Faith and the Beloved by Kochery C Shibu is a masterpiece in crime and thriller genre. I loved this book as soon as I reached midway. The story is about two families. Cherokil and Rollands – behind them they have lineage not to be so proud of. Since the start of the book, treachery and deception runs like a banality.
The main story of crime and thriller starts with Arun and Prem, and on the other hand Naithy and Tony. When Naithy loses her husband in Mumbai terror attack, Tony marries her. However, little did Naithy know that Tony, a handsome model from Canada, has Sri Lankan LTTE connection? She is devastated but too late to control things.
On the other hands, Rolland brothers Arun and Prem try to settle down in Mumbai. But soon Arun’s supari force them to flee away. They go to Delhi. Prem studies there and in between acts a tour guide. Arun continues with thievery and sex scandals. One night both brothers rape Naithy in Delhi. Soon Arun is killed in an encounter and Prem flees to North East and works in a hydro project.
The real story starts when Prem comes to know of his brother’s killing by the hand of a policeman, in that Naithy is involved. Thereafter Prem – also an erudite of hacking and Kalari – takes things in his hand. He kills the inspector in Delhi. Get caught but saved by a missionary priest.
Between Prem and Naithy, Alice gets sandwiched. Naithy’s second husband Tony is a sleeper unit of LTTE, working for its funding. But his character is somewhat dull and not so active, yet he drives the plot, and keeps the sizzling sex life of Naithy alive. In fact, Tony was a porn star cum model before marrying Naithy. Alice Cherokil, the daughter of Naithy, doesn’t like Tony for some unspoken reasons. She senses his malign intentions.
But the novel is not about enmity, it’s more about saving and caring for the family members. Prem is so fond of Arun, his elder brother, that he cares least for his life to seek revenge of his murder. On the other hand, Alice kills Tony and outpaces Prem and other mafia dons to save her mother in the last. As lot of hide and seek instills a high dose of thrill and suspense. I fell in love with Alice’s counteractions. She and her plans were driven from Bible – her faith.
There is a lot in this medium-length book that now I feel like reading more same crime novels. At any point, the novel is unpredictable, and when the stories of Prem and Alice and Tony runs backward, all things fall at one place, one by one. Things begin making sense. As the book starts, everything was different and not connected, as and when the story chugs ahead, I was nonplussed to see them confronting each other. It was a lovely experience. A great reading! I loved the book like anything.
ibooksta 
Great review! 😍
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