"Private India" by Ashwin Sanghi & James Patterson. This book is published by Random House India in Jul 2014 and has 448 pages. This is 8th book in the 'Private' series of Patterson and his first collaboration with Ashwin Sanghi.
Private is world's finest PI agency. Private India is located in Mumbai. Santosh Wagh, ex RAW agent, is head of India office, Private India. He is a brilliant investigator with encyclopedia like knowledge. He is also an alcoholic since the death of his wife and only child.
A serial killer is killing females by strangulating them with yellow hand woven silk scarves. Private India is asked to investigate the case on behalf of police with a tacit agreement of police assistance in lieu of credit for solving the case.
Are the murders connected? Is this the work of a psychopath killer? Is he a female hater? Is there a common thread to murders? Or there is more to it? Has it anything to do with a cult that dates back 500 years?
Authors don't waste page space for the buildup to the story or to introduce the characters or to create the background. Readers jump into the story headlong from the world go. The background of the characters is provided on the fly.
The characters, the events and the storyline are neatly woven into a fabric that is cohesive, attractive and interesting. Nine murders on nine days of navratri and murderer leaving clues relating to Goddess Durga add another dimension to the story.
Although two writers have written the book, it is uniform and reader can not differentiate the writing styles. Character of Jack Morgan, Head of Private, appeares in the story only to emphasize that this is the book in Private series. Hari's running away seems unjustified and his character was wasted unnecessarily.
The story and narration is gripping. Make sure you have continuous time to read this as you would not like to break. A sequel to this book seems to be in order.
A very good book. Recommend reading.
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