Review: A Gambler's Jury

A Gambler's Jury by Victor Methos
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

As usual Victor Methos never lets you down. This is the second book that I have read and I loved it. Initially I was a bit skeptical after reading the blurb about a mentally challenged boy wrongly accused of drug dealing and a lawyer who is forced to adopt him under strange circumstances, fighting to keep him out of jail. But as the story unfolds, it becomes a larger conspiracy involving the State and turns into a David v/s Goliath kind-of-a-fight, it becomes interesting and you don't want to put the book down.

I loved the character of Danni Rollins the almost drunk lawyer, who has a I-don't-give-a-damn attitude and Will, the rich private investigator who helps Danni in her investigations.

The author's note says that the story is drawn from the author's personal experience as a lawyer. For all ye legal thriller fans, one more author to watch out for.


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Review: The Fragile Thread of Hope

The Fragile Thread of Hope by Pankaj Giri
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

On GR the punchline for this book is "A gripping emotional inspirational fiction about love, loss, and finding hope in the darkest of times". It was not gripping, but it certainly lived up to its punchline - emotional and inspirational fiction. This is a decent book on human emotions of love, loss and a sense of hope. The main characters are Fiona and Soham who go through the lowest points in their life - losing loved ones. How they overcome their loss and find each other forms the main plot. Being fed on a heavy diet of thrillers for a long time, this looked like a breath of fresh air, when the author approached me for a review. And I don't regret it.

The setting is Gangtok and the author has beautifully described the place with its wonderful climate, the heavy rains, narrow roads and alleys, the tea shop, the local bookshop and Kanchenjunga at sunrise. Believe me, when I say that the Kanchenjunga at sunrise is one of the most beautiful sights to behold, it is an understatement. Also one gets a bit of an insight into the Nepali culture, traditions and language which I feel the author should have been more liberal with.

The main grouse is the author has spent too much time going into the details with a heavy dose of wordplay. Somewhere the story drags and the reader tends to lose interest. The author seems to have a very good vocabulary but I couldn't help notice a few grammatical mistakes (syntax errors ?) in some places. The first fifty pages, I was lost in the chronological order in which the author had written the book and couldn't keep up with it, having to turn the pages backwards a couple of times to check what was written earlier. Once you get used to it or maybe ignore it, it becomes easier to read.

Being a debut work, this was a decent one and I wish him all the best for the future.

PS: - Free copy in exchange of a review.

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Review: Angels & Demons

Angels & Demons by Dan Brown
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a fantastic book. If you want to turn an atheist, read this book. It debunks all myths about religion and God. The author tries to wed science with religion and concocts an immensely interesting and edge-of-the-seat thriller.

A priest-turned-scientist at CERN (the organisation where the Hadron Collider was built - remember God's particle ? ) is killed and investigations reveal that he was on the cusp of a mind boggling invention which is about to turn religion and faith on it's head. Enter Robert Langdon, the renowned American symbologist, who is called upon to investigate the murder. He teams up with the scientist's daughter Vittoria and the trail leads them to Vatican City and papal domain.

What is interesting here is the way Dan Brown recreates Vatican City, the Sistine Chapel, the Pope's Office and residence and the CERN environs in detail. The book contains beautiful illustrations of the symmetrical ambigrams. I commend the author or the artist who has conceptualised these ambigrams which forms the core plot. The only part which I found a bit over the top was the helicopter ride towards the end of the book. Overall, this was one good thriller with a healthy dose of religion thrown in.

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Review: Meena Kumari

Meena Kumari by Vinod Mehta
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is a biography written by Vinod Mehta in 1972. I was always intrigued by Meena Kumari, the yesteryear actress, when I saw her act in "Sahib Bibi aur Ghulam". It was one of her best known films directed by Guru Dutt along with "Pakeezah". The book is divided into two parts. The first part is about her life which is more or less half the length of the book, and the other part is about how the author came to write the book. The book takes us through the life of the actress from the time she was a child till her death. There are some insights into her private life like her equation with Kamal Amrohi, her husband, her close relatives who live with her and actor Dharmendra. I was shocked to read that she died penniless with not even Rs 3,500/- to spare to pay her hospital fees, despite acting in over seventy films in her short career.

Vinod Mehta, was an eminent journalist ( my link text) till he died in 2015. This was his second book as an author. The author is a self-confessed fan of the actress and his views seem to be a bit biased . Also the author dwells more on the actress' relationship with her husband and her film directed by husband Kamal Amrohi "Pakeezah". The book needed a bit more fodder about her life and career and some more in-depth research. Maybe he was honing his skills as an author / journalist in 1972. Still a good book on the life and times of the "Great Tragedienne" of Indian cinema.

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Review: The Accident

The Accident by Shree Janani
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

This 12 page long book is a mix of suspense, romance and horror all mixed together. The author has tried to put in all the elements and tried to narrate a story. When i was approached for a review, I was intrigued by the fact that whether it can be interesting enough. While it did hold my interest, the story ended abruptly and I was a tad disappointed. This might be because the story was restricted by its length. Cannot comment on the characters as there was only so much matter in the book. This being a debut, the author holds promise and would hopefully write a full length book in the future.

PS: Honest review in exchange for a free copy.

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Review: Shashi Kapoor: The Householder, the Star

Shashi Kapoor: The Householder, the Star by Aseem Chhabra
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

If you are expecting an in-depth research into his personal life, you will be disappointed. There is also very little mentioned about his relationships with his co-stars except for a few fleeting quotes by some of his close friends (including a few co-stars) and family members. It delves more into his relationship with James Ivory and Ismail Merchant and his career in the West rather than his personal life and his relationship with his immediate and extended family. Somewhere down the book, you get the feeling that he was aloof and not too much connected to his nephews or their family. However, it strongly brings out the fact that his world centered around his children and his wife and after her death, a part of him died.

Somewhere the author does do justice to the persona that was Shashi Kapoor. It might be due to the fact that he could not get a first hand account from the star himself due to his illness.

This book is more of a filmography than a biography. There are 7 or 8 chapters, each chapter ending with footnotes of the films mentioned in the chapter, detailing the director and the cast of the film. These footnotes constitute about 25% of the book length. The last 10 odd pages contain the list of films Shashi Kapoor acted in with various co-stars. Go ahead and read this without any expectations and you will enjoy it.

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Review: Justice Lost

Justice Lost by Scott Pratt
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I am liking Scott Pratt. This book again doesn't disappoint. This is my second one, the first being Justice Redeemed.

Darren Street again comes into play here. He is now out of jail. His pregnant fiancee Grace dies in the operation theater during delivery due to medical negligence by the doctor. This starts off the plot where he becomes involved in the shenanigans of corrupt officials from the sheriff to the offices of the DA and FBI. Finally, he gets an offer from Granny Tipton & family to run for the DA's office himself in order to get a foothold in Knox county of Tennessee with the backing of a powerful senator. How he plays vigilante and roots out the corruption forms the crux of the story.

Short at 250 pages, fast paced and easy writing nails the book and keeps one hooked.

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