Waiting for Dead Men's Shoes by Lauren Baratz-Logsted

Title : Waiting for Dead Men's Shoes
Author : Lauren Baratz-Logsted
Genre : Chicklit / Mystery
Publisher : TKA Distribution (Kindle Book)
Pages : 203
My Rating : 8/10
Reviewed For : Chicklit Club

Blurb:

Underachiever Minette "Mini" Monroe has long dreamt of how much better life would be if only she were in charge of the world, said world being the independent bookstore in Westport, CT, where she's worked for the past half dozen years. After her beloved boss Colin Quimby is murdered, Mini gets her wish and also gets a chance to solve the case, aided by hot young Officer Michael "Mickey" Maus. Despite his unfortunate nickname - would any woman really voluntarily become part of Mini and Mickey Maus? - Mini takes a shine to him, but there's no real time for romance, not when Mini has her hands full dealing with Colin's viper's nest full of ex-wives, offspring, former business partners and current business rivals, all of whom had good reason to want to see Colin dead. Who will turn out to be the guilty party? The only way to find out is to read WAITING FOR DEAD MEN'S SHOES, a madcap comedic novel that proves that the Shakespeare Unabridged Globe and the Oxford English Dictionary are still a girl's best weapons.

My Review:

What happens when you find your boss murdered one fine day? While for many of us, a dead boss might be a Godsend reply to our unanswered prayers, for Minnie it spells something quite opposite!!

Waiting for Dead Men's Shoes kick-starts with a particular "Black Friday" night when our protagonist Minette Monroe's boss Colin is knifed to death. Minnie is the unfortunate one to discover his body. The plot then moves back into the past to chronicle the day's events when Colin encounters a threat from almost everyone. Starting from his ex-wife to his present one, his former business partner, his own employee and his daughter, Colin manages to piss off each and every person on the day he is killed - giving them all a motive to murder him. Adding to the hotness quotient of the murder mystery is the smart and smoking' hot young police officer Michael "Mickey" Maus who assists Minnie on the killer hunt.

When you sit down with one of Lauren's book, you know, without any doubt, that it is going to be a side-splitter. When I started reading this one, I thought that as a murder mystery it might be a bit somber but as it proceeded I realised that Lauren has once again delivered the laughs that are her trademark. The only thing that may hamper your read is that this novel has a lot of characters that you need to keep track of since each is a suspect.

JFK by Jhangir Kerawala

Title : JFK
Author : Jhangir Kerawala
Genre : Mystery / Fiction
Publisher : Grey Oak / Westland Books
Pages : 225
My Rating : 8/10
Reviewed For : MySmartPrice / IQRC 2013

Blurb:

JFK ... A dying man’s last word ... A plea, an accusation or a clue? That’s what the police couldn’t figure out. What they did know was that they had serial murders in broad daylight, and just one suspect with little motive ... Jatin F. Karunamoi, the dead man’s best friend. Jatin is no hero; he’s an unemployed 50-year-old, desperate to find a job. But his only hope for a life of dignity lies in him finding the real killer. As he jumps headlong into the investigation he has little idea what he’s getting into ... a hunt for the faceless murderer. Each step Jatin takes to unravel the mystery brings him closer to insanity as he encounters unimaginable situations, devious characters, intrigue and ... death. In this fast-paced thriller set in Kolkata, debut ant novelist Jhangir Kerawala brings the reader face-to-face with the ugly underbelly that looms large beneath the bright lights of urban India.

My Review :

When I first saw the title JFK, I like many others thought this book was about the late U.S. President & his assassination. But then on reading the blurb, I realised that it had nothing to do with any of it. In fact this was a very much desi read, set in the City of Kolkata and partly in Uttar Pradesh, promising to take the reader on a roller coaster of a ride with its fast paced thrill. A unique title, an intriguing blurb but a dull cover page set against the backdrop of Kolkata seemed a rather interesting combination.

In one word, JFK can be described as your good old “whodunit”!! It starts with the murder of an old man – Ram Prasad Yadav on a dark night. Next we know, our protagonist i.e. Jatin’s best mate – Manish is also killed the same night by the same gun. While the author keeps Ram Prasad’s identity & story under the wraps till we reach the middle of the read, Manish is described as a “decent man with no enemies”!! So who would want to kill a man like Manish?? This is what Jatin has to discover & this is his story as he juggles between trying to find out his best friend’s murderer & resolving his own personal issues. Manish in his last dying moments, gives a call to Jatin & utters just 3 alphabets – “JFK” which are the only clue that Jatin has. As Jatin decodes the clue & stumbles upon the many secrets of his otherwise best friend Manish, he realises that Manish was not what he seemed to be. Armed with this knowledge, Jatin sets out on a hunt which not only takes him to the real killer but also changes his entire perspective of life.

On first impressions, this story might seem like any other thriller but this one stands out in a number of ways. Firstly, the protagonist – Jatin is not your average young, dynamic hero. He is a  50-year old unemployed man who is dealing with what we can all relate to as mid-life crisis. Unemployment, financial crisis, family issues - amongst all these troubles, his only haven is his mate – Manish but when Manish is murdered, Jatin is thrown headlong into a maze of intricate lies & ghosts of pasts.

