Burger is my food and crime thrillers my way of life. I cannot live without them. After finishing almost all foreign authors in this genre, I stumbled upon a few good Indian crime novelists, and one such guy is Vijay Medtia. I have read his last novel ‘The Missing Husband’. It was way riveting and so good, in fact better than this new one: The Lost Woman of Santacruz. I think this author has some affinity with Mumbai as a backdrop. In both the novels Mumbai’s charm never slips off.
Ok! Let me talk about this new novel. It’s also a riveting novel set against the hustle –bustle of Mumbai. One retired deputy chief of police named Chandra is dead or say murdered. He lives in Santacruz. Later it comes out that he had a girlfriend but she ran away as she might have smelt something awful about the man. The man Chandra left his family or vice versa. Whatsoever it was. In the end, he is murdered. Now the case is being handled by the Police Inspector Ajay Shaktawat. One by one all puzzles begin unfolding. The guy Chandra was a good cop, as per the results. He was involved into some Dubai gold smuggling rackets. Did he take out the gold for himself? You will find out eventually later.
Fast forward, after clues, interrogation, and trails and preach – there is one carpenter called Dhanpat Rai. He has much to do with the murders. I mean after some time one more retired police guy is killed and there is fire in the factory of some JK person. Dhanpat Rai is the prime suspect as evident gathered suggest. But Ajay Shaktawat is not a fool to pick up any innocent man for the sake of his satisfaction. And as the story chugs ahead, some shocking revelations will surely impress the readers. I was nonplussed at the turn of events.
I don’t want to give spoilers. The case is solved but the way Shaktawat grabs the things is really interesting and a lot of people, some from his team, go against him. The other side of the story deals with Ajay Shaktawat’s personal life. His wife left him with two children. He is trying hard to save his family but at the same time it’s his police job that keeps him on tenterhooks. Writing is superb. No grammar or typo error. This is one such good crime thriller where nothing seemed exaggerated and no one was kept underutilized. In a sense, a perfect novel for discerning crime thriller readers. I took time and read the book till the last line, believe me it was fun, a lovely experience in the end. Such a great stress buster in the tough times of Corona pandemic. I made use of lock down days most with this novel at my side.
If you liked the review, please grab your copy from Amazon.
ibooksta 