Assassins by Mukul Deva

"Assassins" by Mukul Deva. This book is published by Forge books in 2015 and has 416 pages. This is Book 2 of Ravinder Gill series. Book 1 was titled 'The dust will never settle' in India and 'Weapon of vengeance' in USA.

Ravinder Gill had resigned and is trying to come to terms with his life & his daughter's death at his hands. Sisters of Benazir (SOB), a terrorist organization lead by Fatima (Benzir's niece), has contracted assassinations of Pervaiz Masharrat (Dictator of Pakistan at the time of Benzir's assassination) and Abid Zardosi (Benzir's husband), in India, to Leon Binder as they were masterminds of Benazir's murder.

Binder happenes to be a very close friend of Sir Edward Kingsley (Director of MI6) and Ravinder Gill during their college days. Gill accepts to lead the taskforce to prevent the assassinations on Indian soil. Can he stop Binder or will he be humiliated again? What's in the past? What score has remained unsettled? What happens to SOB?

Entire story takes place in six days. There are twenty odd chapters in each day. Some of the chapters are only a page long and some only a few lines long. It's an intelligent chapterization.

Although story is good some things keep nagging the seasoned readers. Thus the story becomes semi engaging. It's unbelievable that a hardened assassin, chief of a terrorist organization and a terrorist mole in Indian intelligence talk freely over unsecured phones using real names (I had same observation on author's previous books as well) and that an assassin meets his employer in person in open. Use of WhatsApp and Dropbox for exchanging sensitive information is also baffling. This is recklessness. The assassin spelling his name backward for his most important identity is laughable.

Generally the protagonists in thrillers are depicted as impeccable superhumans. Here Mukul had given them touches that are more like common humans (e.g. The assassin has a stomach upset, he sleeps in unsecured location due to exhaustion, Gill is ill at ease with computers etc.). Gill, the assassin and the mole all forget to do something vital every now and then that allows the story to go on.

Vishal is shown as an orphan who does not know his parents, then how come he has got a cousin? Looks like an avoidable error.

Pakistani characters are based on real life figures. Author has altered the names only slightly making it apparent, even for a naive reader. Benzir's assassination is described in great detail.

A new thing is a terrorist organization (SOB - Pun intended?) run by women, a sisterhood. However it's not clear why head of such an organization behaves in amateurish way. Binder accepting the assignment despite knowing of the leak and despite having a bad feeling about it is also inexplicable. A professional assassin who has 36 hits to his credit suddenly throws all caution to the wind for the sake of revenge, not convincing.

Ravinder Gill thrillers seem to be a personal matter for Gill. In first book it was his daughter and in this it's his one time best friend. His past haunts him and gives him nightmares. It makes him more human. He also loses his close family member in each book. At this rate, the series can not go beyond three books.

Why is the book titled Assassins? Not clear. Probably a more appropriate title would have been Assassinations!

An OK book, not a must read.

And death came calling by Mukul Deva

"And death came calling" by Mukul Deva. This book is published by HarperCollins publishers in 2014 and has 299 pages.

Ajit and Ashwin co-own a firm that provides solutions for smart homes. Ajit witnesses death of one of their clients through one of the camera installed to watch the main frame in this clients office. Ashwin notices that this client was transacting with his swiss bank account and steals his money. He wants to do it again. And again.

Can he do it? Can he keep it from Ajit? Who is the beautiful nurse Shilpa? Can he find another victim? How does the death come calling?

The story is tech intensive with cameras, sensors, bypasses, controls and software used liberally. It revolves around obsession of the rich for smart home where you can control the locks, lighting, temperature, fire suppression system, safes and security devices remotely.

Narration is decent. Story is mostly narrated by Ashwin in first person. Pace of the story is not uniform. Too many factors and players have induced a few lose ends like what happens to Shilpa? Why does the police wait till all damage is done? What is the angle of Dr. Batra? Etc.

Although the story is plausible it lacks the finess and finishing that are hallmarks of Mukul Deva. Readers do not sit on the edge of the chair. Suspense is not tantalizing.

