Curse of the Red Soil by Durgesh Shastri

  The first thing that caught my attention is the book cover.  Designed like the front page of a newspaper, the cover is impressive and set the tone of the book for me.

  Aaradhya an Engineering graduate, is the face of new India, headstrong but still fighting the shackles of a traditional Hindu family. On her way home, at the end of her Graduation, an incident on the train changes Aaradhya. The "Super Woman" Aaradhya then embarks on a journey to find the missing maid Manorama. Aaradhya nearly jeopardises her life and also puts her friends in danger but that does not deter her.  

   Vaikunth Patil, businessman but first Aaradhya's  father, how far will he go to protect his daughter?  And when all clues lead to Vaikunth Patil, will Aaradhya still want justice for Manorama? 

  Set in the historic town of Bidar and with the Bidar fort as the setting for most of the important scenes,  the author has piqued my interest in this small town. Overall it is a fairly decent mystery with a few twists placed at the right moments. This book could have been a good page turner, if only. I found some loose ends such as, when Pratap suddenly gives up his vendetta  and there is no mention of the titular  "curse". The style of narrative was mediocre and is in need of some refining. This is just my perspective, I'm no expert just a regular reader. My final word,  Curse of the Red Soil is a Bidar mystery that barely trembles.

I am Sophie Tucker, A Fictional Memoir by Susan & Lloyd Ecker

This book is the most outrageous book I have read...and I loved  reading it. I had not heard of Sophie Tucker before reading this book. Now having read it, I wonder if Sophie were alive she wouldn't mind reliving her life as it has been written in this memoir. There is never a dull moment in this "fictional memoir".

  Sophie was born to sing and perform on stage. She pulls no stops to become a headliner, even land in jail for publicity when needed. As the memoir does not follow a chronological order and the chapters are titles of her songs, I  could read this book at leisure and not feel overwhelmed with all the details or the tall tales. I liked the photographs and other memorabilia  that were interspersed with the text. Sophie recounts her journey to stardom and the friends and acquaintances who help to make or break her career as a vaudeville singer.

   Everybody exaggerates when retelling their story, and Sophie probably loved exaggerating  a bit more than everybody else.  Read it with an open mind and you too will enjoy the show.

A Study in Scarlet ( Sherlock Holmes #1) By Arthur Conan Doyle

This is a two part novel where the famous friendship between Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson is forged for the first time. Dr. Watson has just retired from  military service and hopes to recoup in London. He is fascinated with this strange fellow Sherlock Holmes and decides to lodge with him.

 Holmes a "consulting detective" takes Watson  out on his  first case, a murder. A body has been discovered under mysterious circumstances and the master sleuth begins his game. When the clues lead to another murder, the Scotland Yard detectives are baffled but only Sherlock Holmes can solve the case.

  In the second part when the story shifts to Utah, the momentum is lost and it just gets predictable after that but the lull is negligible and then on it is just one racy ride till the end.  

  Witty and well written,  it is a good start to the greatest detective series that I can't wait to read.

The Colour of Dawn by Janaki Murali

      This is a story of the idiocy of the human emotion. This is a story of love, of an obsession, of harboring a grudge when instead a person should be working on making happy memories. A grudge, that can destroy a person and his loved ones. In the end, this is a story of families who will stand by each other, especially through hard times.

     The book traces the life of Sita. The narration runs back and forth through time, between Sita’s childhood and the present days, to an older and married Sita. Raised by a widowed father, Sita has a pleasant childhood. Her aunt, Saras Athai showers her with motherly tenderness. But Saras Athai’s older son Kunjan has other motives. He is obsessed in loving her. And when Sita turns him down, Kunjan is deeply affected. Will he ever stop loving Sita or will his obsession harm her and also hurt him in its wake……

    The book is a debut work of Janaki Murali, a special correspondent with the Business Line, the financial daily from the Hindu group. Her experience as a writer, albeit of a different kind, shows in her style of narration which is bang on. The transition between the two time periods is smooth. The book also offers a glimpse into the South Indian culture and Indian history post-independence.  Definitely a good read. 

A Case of Exploding Mangoes by Mohammed Hanif

This is the book that inspired me to blog. I have read book reviews before and always loved talking about what I read, but never blogged.  I found this book to be so so hilarious that ranting about it to my small circle of friends just wouldn’t do. I had to shout it out load..

A good book with lots of hilarious moments. The plot speculates one of the many mysterious behind the fatal plane crash of General Zia, Former President of Pakistan. Through the eyes of Ali Shigri, a Junior officer of the Pakistani Air force, various theories ranging from revenge to tape worm,  to a curse and even a nerve gas in a case of mangoes,that led to the President's death,  are explored. The book also takes a dig at the bureaucracy and the idiocracies of a person in power. 

A great debut novel to a now established author Mohammed Hanif.

Girl From Fatehpur by Sarita Varma

  

  This is my first indirom novella. I hope to read more from the house of indireads, and review them as I travel with other such novellas. Indireads is a young publishing house that focuses primarily on the popular fiction genre from South Asia.

 

   And now my views on this book.

     The first crush is always special, a beautiful memory for life. Rajan was Sana’s first crush or is it first love. That was ten years ago. Now there is the charismatic Krish Chauhan. But does Krish kindle Sana’s feeling the way Rajan did.

   Unable to decide, or rather not wanting to commit to Krish’s proposal, Sanjana escapes to her family home and especially to Devika her cousin, her confidante citing her cousin’s wedding as an excuse. But fate has other plans. She first bumps in Rajan, as irresistible as before and then to complicate matters Krish lands in Fatehpur.  

   A simple plot, the author delves into the story right away at the beginning. I liked the narrative, crisp and precise, paying attention to only necessary details.  Over all a light hearted romance with easily relatable characters. Pick it up with a cup of hot masala chai – if you can’t get one in a kullar.