Book Review | Private India | By Ashwin Sanghi & James Patterson


Blurb: 
In Mumbai seemingly unconnected people are dying, strangled in a chilling ritual and with strange objects carefully arranged with the corpses.
For Santosh Wagh, head of Private India, the Mumbai branch of the world’s finest investigation agency, it's a race against time to stop the killer striking again. In a city of over thirteen million, he has his work cut out at the best of times but this case has him battling Mumbai's biggest ganglord and a godman who isn't all he seems. And then he discovers there may be an even greater danger facing Private India. Hidden in the shadows is someone who could destroy the whole organization along with thousands of innocent Mumbai citizens.

My Review: 

Private India, starts with a bang. Literally. Mumbai is rocked by deadly blasts. A beautiful doctor is found dead with a yellow scarf around her neck. A don, Munna, is involved in shady deals. A serial killer is on the loose, killing women by strangling them and leaving behind some strange trinkets.  

 Private India is the result of the combined effort of the very popular James Patterson and our very talented Ashwin Sanghi. 
 

 Private India is set in Mumbai amidst bomb blasts plotted by terror organizations and a serial killer running loose. The task for the Private India team is clear: find the killer.  

Jack Morgan, the American head of Private India swears by his India head, Santosh Wagh, an ex-service man dealing with his own traumas, while trying to unravel the mysterious murders of women, all seemingly unconnected. 

 The story begins with the murder of a pretty Thai plastic surgeon, Kanya Jaiyen in Marine Bay Plaza Hotel. The Hotel asks Private India, the biggest investigative agency to solve the case. The team comprises Santosh Wagh: head of Private India, Nisha Gandhe: an attractive investigator, Mubeen: the medical examiner and Hari: the technology geek. 

 ACP Rupesh helps Private India in this case. 

 When they get the news of Kanya's murder, Santosh and his team reach the murder spot and bag several clues. Their search for the elusive killer leads them to hi-profile houses and posh apartments. Santosh finds himself on a collision path with his bete noir, Rupesh, who was once a good friend. Apart from this, there is another track, where a dreaded terrorist is attempting to bomb Mumbai and has a mole within the services. 

 Santosh and Rupesh go back a long way and during the course of the who-dunit investigation, Santosh unearths a secret that rocks his core. He has been mourning the death of his wife and kid, but this truth makes him seethe in anger. 

 The whole story about how Santosh and his team unravel the murder mystery and in the end save the last victim forms the fantastic plot. 

 Private India is slow in some places but otherwise it certainly is a very racy thriller, keeping you wondering if the bureaucrat was the killer or the pretty Yoga teacher. 

There are areas, that I thought were not necessary, like the blasts, and the track about Munna, which didn't take the story forward too much, just added some masala to it.  

 I felt each character was well etched and well thought out. 
  
The association between Ashwin and James is a rocking one! That deserves to  be applauded. I thought there was absolute coherence and an amazing flow in the way the events unfolded, ensuring the reader is forced to keep reading till his eyes pop out. 
   
Rating: 4/5 


This review is a part of the biggest Book Review Program for Indian Bloggers. Participate now to get free books! 

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