The death indeed comes calling with almost everyone dying. Although the book is not bad, it's not in the league of other Mukul Deva books.

Read if you have time.

Tanzeem by Mukul Deva

"Tanzeem" by Mukul Deva. This book is published by HarperCollins in 2011 and has 364 pages. This is the fourth and final book of 'Lashkar' series.

Previous book ended with the death of Tanaz and then Iqbal going away to take revenge. This book starts with an anticlimax that Iqbal turns to Force 22 and decides to go to Pakistan and kill Ameer-ul-Momineem. He has no plan. Force 22 tries to discourage him to no avail. Finally Force 22 inserts him in Pakistan.

He enters the organization of Ameer-ul-Momineem and learns of a mega plot. A meeting of the Tanzeem of Amirs of six continents. Iqbal has to save the world.

What is the identity of Ameer-ul-Momineem? Can Iqbal kill Ameer-ul-Momineem? What is the objective of Tanzeem? Is ISI involved? Will Iqbal be caught? Can he get a word out to Force 22? Can he save the world?  

Mukul Deva is a master story teller. Most of the story happens deep inside Pakistan. Mukul has explained Pakistan in detail. Readers believe that this is how Pakistan must be. Iqbal's journey through terrorist organization is narrated in detail. Author has used real life incidents like terrorist attack on Indian embassy in Kabul in the story and blended it with fiction deftly.

The only complaint is that author has spent more than half of the book to come to the real plot of Tanzeem. This has left Tanzeem and the mega plot starving for page space. Moreover the end comes very fast and readers are deprived of enjoying the climax.

Although book ends implying that Iqbal dies while saving the world, author has left a small window so that there can be a sequel to this book. Readers love Iqbal, his courage, his patriotism and his adventures.

A good book. Read if you have read the first three.

Salim must die by Mukul Deva.

"Salim must die" by Mukul Deva. This is the second book of Lashkar series.

The book shows that Osama Bin Laden (without naming him) was captured in Hyderabad, Pakistan, but died of medical conditions within hours. Mind you this book was written before Osama was captured. Shows clairvoyance of the author.

Brigadier Murad Salim of ISI, whose death was faked in previous book (Lashkar), and his side kick Major Cheema are back in action. This time the plot is much bigger. Objective is to carry out multiple terror strikes at multiple locations simultaneously. The perpetrators, this time, are not misguided youth but sleeper agents from various countries of different races, age groups and backgrounds. The strike wepon is also very deadly and objective is to create a bang bigger than 9/11.

What is the plot? Who will execute it? What kind of weapons will be deployed? What is the role of a Chinese scientist in all this? What  are the targets? Do they succeed? Which intelligence agency will be pressed into action? Would they be able to act in time?

Author has spent a lot of pages to describe the preparatory work for the grand terror plot. The book is 415 pages long. By the time the preparatory work is over you are through half the book. This part does not make you sit on the edge of you chair. Then the story gains speed. Force 22 (the ultra secret Indian special operations group headed by Colonel Anbu) is pressed into action. A decision is made to kill Brigedier Murad Salim of ISI. However this decision comes after 250th page and leaves limited page space for the actual killing. Iqbal from previous books makes a vital contribution.

The breakthrough needed by the intelligence agencies to unearth the plot comes as a lucky break rather than fruit of hard intelligence. The story gains speed after the break and you enjoy the climax.

Although this book is sequel to Lashkar, it is not as good as the predecessor. This book is good as a standalone book but seems bland in comparison with Lashkar. The story is slow. It keeps you interested, you don't abandon it, but the heightened expectations after Lashkar are not met.

An OK book. Read if you plan to read the next two books in the series.

Lashkar by Mukul Deva

"Lashkar" by Mukul Deva. This is the first book of Lashkar series.

This is the story of Iqbal, a Muslim youth from Lucknow, who is drawn in the web of terrorism by the maulana of a mosque in Delhi. He is smuggled to Pakistan, trained and sent back to India to execute terrorist activities in India. The story is set in 2005.

