Summary

The story begins with Alice Cherokil murdering her stepfather and setting his apartment on fire to destroy any evidence of the crime. In the fire, two notorious gunmen of an underworld gang are also killed. And thus begins a dangerous spiral of threatening events that only promise to get more sinister.

Why did Alice kill her stepfather who is a supermodel? Why were the gunmen in her apartment? What did Alice discover in her stepfather’s safe? And how did her mother, a successful businesswoman end up in a coma? Why are multiple notorious gang men following Alice?

My Review

While answering all these questions and more we are taken forward in the book through backstories of each of the prominent characters of the elaborate plot. The so-called pawns, bishops, and knights of an elaborate game of chess, and Alice is the queen.

This book ought to be a web series. It has all the makings of one. With links to ISI and LTTE and smuggling of diamonds and drugs and the NSA hunting down the perpetrators, I kept getting “Family Man” vibes – the popular web series featuring Manoj Vajpayee.

I had just one complaint. While narrating the backstories of the characters if the author had also specified the year in which they happened, it would have been easier for readers when switching narratives between the past and the present. Because it’s not a simple plot here. The emphasis is on character development but it is fast-paced and will have you turning pages.

Let me share the trigger warnings also, it has plenty of scenes meant only for adult audiences. It is filled with the content of a sexual nature, and there are many incidents of rape which make the book very heavy and at times depressing too.

Final verdict

Overall, I enjoyed reading this adult-crime thriller whose final chase leads to invaluable diamonds. And I’m glad to see that Indian literature is now unafraid to write about the dark and dangerous world of deceit that exists around us, but we happily choose to ignore it because it does not concern us.  I rate it 4 stars out of 5.