Dr. Kanya Jaiyen, a reconstructive plastic surgeon from Bangkok is found dead in the bathroom of a five star hotel in South Bombay. Less than 24 hours later, Bhavna Choksi, a young journalist of little consequence is found dead in her own Thane apartment. Are these just random occurrences or is there a common thread connecting them?

Santosh Wagh heading the India operations of Private India, an independent,private investigative  agency set up by Jack Morgan, ex-Marine and head of the world’s largest and most renowned investigative agency, is called in by the hotel manager to investigate the murder of the doctor, wanting to keep it private. But a murder is a murder and couldn’t be kept quiet which is why Santosh suggested ACP Rupesh Desai to represent the police.( Rupesh and Santosh were in fact colleagues at one time and went back a long way. ) Similarly, when Rupesh was called in to investigate the murder of Bhavna Choksi, he called in Santosh to help especially when he felt that the two were committed by the same perpetrator.

But there was more to come and it wasn’t long before three more women were murdered each one of them unrelated to the other. The one common factor in all the murders still leave the investigators stumped. What was the rationale behind these gruesome murders? It was only after the fifth murder while Santosh and Jack are at a Navratri celebration that Santosh picks up on the clues left behind at the murder sites. Till this point I was beginning to think that “Private India” was just another murder mystery but this is where the genius of Ashwin Sanghi kicks in and the book takes on a different turn. It is Sanghi’s reference to Indian myths and legends that transforms a mere murder mystery into something more cerebral. James Patterson and Ashwin Sanghi have collaborated to create a page turning thriller in our very own city of Mumbai.

Nisha Gandhe, Hari Pardhi and Mubeen, colleagues of Santosh Wagh help in cracking the mystery behind the murders but in a tightly woven tale, we realise that there is something even more sinister afoot. There is also a plan by the Indian Mujahedeen to terrorise the city once more. Who or what is the target this time? And how does this tie in with the tale?

With a multitude of characters, all hailing from varied walks of life,  Patterson and Sanghi masterfully weave all the stories together, bringing to an unexpected climax the end of this story. The action is fast paced  taking the reader from South Bombay to the suburbs, to five star hotels and seedy bylanes of Mumbai’s underworld. In yet another un-putdownable book, two masters of the craft  once again prove why they are the best in the game

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