Book Review: The Bestseller She Wrote by Ravi Subramanian

About the book:

Title: The Bestseller She Wrote

Paperback, 392 pages
Published October 28th 2015 by Westland

Genre:  Romantic Thriller

Rating: 4/5

Blurb: He was a bestseller She wanted him to make her one.

Paperback king, Aditya Kapoor life is straight out of a modern man's fantasy. His literary stardom is perfectly balanced by a loving wife and a spectacular career. With everything he touches turning to gold, Aditya is on a winning streak.

Shreya Kaushik is a student with a heart full of ambition. Young, beautiful and reckless, Shreya speaks her mind and obsessively chases after what she wants. And what she wants is to be a bestselling author.

What happens when their worlds collide? Is it possible to love two people at the same time? Can real ambition come in the way of blind passion? Can trust once broken, be regained?

Master storyteller Ravi Subramanian, delves into the glitzy world of bestsellers and uncovers a risky dalliance between a superstar novelist and his alluring protege.

The Bestseller She Wrote is a combustible cocktail of love, betrayal and redemption.

About the author

Described as the ‘John Grisham of banking’, by the Wall Street Journal, Ravi Subramanian, an alumnus of IIM Bangalore, is the author of five bestselling commercial novels—If God was a Banker (2007), Devil in Pinstripes (2009), The Incredible Banker (2011), The Bankster (2012) and Bankerupt (2013), God is a Gamer—based on financial crime.

Having been a banker himself, he has a unique insight into the industry he writes about and a flair for spinning intricate plots that keep readers on the edge of their seats

His debut novel, If God was a Banker, won the 2008 Golden Quill Readers’ Choice Award and, more recently, The Incredible Banker won the 2011 Economist-Crossword Book Award in the ‘Popular’ category. He won the Crossword book award for The BANKSTER in 2012.

Ravi lives in Mumbai with his Biotechnologist turned banker wife, Dharini and his fourteen year old daughter Anusha.

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My Review:

The book revolves around a bestselling author, who is tempted to sin against the holy ties of matrimony and is demeaned to an infidel soon. The protagonist, Aditya, is double-timing his career with his banking job and his literary pursuits consuming him simultaneously, he pretty soon starts toying with his relationships in a similar fashion.
Aditya goes around, for book-reading sessions, book launches, networking with Bollywood directors aka potential buyers of his book's film rights, giving lectures to his alma mater.
He often talks at length about the quirks of social media, how the book's success is not ensured just by its content, and how important it is for an author to be influential.
Amid all of this, the trigger is set when Shreya, a student at IIM Bengaluru dismisses this approach, and with a right argument too. She implores him to see the book for what it is: a creative expression rather than a product.
Having seen the author active over social media, espousing how the author is also the CEO of his book, it is easy to conclude that the author has drawn inspiration for the character from his own encounters. The manner in which the book proceeds only confirms this conclusion, with many direct names from the publishing industry used and referenced as it is.
Honestly, it did get a bit exasperating at time, to think how little imagination had gone into all of this, and how all those references actually made this book a commercial product to be marketed.
 The book should be marketed, how else would people get to know about it? Fair point well made, and in doing so the plot/characters/essence of the novel should remain a commercial virgin, in my opinion.

The best part of the book is that it is paced just right, to be as much of a pageturner as much as it is substantial in its plot. The author has certainly worked hard on the plot, and it shows. How it all seems predictable till the time things take a turn for the unpredictable.
The first major twist occurs when the protagonist's wife finds out about his adultery, and the second twist is towards the end. Unputdownable is one word for it. I began reading early in the day and sat glued to it till noon when I last flipped the electronic page on my kindle.

The characters are amusing only for a person interested in studying them. To a casual reader, the characters won't leave a mark. Except maybe Shreya, who I was hoping would be a sensible part, when she first made appearance. She turns out far from the intellectual orator we were initially made to believe she was. She has a messed up life, and she messed up everyone else's who came into contact with her. I also felt that Aditya was being subject to copious adulation which was a little hard to believe.
Exploration of the characters isn't very entertaining. While their actions are revolting and rebellious, their qualities aren't very strong. he fun lies in how the author blends the plot with these distant characters in the end- when all the estuaries of romance, love, penance, a very Sherlock Homes-y unraveling of mystery, all drop into the sea of conclusion.

