29 November 2015

Review #309: Red River, Blue Hills by Ankush Saikia



My rating: 4 of 5 stars


“To love without need or without expectation of restitution, that is how we ought to love.”

----Criss Jami



Ankush Saikia, an Indian crime writer, yet once again captivates the hearts of the readers with his new book, Red River, Blue Hills which is set across the north-eastern states of India stretching from Assam to Arunachal Pradesh by arresting not only the picturesque backdrop but also the danger lurking behind the dark, dense forests covering the rivers of the east.







Synopsis:

On a rainy night in September, a beautiful woman walks into the upmarket Hotel Aurora in New Delhi. She makes her way up to the sixth floor, where she shoots the CEO of an international defence consortium. A few hours later, the woman meets a fiery end in her vehicle on the outskirts of the city.
Varun Mehta, whose family owns the hotel, finds himself unwittingly pulled towards the crime, and the enigmatic woman who perpetrated it. Opposing the advice of the police and his brother, and struggling with his own demons and insecurities, Varun’s search for answers leads him to realize that what appears to be a straightforward case is anything but. His attempt to uncover the truth takes him from the frenetic pace of India’s capital to the remote frontiers of the nation’s north-eastern region bordering Myanmar — the land of the red river and blue hills.
Will he finally find what he is looking for? And will the journey allow him to come to terms with his own complicated past in the region?



Varun Mehta, who is his his late twenties and is the co-manager of a five star hotel in Delhi along with his elder brother, is immediately drawn into the mystery of an attempted murder on a foreign tourist staying at his hotel by a north-eastern looking girl. Since the foreign national was a Diplomat, the case is wrapped up easily when the body of the believed to be the same girl was found burnt inside a car. But something nudges Varun that the girl is alive somewhere and the reason as to why the girl did it, dragged Varun from Delhi to Shillong to his childhood days in Assam to his dark past which he kept locked up so tightly. Little did he knew that he was stepping on the dangerous grounds of Maoists and arm dealings of the north eastern communists.

Having read the author's previous book, Dead Meat, which is too set in Delhi based on a violent crime, I was in high hopes with his new book and surprisingly his new book too didn't disappoint me. Although we can't match both the books, since his new one is a semi-noir story set in the Scotland of the East which follows an attempted murder investigation as well as the story of a young man.

The writing style of the author is exquisite and intricate and I've always been a big fan of the way the author unveils the motive of the crime by gripping all the focus of the readers into the depth of the mystery. Apart from the mystery, this time in this new book, what truly captivated me is the quaint landscape of the north eastern part of India with the author's eloquent words. Yes, it was easy for him to bring alive those beautiful hills and rivers and forests and roads of the east since those are much more closer to his home and heart.

Shillong and Assam are the two states which are painted with vivid hues of bright colors from the local dialect to the food (reading this book might give you an immense craving for rice and pork!!)to the culture to the dressing sense to the flora that made me see not only the scenic charm but also the real pain and the struggle of the local folks of these locations.

Apart from the mystery, there is a personal story of a young man when he was just a boy and had to live with a guilt for the rest of his lives. How this young man travels into his past to not only forgive himself but also to those who were responsible for the pain. How this character grows from being careless all the time to caring all of of a sudden. Both the positive and the negative characters are all well-developed and are portrayed with many layers.

Overall this is an interesting take on a crime which unfolds along with so many layers both political and personal and this story left me engrossed till its very end.


Verdict: A must-read compelling story that takes you on a myriad adventure from Delhi to the North Eastern region of the country.

Courtesy: Thanks to the author, Ankush Saikia, for giving me an opportunity to read and review his book. 
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Author Info:
Author of the noir thriller "The Girl from Nongrim Hills" (Penguin India, 2013), and the crime/detective novel "Dead Meat" (Penguin India, 2015). I've worked in journalism and publishing in New Delhi for over a decade. Currently based in Shillong and Tezpur in North East India.
Visit him
here 


Book Purchase Links: 


2 comments:

  1. Learn about the advanced concepts of Hospital Management for 2 years and get an MBA in Hospital Management Degree from the Indian Institute of Health Management Research Bangalore.

    ReplyDelete
  2. One of the best car websites is JournalRoots, which distinguishes itself as a top choice for car fans. Visitors is toyota paint protection can immerse themselves in a world with the newest trends by navigating through its elegant and user-friendly design.

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for your feedback!