A number of blasts hit Delhi a few days before Iqbal returns to India. But then comes a twist. India's docile response turns into a stern response and India decides to retaliate. Force 22, an ultra secret special operations group, is called into action. This is where the book becomes interesting.

Will Iqbal be able to reenter India safely?  Will Iqbal be able to execute terrorist activities? Had the indoctrination made him a ruthless maniac? Is there a personal angle? What is India's stern response? How is it executed by Force 22? Does it succeed? Does Iqbal see the reality?

This book explains in  detail how the misguided youth are smuggled to Pakistan, how they are trained, how terrorist activities are planned and executed, how ISI plays an important role in all this. How a covert attack is planned and executed. India's response brings a lot of action in the book. This section keeps you on the tenterhook and the adrenaline keeps pumping.

Mukul has an effective writing style. He has paced the novel very well & has supplemented it by the technical details of military hardware. He has successfully kindled the excitement and patriotic feelings within the readers to take the book to a different level. I would not be surprised if the book becomes a Bollywood movie.

Mukul is a master story teller. The book is unputdownable. Recommend reading.

The dust will never settle" by Mukul Deva

"The dust will never settle" by Mukul Deva.

India is hosting Commonwealth games when suddenly India is chosen to host peace talks between Israel and Palestine at the same time.

Chief of Anti terrorism task force, RS Gill, is incharge of security of both events. Pakistan based terrorists have declared that they will not let the games go smoothly. There is a plot to disrupt the peace talks by killing the delegates. This plot is lead by Ruby Gill, an MI6 agent and a double agent for Palestainian terrorist organization, who is also estranged daughter of RS Gill.

On one side there is Gill family story & on the other side terrorist threat that may make or break India's reputation. Add to the mix overenthusiastic politicians, officers who want to please politicians, western mercenaries, incompetent security apparatus, illegal arms, Israel, Palestenian terrorists & international conspiracy and you have a potent mixture of a thriller.

Ruby is torn between conflicting emotions and duty towards jihadi's. RS Gill is also torn between love for his daughter and duty and frustrated by incompetence of his second in command.

Mukul has been successful in portraying the emotional side powerfully without undermining the action. The plot is built meticulously. Use of some real life terrorists as characters lend credibility to the plot on one hand and make the plot tangible on the timeline on he other hand.

Although this book is  little short on action it is more than compensated by a strong undercurrent of violence and death.

Intelligent readers can guess the end of the book.

A good book. Recommend reading.

RIP by Mukul Deva

"RIP" a thriller by Mukul Deva.

A group calling itself RIP, short form of  The Resurgent Indian Patriots, starts killing corrupt politicians, their aids and corrupt businessmen. The group consists of ex army special operatives (read commandos) lead by Colonel Krishna Athavale.

Objectives of RIP quickly catch attention of TV channels and general public. Government assigns the case to Special Director Vinod Bedi and Home minister Karunakaran, representing corrupt politicians, secures services of 'gun for hire', and ex special operative, Captain Raghav Bhagat to track and kill RIP and not let police catch them alive.

The game of cat and mouse begins. How and who does RIP plan to kill?  Who is their high value target? Do they succeed? Does Bhagat get to them? Or is it Bedi who gets to them? To what extent will politicians go? Is there a traitor?

Paths of Krishna and Raghav have crossed in the past. Were they on the same side then? Added to the mix is a love triangle of sorts and pasts of the protagonists.

Too many times the good guys and bad guys fail to identify a tail on them. Strange thing for professionals. A number of characters are based on real life figures like Sonia, Rahul, Raja, Kalmadi, Anna Hazare etc.. And there are numerous references to recent scams. Writer's attempt of making this fiction appear close to reality has succeeded. Although there is one and half lose ends that need to be tied up, they can be ignored.

Although Mukul has written 7 books earlier, this was the first one I read. Now I look forward to reading his previous books.

It's a page turner. Recommend reading.