Secondly, the author has introduced this unique spin through which emerges the second protagonist – Ram Prasad Yadav. The readers get to know about his story & struggle only when they reach the middle of the plot but once it is out, it surpasses even Jatin’s struggle. The author has portrayed Ram Prasad Yadav in all shades from white to grey but the sheer grit & determination of this character & his lone crusade stands out amongst the rest. Thirdly, the author has outlined a plot that is very relatable, grounded & real. He has also addressed the various evils that still exist in our society despite its modernity & has tried to create an awareness. And lastly but perhaps the best part of this story was the fact that the author has highlighted a very important and basic human trait. All of us have hidden secrets, every person is not exactly the same as he portrays himself in front of the society, family or friends. Through almost every character, the author has played up this point.

Along with Jatin & Ram Prasad Yadav, the author has also included a motley of characters & various sub plots which add to the mystery of the plot. The author’s style of writing is reader –friendly, in other words, it is easy to read. However, there were a few sub-plots which were not concluded properly in the end and that left me unsatisfied. Also, the story seemed to drag in the last few pages, it could have been crispier. This is not a classic nor a glossy read but if you are looking for something that will keep you hooked till the end then JFK is the one for you. Kudos to the author for his debut effort.

(The review copy has been provided by MySmartPrice. This review is entirely my own personal & honest opinion. I do not receive any kind of payment or monetary gains for my review.)

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The Bankster by Ravi Subramanian

Title : The Bankster
Author : Ravi Subramanian
Genre : Mystery, Thriller
Publisher : Rupa Publications
Pages : 364
My Rating : 8.5/10
Reviewed For : Blogadda


Blurb:

Bankers build their careers on trust, or so everyone thinks, till a series of murders threaten to destroy the reputation that the Greater Boston Global Bank (GB2) has built over the years. Who is behind these killings, and what is their motive? Is the banker at GB2 fast turning into a bankster? Or he was always one?

When Karan Panjabi, press reporter and ex-banker, digs deeper, he realizes that he has stumbled upon a global conspiracy with far reaching ramifications a secret that could not only destroy the bank but also cast a shadow on the entire nation. With only thirty-six hours at his disposal, he must fight the clock and trust no one if he is to stay alive and uncover the truth.

Spinning an intricate web of lies, deceit and treachery, bestselling author Ravi Subramanian, a master storyteller of financial crime and winner of the Golden Quill Readers Choice Award, returns with his most gripping thriller yet.

My review:

Well, to start with this is my first review for Blogadda & when I received a signed copy for review I was absolutely chuffed!! Tearing open the cover (literally!), the first thing that jumped out to me was the cover of this book. It’s throws off an uber sinister vibe depicting our “Bankster” with a briefcase in one hand & a pistol in another standing at what appears to be our own Mumbai’s Queen’s Necklace & with a plane rushing out in the skyline.

Moving on to the author, with three best selling thrillers on banking already in his kitty, Ravi Subramanian continues to keep the readers on the very edge with this Bank lore. To be honest, I have never read Ravi Subramanian before so I did not know what cracker of a plot was awaiting me!! But now after reading this financial thriller, I intend to visit each of his reads...

So the plot kick offs in Angola where a covert CIA agent seals off an arms deal in lieu of blood diamonds. The author then takes us to an episode in the past in Kerala where a resort owner is falsely accused of a crime that he has not committed. Laying down these two brief but essential blocks, the author steers the plot to his home ground – yes you guessed it right!! – The Greater Boston Global Bank (GB2) in Mumbai. At GB2, the author acquaints us not only with the power games (which turn as twisted as the plot proceeds) but also with a sundry of characters. With people in power trying to usurp even more power by manoeuvring each possible opportunity for their own gain while heady & young Relationship Managers trying to climb their way up the corporate ladder by any possible means, GB2 is fast becoming a breeding ground for rivalry & competitions. However, the “who wins it-who loses it” mood at the bank is hampered by a series of murders & it’s long before someone really starts connecting the dots & voila!! A pattern emerges. This is when, Karan Punjabi – the ex-banker, who is now the Financial Editor at The Times of India, steps in & opens up the Pandora’s Box as he unearths the real reasons for the death of GB2 employees.

So basically we have three plots, one with a CIA agent whose work is to strike deals for his agency. Second plot revolves around an aging man’s lone struggle in Devikulum, Kerala against the government. After the horrors of Chernobyl (Russia) & Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant (Japan), Krishna Menon wants the government to come clean on the environmental impacts of a Nuclear Plant set up in Kerala & the measures taken to avoid history repeating in India!! Thirdly, we have the carnage going on at GB2 which, on the face of it, are deemed as suicides. Do you get a connection???? Of course, you didn’t & you aren’t even supposed to & neither did I!! But you have to hand it down to the author for not only weaving these three seemingly disjointed plots together seamlessly but also doing so with an edge. However, the absolute smasher of a plot is written in the last 75 pages of this book, where the hunter becomes the hunted & it is revealed who indeed holds the strings!!

The plot is spanned across diverse locales – from Angola to Kerala to Mumbai to Vienna – and as you dart from one locus to another, you will experience what is known as a rollercoaster of a ride!! Also, each character in the plot is relatable, since the author brings out the most basic human instincts through them. Greed for more power, backstabbing, envy, moral bankruptcy - just to name a few!! The plot can be compared to a big game of chess where you don’t know who is a pawn & who is the king till the end!!

Fortunately I received this book on a Friday & before I knew it I was done with over the weekend!! I never realised how I breezed past the bulk of the book!! And I can say that for non bankers like me, the author provides an interesting insight into the banking world - all neatly packaged & beautifully presented replete with its corporate twists & turns where loyalties keep changing every second. The only point that did not go well with me was that at the end not all the characters were given the right attention which left me kind of unsatiated. But other than that, this book is a Total Blockbuster..oops...a “Bankbuster”...

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