Blood red sari by Ashok Banker

"Blood red sari" by Ashok Banker. This book is published by HarperCollins in 2012 and has 300 pages.

Three stories run in parallel. These are stories of three ladies. Anita B. has lost her best friend and is returning from Mumbai to Trivendrum. She finds that her family is trying to kill her. Sheila Ray, an ex investigator, runs a gym in Salt Lake City of Kolkata. She find herself out of business, out of livelihood and declared pariah within a span of two hours. Nachiketa is fighting against in-laws who assaulted her and left her handicapped for life. She finds her office burned, her assistant murdered and herself abandoned by friends with suggestion of psychiatric treatment.

The common thread between them is that each one has been sent a yellow manila envelop upon Lalima's instructions when she was killed.

What's in the envelop? Why is it so important? Who are 'they'? What do they want? Why are they after the three ladies?

This is an all female (main) character novel. It's a curious mix of females. A physically challenged lawyer, a lesbian investigator who was brutally raped when she was 15 years old and an ex investigator and gym owner who was also a victim of brutality. Despite the abuses, they are highly independent and capable women. Incidentally the three protagonists had appeared in previous novel or stories of Ashok Banker.

Ashok Banker has written a gripping story. You are hooked to it and want to know what happens next. Readers get a peek into the past of three main characters but do not get to know it all. The seemingly innocuous lives of the three women are shattered by an external force that is far stonger than any one of them.

Ashok has left a number of loose ends in the book as to what happens to the three protagonists, how did Lalima come into possession of the documents about the biggest conspiracy and business of all. What happens after the book ends.

Apparently this is all deliberate because this book is the first of the series of four. The lose ends will be tied in subsequent books. The human trafficking and terror angle makes a late entry in the book but the reasoning and justification given is not very convincing. Probably more will come in subsequent books. Infact that should be the main theme of subsequent books.

A good book. Read if you also intend to read remaining three, when published.