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Thursday, 6 November 2014

S.T.A.L.K.E.D. by Girvani Dhyani: a review

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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