Mumbaistan by Piyush Jha

"Mumbaistan" by Piyush Jha. This book is published by Rupa in 2012 and has 248 pages. This book is the collection of three thriller novellas.

Bomb Day: Tanweer, a gangster, is recruited by ACP Hani to lure a prostitute in Kamathipura who is lover of Alamzeb, a Pakistani terrorist who had entered India on 26/11 in another dinghy with his accomplices and is staying in Mumbai as sleeper cell. The story is fast paced and full of double crosses and triple crosses. What is the target of the terrorists? Can ACP Hani save the day? Is Tanweer a patriot Muslim?

Injectionwala: A reputed doctor is killed by a lethal injection. After his murder it's found out that he was the mastermind of kidney racket. His doctor daughter and her fiancé know the identity of the killer. More people involved in racket are killed by injectionwala. He is liked by public. Who is injectionwala? Who's his last kill? Can inspector Virkar find the injectionwala?

Coma Man: Samir Khanna wakes up from coma after 19 years and finds the world changed frighteningly. The only thing he remembers is that it's birthday of his lovely wife Bahar. He escapes the hospital to find his wife and has harrowing experiences. With each experience some of his memory comes back. Where is his wife? Can he find her? Is she waiting for him?

Three thriller novellas in a book is an innovative idea. Generally it takes time to build a thriller. To do it in a novella (or long stories) is not easy. However one has to agree that none of these stories could be made into a full length novel without compromising on quality. So the idea of novellas was correct.

Piyush Jha is known as a talented film maker. This is his first step at writing. To my knowledge he is third film maker after Fahad Samar and Neeraj Pande who has turned author. Piyush has done well. The narration is fast, interesting and to the point. You hardly get bored.

There is a common theme in three stories. Each includes multiple deaths. Each has suspense. Each has a shock towards end when the mastermind is revealed. The mastermind is of a particular category. It is good to have a common thread in stories but here it becomes predictable. When I started third story, I more or less knew the ending.

Read if you like thrillers. Ideal if you don't like lengthy books.

The Partner by John Grisham

"The Partner", by John Grisham.

This is the story of Patrick Lanigan, a brilliant attorney and partner in law firm, with a beautiful but unfaithful wife.

Patrick learns about a conspiracy by his partners to get 30 million $ in fees and removing him before the money comes. He hatches a brilliant plan and steals 90 million $ by faking his death and is on a run.

He is captured. Who captures him? How did he plan all this? Does he have any more surprises up his sleeve?  Who is his partner? Do they succed?

The story is set up in US and Brazil. Its a brilliant plan. Execution is flawless but then he is captured. Grisham has kept up the pace and excitement till the end. Book starts with Patrick's capture and flash back is used liberally. This book is not a lengthy one and does not allow you to get bored.

This being a John Grisham book is a legal thriller alright, but there is hardly any court room drama. World of legal settlements is presented well. The social, political, publicity & reputation considerations are shown in detail and without being sarcastic.

Patrick does everthing right, however book ends on a very very sad note and you feel really bad.

Recommend reading.

The racketeer by John Grisham

"The Racketeer" a novel by John Grisham.

Grisham is well known for his legal thrillers. This one is a borderline legal thriller. It has no court room drama.

Malcom Bannister, a black lawyer and ex marine, is sentenced for 10 yrs for money laundering. He claims to be innocent, his only fault being choosing wrong client.
A fedral judge is murdered with his girlfriend. His locker opened. Why was the judge killed? Banister may or may not have some vital info about the murder and killer.

Does the FBI get the info from Banister? What is the price? Is the murderer found? Who is the racketeer?

The story takes place in America and Carrebien. The pace is good, although it slows down in a couple of places. Writing style of this book seemed to be different from the previous Grisham books. Moreover this book is written in present tense (but not continuous present), which is a novelty.

There is a big twist to the story towards end that I did not see coming. It changes all the equations.                      

Its a good change from hard core Grisham legal thrillers. Although this book is not in the same league as 'The runaway jury' its a good one. If you don't like legal thrillers but would still like to read John Grisham, this is your book.

National security by Marc Cameron

"National Security" a debut novel and thriller by Marc Cameron.

There is a terror attack on America, 1st time after 9/11. A bio wepon, a deadly virus, is unleashed on an American airplane. Are these 2 incidents all or is it the tip of proverbial iceberg? Who is behind this? What is the plan?

Jerico Quinn is recruited from airforce as OGE (Other government agency-for black ops) alongwith a Marine. Will they unearth the mega plot? Can they stop it?

This book has the usual ingredients of terrorists, a hateful Iraqi, beautiful bio wepons scientist, our protaginist and a lot of action. Author has gone in a convoluted way to bring in high adrenaline motorbike chase in the climax. What's absent in this thriller is double cross and traitors. This story is a straight fight between good and bad.

Cameron's story telling style is simple, story hasn't got too many complications or twists. I liked his writing style. We can expect more in his recently released 2nd book.

The last man by Vince Flynn

"The last man", latest thriller by Vince Flynn (2012). This is his 13th book of 'Mitch Rapp' series and now I have read all but one.

Mitch Rapp is a top CIA operative who has little regard for authority & rules when national security is in question. He is difficult to manage but is best at what he does that is killing tge bad guys.

One important CIA operative (Rick) goes missing in Jalalabad. Rapp goes to find him and an assassination attempt is made on him by a killer from his past. In the fight for his life Rapp sustains head injuries and has a short term memory loss.

Will he find Rick? Is he alive? Is it the doing of intelligence agency of another country? Is there a bigger plot than what meets the eyes?

There are multiple layers of deception & misinformation is difficult to segregate from fact. The plot is full of subplots. Story takes place mainly in Afghanistan, USA and Pakistan. Its a real thriller.    
                             
Loss of nemory and recovery brings a new dimension to Rapp's personality. The end also sows seeds for the next book that is expected this year.

Vince Flynn's writing style is very good. It is very difficult to put the book down. Story is well paced and keeps you on tenterhook. (It is hard to believe that Vince Flynn was a dyslexic.)

All in all worth spending the time.

Those who like thrillers should read Vince Flynn.