Delhi stopover by Tulika Mehrotra

Completed "Delhi stopover" debut novel of Tulika Mehrotra. This book is published by Penguin Metro Reads in 2012 and has 393 pages.

Lila, an American of Indian origin, is a struggling actress in USA playing inconsequential roles. She is frustrated because her career is going nowhere and because her fiancee does not respect her profession. She decides to break her engagement and heads for India for a much needed vacation.

She accompanies her cousin for assisting to dress up models for a fashion show and ends up being a last minute replacement model. Fate draws her in the Delhi fashion world although she is not thin or anorexic. In a matter of days she becomes a professional model doing advertisements.

Will she remain in India? Will she remain a model or become an actress? Will she reunite with her fiancé?

The artificial world of fashion. Free use of booze, drugs and sex. The dirty and cut throat competition. Uncertainties and insecurities. One sided contracts. Abilities to make or break careers. All these facts about fashion world make the book colorful.

Tulika has written OK for a first timer. She has used the backdrop of fashion industry for the story. However what has happened is that the fashion industry has taken over the story and the story has taken a back seat. It may be either because the story is weak or the author has not taken enough efforts to develop it.

After about half way mark, the story goes into tailspin. Author seems to have lost control. Many illogical things happen. Readers are confused as to what is author is trying to convey. Author has found it very difficult to try to converge and close the story.

Lila's character comes out as shallow girl who does not know what she wants. Even the readers are not sure what is happening between her and Arman. Romantic angle with Dev remains an open point. It remains unexplained why her cousin mourns death of her father so much?

I took me six months to complete reading this book and could complete it only through sheer determination, otherwise I would have abandoned it.

AVOID.

The cuckoo's calling" by Robert Galbraith aka J.K. Rowling

"The cuckoo's calling" by Robert Galbraith aka J.K. Rowling (of Harry Potter fame).

Lula Landry, a mixed race adopted child of white parents and herself a very famous model, falls from the balcony of her apartment in the middle of a chilly winter night and dies. After investigations the police declare it as suicide. But her adopted brother is not convinced. He engages a, once brilliant, now broke and loser, detective Cormoran Strike and his latest temporary assistant cum secretary Robin to investigate.

Strike starts to investigate the case and puts the details together meticulously & methodically. There is a witness claiming it to be a murder but police prove that she was lying. Then there is another murder.

Who is the murderer? Her druggie  boyfriend? Her gay friend and fashion designer? Her co-model and friend? Her poor lady friend who has undergone treatment for mental illness? Her mother? Unknown stalker? An American rapper? Why was she murdered? Was she murdered?

Author has based the novel on the backdrop of fashion world. The lives and affairs of rich and fashionable are brought to the fore. The artificialness, hollowness, and addiction to drugs and publicity is shown effectively. The book employs foul language. The f*** word appears at least a thousand times in the book.

JK Rowling has taken her time to develop the plot. She has given a lot of attention to details. The buildup to the climax is slow. You neither get excited not bored. Sometimes I could feel influence of Agatha Christie due to attention to detail.

I was able to guess the murderer but not the modalities of murder.

Although the book is not in the same league as Harry Potter, it's a good book. Recommend reading.