The fifth hour by Rahul Jain

"The fifth hour" by Rahul Jain - Whodunit! 

This book is published by Paper Towns Publisher in 2025 and has 224 pages. 

Rati and Ayaan come to Dzongu, Sikkim, away from their busy metro life with an intention to conceive. One morning Rati wakes up and finds that Ayaan is missing. She files a police complaint. But the resort staff says she checked-in alone. There was no one with her. No one has seen Ayaan.

Did Ayaan come to Dzongu? Does Ayaan exist? Is Rati out of her mind? Or is there another angle to it?

Rati is a curvy beauty, long hair, desirable. Rich parents but ignored childhood. She has recurring nightmares. Ayaan is handsome, well dressed and works for a startup. It's a pair made for each other. Then there is Shyam, nephew of the owner of the hotel where Rati is staying. He is a shifty character and helps is aunt run the hotel. Inspector Vipin is the investigator. He lists for Rati from the moment he sees her. Then there are other characters like the hotel owner, a guest called Shikha, two Sun inspectors etc.

Story has a flow, the book is not big, so you read it quickly. Setting off Sikkim, a state with very low crime rate, is interesting. All in all, the author has cobbled together a good story.

Author has a way with words. Even an innocuous scene is described in a very exciting way. You wonder how plainly you would have written the same scene.

The story starts with a bang, but after that it plateaus, the graph doesn't rise. It also doesn't peter out. Identity of perpetrator is not disguised well enough. Avid readers can guess it. The coincidence of Ayaan reaching the scene is a bit far fetched. Relationship between Rati and Vipin was uncalled for. Doesn't enrich the story.

Name of the book has nothing to do with the story. It could have been 4th hour or 6th hour as well, or something completely different.

Why I read this book? Came highly recommended.

What did I like? Setting.  

What didn’t like? Poorly disguised perpetrator.

Recommend reading.