Is It Maya? by Saikat Baksi

Blurb (from the cover):

Maya Mukhija is charming, intelligent and enigmatic.She has all the riches and power of the world. Maya loves to overpower men. She is the arm-candy wife of an ageing media mogul. Maya is not a loser. 

But one ne morning, Mumbai police knocks the door of her posh apartment and handcuffs her. "You killed Veena, your daughter," the Police Commissioner declares. 

"Veena was my sister, not daughter. And I wished her dead. But I never killed her," Maya Mukhija replies. 

The hunt begins through the shadowy yesterdays of Maya Mukhija. 

Love, treachery and a web of lies peel off the dark truth one by one. 

Who killed Veena? ls it Maya?"

My take on the book:

It feels real good getting back to reading and, most importantly, reviewing. The author of this book has contacted requesting for a honest review. The plot, which sounded so much like the Sheena Bora murder case, caught my attention right away.

I jumped right in and just after reading the first two chapters did I get this strange urge to read into author's bio. Well, from what I had presumed, the author was a first-timer. The writing was so sophisticated that I had to turn back to the author's bio part of the book to learn he is an established author. Not one, not two; he is an author of four other novels. It well impressed me. There are many people I know, struggling to get, at least one of, their work published. When I was going through the names of this books already published, one of the titles caught my attention. That is when I realised, we, infact I, had already reviewed one of this author's books.

To read the review of Far Beyond The Dead End by Saikat Baksi, click on the hypertext.

I am sure it is the cover design that gave the impression that the author was a first-timer. If not for the plot, the cover design was yelling a warning against reading it.

Well, though laggy, I got through the book. That is a positive attribute in itself, believe me. Very good plot, though it was encouraging, and disappointing at the same time, to learn that the resemblance of the plot to the Sheena Bora murder case reached as far as the characters. The plot thought similar is brilliantly different in its own way.

The description, the narration, the simple language; everything are positive aspects of the book.

But the story was not the best. Being a thriller, maybe I was expecting too much of it. Maintaining a phase with the reading was very difficult. Continuity, the most important aspect of a thriller novel, is hard to keep up with this book. There were many parts through the novel that felt dull and slumpish.

Though it took time, I've made it through the book and, like I've mentioned earlier, it's a praise to the book in itself. Perhaps, somewhere down the book, I made up my mind, I couldn't get through and the next moment, I've completed the book. Author deserves some hats off for that.

Overall, it is good thriller story, with a moderate plot and easy language. Not particularly a light read. People looking for light reads steer clear off this one.

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Title: Is It Maya?

Author: Saikat Baksi

ISBN (edition I've read): 9789352017713

Rating:

Read between: 06-01-2017 to 10-01-2017

Reviewed for: Saikat Baksi

Publishers: Leadstart Publishers

Pages: 243

MRP: ₹ 299

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