Book Review : Finders, Keepers

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Blurb View:

Finders, Keepers. Losers, Weepers Two men are murdered in settings which speak volumes of involvement of some sacred cynicism. A psycho-killer on the loose? Or is this the beginning of something much more grave and dangerous? This is the tale of how Deputy Director, I.B., Shoumik Haldar and celebrated author Ishan Vajpayee exercise all their tools of conventional and unconventional deduction to solve the puzzles thrown across by the enemy, yet unrevealed. Intertwined intensely with the opulent mythological tales and specimens attributing to the rich cultural heritage of this country, the story depicts the resurgence of a dormant historical sect, which attacks the very foundations of one of the most powerful and secreted organizations of all times. Spread across the length and breadth of the entire Indian subcontinent, read the mystery as it unravels with the duo travelling from one corner of the country to another searching for the signs.

Review:

Before you attempt to read this book, I must advise that you gather enough patience in your kitty. Finders, Keepers is a huge novel, almost an epic with a heavy dose of Indian Mythology. I haven’t read a longer one by any Indian Writer in English yet. And in my opinion, you should read the entire novel only if you have the time to. The story and plot is sprawled all over India with references to Mythology that’s millions of years old. It would be a shame if someone doesn’t read the entire turn of events.

The basic premise of the book dates back to King Ashoka and his devise of creating a clique of Nine Unknown Men with all the knowledge in the world. They gather their respective departmental gems into a book each that will be protected by guardians for centuries. The book begins with two murders and enter IB officer Shoumik Haldar to investigate them by special request from an eminent personality. Anticipating a connect of Mythology in the murders, Shoumik decides to confide and take assistance in a very able author, Ishan Vajpayee. A few murders follow and they unravel the immensely complicated mystery that has been protecting and progressing our country since long. Do the Nine Unknown Men still exist? What knowledge do they guard in each book? Why are they murdered one at a time? Who is behind all the murders and what is their motive? These and many more questions spring up in the first two chapters itself. With a whopping total of 624 pages, the book traverses at a gradual speed to solve the case with the help of two efficient men.

I don’t read Mythology as a regular genre, but I’m mighty impressed by the research Sapan has done for this book. He has barely touched the two epics – Mahabharat and Ramayan – and yet, there’s so much information and anecdotes along with scientific explanations, that it is overwhelming. The best attribute of this book is that it never gets boring despite being so lengthy. Each chapter and murder has equal importance and Mythology has been described beautifully by Sapan. I wasn’t aware of any feud between Shaivas and Vaishnavas, and he has woven such a huge story around it. The locations has been chosen very appropriately corresponding to each nugget of information and described very well. I have learned a whole lot of things about Hindu Mythology that I didn’t think would be relevant at any point of my life. And now I’m glad I read this book.

cbp4a However, my only complain is against the editing of this book. Frog Books definitely need a better editor for their books. The author could have paid a little more attention to the language too. Since the content is superb, if the form of writing isn’t, the book becomes a dampener. I hope the author would agree with me that while writing fiction, one needs to take care of grammar and a little flair in the language used. Else, this could have been a non-fiction on Mythology that wouldn’t need good English to attract the readers. It’s a work of literature and it should have been much better. With that grudge, I certainly hope for a stellar one next from Sapan.

Recommended for anyone with an eye for History, Mythology and thrill.

P.S. Apologies for the delay in writing the review, but I didn’t want to undermine the author’s efforts by writing one without reading the entire book.

My Rating: 3.25/5

About the Author:

sapan Brought up in the city of Nawabs, Lucknow, Sapan did B. Tech in Information & Technology from Motilal Nehru National Institute of Technology, Allahabad. He started taking interest in writing on various spiritual and mythological subjects during his college days and his work found place in leading newspapers on many occasions. His profession is engineering but writing is his passion. He connects and finds links of modernization with mythology having keen interest in the same. Sapan married in the year 2011 and is now the proud father of a toddler. A responsible father, a loving husband, a supportive brother and a caring son, Sapan generates time to write. The present book is a fictional work, a perfect blend of riddles with history and mythology, and is full of suspense till the last page.