In the shadow of a young woman lies a man! Well, that might
sound strange but in a blue-white and black backdrop, that is exactly what the
cover of Girvani Dhyani’s debut book S.T.A.L.K.E.D has in store for us. Of the
genre Thriller, the cover artist has done a great job of ‘spooking’ the readers
and making them read the blurb and then the book in one go.
According to the blurb- Tara
Bakshi, a young lawyer with a difficult boss. No matter how hard she works, how
many all-nighters she pulls, he is never satisfied. When she starts work on the
top-secret assignment, project Emerald, Tara discovers that someone has been
tampering with the files and her boss asks her to find the culprit. As time ticks
and Tara uncovers one evidence after another, someone starts stalking her every
move. He shadows her on the street, in the parking lot, in her own bedroom;
nowhere is she safe from his prying gaze. The only clue she has to his identity
is a Zippo lighter with a serpent carved on it. As events turn darker with
back-to-back murders, Tara teeters on the verge of a collapse. What does the
killer want from her? Is he hiding behind a familiar face? Even as her life
turns into a whirling nightmare that pulls her into its web, Tara must discover
the truth before he strikes again… A riveting thriller that will keep you
guessing till the end.
I loved the way the blurb has been presented to the readers.
It gives a very ‘spooky’ sensation to the readers making the readers start the
book as soon as they lay their hands on it. The book has been divided in two
parts – You are not alone and Leave me alone! Depicting the state of the
protagonists’ mind to the readers.
For me, presentation matters quite as much and the way the
spilled blood and sword have been used in the book has been very interesting to
see and it has enhanced the whole story to a new level. I guess, to a certain
extent (for the readers who read the author bio before reading the book) the
author bio also helps in readers grabbing the book.
The first scene of the book where Tara Bakshi is being
intimidated by her boss has been described in a very life-like way making the
readers wonder what is going to happen next. It has been described in a very
realistic backdrop resulting in readers liking the book and understanding even
the characters of the book.
Coming to the characters, I liked the way the authoress has
described the characters of the book from Tara to the Boss, also Riya, Aryana,
Sailesh, Suzy and Bannerjee everyone in the book has been well researched of
and well thought of. The execution of the characters has been done in a very
effortless way. Coming to the storyline, I found the storyline to be a very
subtle mix of mystery and thrill making it a very perfect thriller to read.
The idea was very new for me and I enjoyed the book thoroughly.
As for the flaws are concerned, I felt the story needed a bit more thrill and
that in a few parts of the story there was something amiss. That something
would’ve made the story simply perfect! For the end, I felt that it has been
picturized very well but still a different end could’ve made this book
unputdownable. For me, I would like to rate the book 4.25 out of 5.
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