How would you feel when you become a part of a sextortion
racket? If someone blackmails you with your videos and asks for money? How
would you feel if I tell you that all this may happen with the help of links
you usually stream on the internet and ‘accidentally’ download without even
noticing what it means? The cover of a long haired girl holding a sharp knife,
a terror to most students in Mumbai, Piyush Jha has surely done a great job
with the 3rd book of the Mumbaistan series- “Anti- social Network”
On the back cover- When
college students across Mumbai are murdered one after another in gruesome ways,
Inspector Virkar from the Crime Branch is called in. As Virkar investigates, he
stumbles upon a ruthless gang of young, tech-savvy miscreants who use social
networking sites and the internet for blackmail and sextortion. But how are the
two cases linked? And who is the mastermind behind these killings? As the case
grows murkier, the computer-challenged Virkar finds himself greatly out of his
depth, chasing a killer who always seems to be one step ahead, and a group that
soon trains its sights on him. He must race against time to unmask the gang and
to find the murderer before his reputation is ruined forever. Thick with
suspense and layered with grit, Anti-Social Network brings to you Inspector
Virkar’s toughest case yet.
Mumbaistan, Compass Box Killer, both are there safely tucked
on my bookshelf but when I caught hold of this book, I don’t know why but I had
an urge of reading it then and there. The cover, the name everything was
attracting me to itself. I, for now, can’t stop myself from complimenting the
quality of the book.
Being the third book of its series, it is a subject to much
expectation of the readers. And the author, in no way disappoints them. Yes,
the book has surely made me feel a soft corner for thrillers. The book, when it
starts grips the readers from its first page.
Gruesome, I wish I would’ve had more words for describing
the kinds of murders in the book. But, for me, the book taught me that
everything has a reason and maybe the people who do those crimes are not so bad
in reality.
For the characters, I would say, words fall short in
describing Inspector Virkar. After reading the book, I can bet on the fact that
when Inspector Virkar is here, no fear! The way the character has been etched,
the way he rides his bullet, the way he takes his beer and goes on a midnight
boat ride to clear his mind, the descriptions, all give a cinematic expression
to the scene.
As far as the murders are concerned, while reading, I could
visualize the scenes very well and I actually had to close my eyes and read
through the gaps of my fingers the scenes where the murders with the missing
body parts were described. Trying very hard, I couldn’t find any negativities of
the book. A little more thrill, speed would’ve taken the book to a whole new
level. For me, this book is 4.75 out of 5.
The book was received as part of Reviewers Programme on http://thetalespensieve.com/reviewers-sign-up/e
Nice review..after two gripping thrillers I was expecting really something diff frm author..and piyush jha hs succeed in it..he describe mumbai areas also very well..worthy read..
ReplyDeleteyes Rishi, people had huge expectations from the book and the author has properly lived up to them! A wonderful read... :-)
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