I cannot appreciate enough how apt the title sounds once you're through with the novel.
There were also some words and dialogues worth bookmarking. And of course, the tidbits of gyaan on the publishing industry are notes to take home.
Definitely more than a one-time read, but not a book that'd fill you with evangelical zeal, although worth telling the world that you've read it.

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Source of the review copy: Purchased on Kindle

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Book Review + Giveaway: The Girl in the Spider's Web by David Lagercrantz

About the book:

Title: The Girl in the Spider's web

Published on: September 1st, 2015

Pages: 432 pages

Genre: Thriller/Crime fiction

Rating: 4/5

Blurb:
This fall, Lisbeth Salander and Mikael Blomkvist return in the highly anticipated follow-up to Stieg Larsson's The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest.

In this adrenaline-charged thriller, genius-hacker Lisbeth Salander and journalist Mikael Blomkvist face a dangerous new threat and must again join forces.

Late one night, Blomkvist receives a phone call from a trusted source claiming to have information vital to the United States. The source has been in contact with a young female super hacker—a hacker resembling someone Blomkvist knows all too well. The implications are staggering.

Blomkvist, in desperate need of a scoop for Millennium, turns to Lisbeth for help. She, as usual, has her own agenda. In The Girl in the Spider's Web, the duo who thrilled 80 million readers in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played with Fire, and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest meet again in an extraordinary and uniquely of-the-moment thriller.

About the author

Lagercrantz studied philosophy and religion at university and subsequently graduated from the Gothenburg journalism school. His first journalist job was at the in-house magazine of carmaker Volvo. He later moved to the daily tabloid newspaper Expressen and worked until 1993 as a crime reporter, covering some of the major criminal cases of the late 80s and early 90s in Sweden, notably the Åmsele murders. His first book was released in 1997, a biography of the Swedish adventurer and mountaineer Göran Kropp (1966 - 2002).

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My Review:

Thrill and intrigue are two key elements of any book in the millenium series, or so I hear. Will David Lagercrantz be able to keep up the thunder that Steig Larsson's style entailed? Will the fourth book keep up the sanctity of the series?

Rest assured, it sure does. This books goes on to prove that after all, posthumous continuity isn't such a bad thing after all. Lagercrantz keeps the book as close to Larsson's creations, and one might even forget if this was written by someone else.

To me personally, the book held its charm from the word go. Balder and Blomkvist- as soon as I read the first two chapters, I knew a great story is awaiting my reading it.

It is the kind of crime fiction that involves the most mainstream elements- artificial intelligence, cyber gansters. journalism in peril and the like.

Having read some fairly fast-paced cyber thrillers, this book had a different intrigue. It didn't disappoint, although the pace could've been set even higher without hindering comprehension of the events. And then I'd say it is a decent read- no dark violence, no sullen sadism, no gory details.

Read it for its worth it, read it because there's always a charm in reading how one carries a legacy.

And I loved Lagercrantz's writing style so so much, that I might just read his other books as well.

Links to the book:

Quotes from the book:

Money talks, bullshit walks- The girl in the spider's web by David Lagercrantz(Reading the book as a part of blog tour by Hachette India)#readthegirl
Posted by So many books, So little time. on Saturday, September 19, 2015

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Source of the review copy: Hachette India Blog tour

Participate in the Giveaway:

• The giveaway prizes will be provided by Hachette India, subject to availability.
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• There will be seven (7) winners. Each winner will win a copy of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo , The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest , The Girl Who Played With Fire, The Girl in the Spider's Web and one book from the titles listed below:
1. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
2. Dark Places by Gillian Flynn
3. Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn
4. Cuckoo’s Calling by Robert Galbraith
5. The Folded Earth by Anuradha Roy
6. An Atlas of Impossible Longing by Anuradha Roy
7. Rescue by Nicolas Sparks
8. Under the Dome by Stephen King
9. Sex and the City by Candace Bushnell
10. The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman
11. The Elephant Catchers: Key Lessons for Breakthrough Growth by Subroto Bagchi
12. In Spite of the Gods by Edward Luce
13. Living History by Hillary Clinton
14. To The Moon and Back by Jill Mansell
15. Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell
16. Theodore Boone,Kid Lawyer by John Grisham
17. One Day by David Nicholls
18. The Devotion Of Suspect X by Keigo Higashino
19. Between The Lines by Jodi Picoult, Samantha van Leer and Yvonne Gilbert
20. The Girl With All The Gifts by M.R.Carey
• Each winner will get a total of five books, subject to availability.
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• Number of entries for each task has been provided in the Rafflecopter widget. Every person who enters the giveaway needs to do at least one task that is listed above for their entry to be valid.
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Book Review: Anti-social Network by Piyush Jha

