In the name of God by Ravi Subramanian

"In the name of God" by Ravi Subramanian. 

This book is published by  Penguin Random House India in 2017 and has 405 pages. I pre-ordered this Book (prior to release).

A number of stories run in parallel. A robbery in Dubai. A court case against king of Travencore to relieve him of overseeing the affairs of Anantha Padmanabha swamy temple. Opening of temple vaults and assessment of wealth inside. Blasts in Mumbai. Acceptance of a boy, selected by his daughter, by an influential trader of Jhaveri bazar. But they quickly converge to theft and black market trade of idols of Gods from south India.

What is the conspiracy? Who runs the racket? Can ACP Kabir Khan solve the mystery? How much wealth is in the vaults?

The story is evidently inspired by the unbelievable wealth found in the vaults of Anantha Padmanabha swamy temple. Author has added black marketing in antiques, diamond bourse politics, murder and investigation to the mix and created an intriguing story.

Kabir Khan from CBI, Madhavan from Tamilnadu police and Krishnan from Kerala police try to wade through the tangle of mystery. At Times they seem lost, most of the time they are. But they don't give up. Suddenly a deadline arises that puts everyone on a time line.

This story is like a Banyan tree. A lot of offshoots, complex, reader doesn't know which of the story is the main story. Narration is mysterious, complicated and cumbersome. Author had juggled balls one too many this time. 

In  order to make the plot complex, author opens a lot of threads and leads. However while closing the book, a number of them remain unattended. Kannan's Swiss bank account, Dharmaraj Varma's real involvement, Construction site and secret passage, sand truck mastermind, why would a decent boy get involved in a heist? Etc. One would expect an author of Ravi's stature to plug all such things.

What I found objectionable was that instead of using the word "idol" of God author uses word "statue ". Why?

Why did I read this book? Ravi Subramanian. 

What I didn't like?  Complexity. 

What did I like? Same complexity 

 Not a must read.