Ashwin Sanghi is the eighth book of the private series. Now, if you are thinking that to understand this book you have to read the previous seven then you are absolutely wrong. This book has nothing to do with the previous one. Though, there is a prequel to this book, i.e. Private, which explains the beginning of Private, the detective organization but again that book is not going to affect your reading in any way.
I’m not as such any fan of James Patterson, no doubt he is iconic but Ashwin sanghi is he reason why I was excited for this book. He is among one of the best Indian authors. Both the writers have done an extraordinary job as always. The authors have yet again managed to pen down a novel which will force the reader to turn pages one after another or should I better say “The pages turns themselves.”
Women are being killed in different parts of Mumbai and what make the murders more mysterious are the different props which are placed near the dead body. Apart from these props there is nothing left behind by the killer, not even a slightest clue to unveil his identity and then to crack the case, steps in Private India leaded by Santosh wagh, who himself is troubled by a haunting past. The biggest task in their hand was to find the meaning behind the random props and to find the pattern of murders. Busy with the ruthless murderer the member of Private India fails to see the dishonest one among them, who along with Indian mujahedin is planning to give a fatal blow to Mumbai.
The story line is intriguing and racy. As a reader even I was forced to think about the connection between the murders. The story line also has a pinch of juvenile law, rapes, human trafficking, racism, abuse of power and evil godman and all these things works perfectly with the story.
The character of Santosh wagh, the leader of Private India was mighty good. He was just a man with a brave heart and intelligent mind not a super detective or a hero. He was haunted by his past which came as a big shock as the story progressed. Nisha’s character was sharp and clever. She knew how to get her work done. At times her character was on a bitchy side. She was one of the most prominent characters of the book. Mubeen, the forensic expert had been yet another character with a dark past. His overall sketch was nice. Hari, the tech-sevy member was bang on. His character was very intriguing and was very integral part of the story. Every member of Private India was properly used and they all had their share of limelight. The character of Rupesh and Munna were also very good and impactful.
There is nothing wrong with the book but if you read it critically then you may find that in the concluding part of the book some more explanation were required. No wonder because James Patterson is always in a hurry to finish one book and start the new one and then to finish it as soon as possible.
This book is a must read for thriller fans. With so many things getting unfold time to time, this book is a riot of events. The language if quite easy, so new readers can give it a shot and if you think that the book is thick then let me tell you that the fonts are bigger than the standard size. If you are looking for a romantic sequence/ story or anything like that then stay away from this book. But I would personally recommend this book to everyone. Certainly this was not the best book of Ashwin sanghi and James patterson but still this book is definitely worth reading.
RATED- 4/5
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