About the book:

When college students across Mumbai are murdered one after another in gruesome ways, inspector Virkar from the crime branch is called in. As Virkar investigates, he stumbles upon a ruthless gang of young, tech-savvy miscreants who use social networking sites and the Internet for blackmail and sextortion. But how are the two cases linked? And who is the mastermind behind these killings?
As the case grows murkier, the computer-challenged Virkar finds himself greatly out of his depth, chasing a killer who always seems to be one step ahead and a group that soon trains its sights on him. He must race against time to unmask the gang and to find the murderer before his reputation is ruined forever. Thick with suspense and layered with grit, anti-social network brings to you inspector Virkars toughest case yet.
From the bestselling author of Mumbaistan and compass box killer comes the third riveting instalment in the Mumbaistan crime-thriller series. The story once again features inspector Virkar, who is now a popular protagonist amongst readers of crime-thrillers. Anti-social network will appeal to fans of the authors books as well as find new ones

About the Author:

Piyush Jha is an acclaimed film director, ad filmmaker and the author of the bestselling novel, Mumbaistan and Compass Box Killer.

A student political leader at university, he pursued a career in advertising management after acquiring an MBA degree. Later, he switched tracks, first to make commercials for some of the country’s largest brands, and then to write and direct feature films. His films include Chalo America, King of Bollywood and Sikandar.

He lives in his beloved Mumbai, where he can often be found walking the streets that inspire his stories.

My Review:

Now, it might seem an exaggeration, but its not: I read the novel, cherished it and really likened it to the mystery thrillers penned by Satyajit Ray. Yes, the details and the plot, and the plot twists are so remarkable that I was compelled to see Feluda aka Felu Babu (the protagonist of Satyajit Ray mystery books) to Inspector Virkar. It is almost as if its Feluda in his contemporary incarnation.

What this novel eventually turned out to be, which is what I really liked about the novel, was the fact that it did not simply follow a trail to unearth or uncover a series of evidence and witnesses in order to reach a conclusion, it also had a very important and different tangent to it: the angle which apprises the reader of how real the threats of privacy and security are, in this age of internet-addiction. It explores the extent of brutality and antipathy that crimes like blackmail, sextortion, and fraudulent impersonation can acquire. This generation, which has often been victimized by crimes perpetrated in/by the virtual world, shall forever be grateful to Jha.












Another part of this riveting novel to look out for are the descriptions of murders and their figurative meanings as are revealed later. I really hope that with this integrity and observation skills, Inspector Virkar becomes an enviable character, and the author, a pioneer of this hitherto unexplored genre of thrillers.

A group of college students gone morally decrepit. A psychologist with an nondetachable place in this equation. A police system of complacency. A hacker, who retains "ethics" in his activities, and deploys his talent to the help of Virkar.

How a seemingly solid, foolproof, in-frangible, expert network evaporates, coagulates and coalesces on the altar of one woman's revenge and another man's incessant pursuit of a way beyond the deadlock, while the threads of evidence refuse to weave into a meaningful something, is at the core of this novel.

With its arcane description of the repugnant crimes, an insight into the threats posed by the virtual world, and an underlying manifestation of a troubled, frail teenage psychology, this book is totally totally worth the time and money spent on it. The crisp, accurate narrative which has, to the delight of the reader, no verbosity, is a major puller. A LOT of use of colloquial phrases might be a slight put-off, and I hope the next edition may carry footnotes explaining the same.

And yes, another character to watch out for, Naina, sarcasm personified!

Best Lines:

Lets give you a dose of the macabre murder mystery:

"The knife was incredibly sharp. She had intended to take only a trial swipe, but the blade sliced through the flesh with surprising ease.
My Judgement:
This thriller is packed with undying suspense, layers of mystery, and an enchanting plot setting, that will not let you put it down."

Book Video:

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The book was received as part of Reviewers Programme on The Tales Pensieve

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