Author: Divya Kumar
Publisher: Bloomsbury India
ISBN:
978-9387457546
Genre: Thriller & Mystery
Pages: 296
Source: Flipkart Review Program
Rating: 4/5
Recently, Divya Kumar stepped into
literary world with her gripping thriller, The Shrine of Death.
“The story is purely an out and out
entertainer with some romance, some paranormal elements”, said the author while
explaining the subject matter of the book on the occasion of its launch.
Basically the story revolves around
an idol theft, And our main protagonist Prabha Sinha is trying to solve that
mystery. Her colleague and old friend starts to help her out and this puzzled
case widens across police and CBI. The way Divya Kumar has woven the plot and
even secondary characters, it seemed relatable. She didn’t put detailed
information on every page like other thrillers, though plot moves with certain
pace, she included life in her each character. You can catch them while
pursuing daily activities and instantly feel a connection. I liked the
structure how author created a world of art-mongers, besides IT professionals.
In an Interview, She says “The
process of writing The Shrine of Death, began in 2012. I woke up one
morning, and the character of Jai, the empath, was just fully formed in my
head,” she says, “I didn’t even connect it to the term ‘empath’ back them: I
just knew that this was a character who could feel what other people felt.”
“I started reading up online, and
found that there are other such cases, and such stories, and it’s clearly
something difficult and traumatizing. Of course, it’s a bit in the realm of clairvoyance
and telepathy – more pseudo-science, really — but it gave the character an
interesting psychological profile.” It intrigued her, she says, how such a
person would respond in everyday life and how they would be misunderstood by
others”
Smuggling, theft, betrayal and hunt
for a missing researcher, turned this debut into a riveting read. With well written dialogues and crisp narration
makes book a real page turner. And I loved that Divya Kumar didn’t try to make
the investigation process over dramatic, you can easily breathe between events
happening there and sway along with the emotional descriptions. Grab the book
if you are into thrillers, a captivating read.
Excerpt
“So, you’re telling me,” he said with
exaggerated patience, “that a man strangled a woman in broad daylight, in his
balcony, right here in this building, but you don’t know which floor or flat.”
He dropped the spoon on his plate. “And now you want me to… what? Go knocking
on our neighbours’ doors, asking, ‘excuse me, did you kill your wife?’
Her face reddened in mute misery. She
had watched from the balcony all afternoon, half-expecting a police car or an
ambulance to arrive. But neither had. The balconies of 404 and 504 had remained
resolutely empty. The maid came out in 806 and took in the clothes, still on
her phone. The woman in 604 watered the plants. The man in 706 came out for his
evening smoke. Then the sky darkened to ink blue, the mirrors turned mossy and
opaque, and she saw no more.
“It has to be either 404 or 504, I’m
quite sure,” she said, voice small.
He finished eating, and sat back.
“It’s all these teleserials you watch. They fill your head with all sorts of
nonsense. You need to go out, make friends. Did you even speak to the lady I
introduced you to?”
“I didn’t imagine it,” she wanted to
scream. But the protest died on her lips.
His voice softened. “You have to stop
upsetting yourself like this. It’s not good for you or the baby.” He patted her
arm. “We’ll go to the park tomorrow evening, what do you say?”
On Jacket
A chilling crime thriller in which
a beautiful young historian who discovered two priceless bronzes from the
10th century disappears without a trace. Her friend sets out to find her and is
drawn into a world of fraud, murder and betrayal where no rules apply.
Prabha Sinha, an IT professional in
Chennai, is plunged into a murky world of idol theft, murder, and betrayal
after she gets a mysterious phone call one night from her old friend Sneha
Pillai. As she races to find answers before the people she loves get hurt, she
seeks the help of Jai Vadehra, a troubled young man with a tragic past, and the
gorgeous DSP Gerard Ratnaraj of the Idol Wing, CID, whom she can't help but be
drawn to. Their search takes them from Chennai's newsrooms and universities to
the abandoned sepulchral shrine of a Chola queen in the heartland of Tamil
Nadu, and nothing, and no one, is as they seem
ABOUT AUTHOR
Divya Kumar is a journalist, writer
and blogger, currently based in Dubai. She spent her early 20s studying and
working in the U.S., dabbling in web-design and media studies, before settling
down to a career in journalism. She returned to India in 2006, and joined The
Hindu in Chennai, working as a senior reporter and feature writer
with The Hindu Metroplus for five years, covering mainly the book and
art beat, before taking a break for the birth of her first child in 2011.