Book Review – Fraudster

Author – RV Raman

Publisher – Hachette India

Genre – Fiction

Pages – 288

Price – Rs.250

The recent stories about banking frauds in the tabloids intrigued my interest in this book. So when I was offered the review, it made for an instant affirmative. In order to swell their asset size, few people have compromised on the credit quality. However, short term gains on the foundation of poor long term decisions don’t make for a strong edifice. The book is a brilliant effort to showcase the turn of events when a banking fraud turns ugly…how one fraud can affect the lives of many others.

The Cover

A lone person watching the Mumbai night sky raises several questions…could he be the fraudster enjoying the taste of his ugly success? Or, the scapegoat who suffers the aftermath of the event? In any case, the cover does entice the reader to go for the flipping.

My View

A banking fraud involving major discrepancy of collateral value is unearthed. The accused, Shruti, a junior employee of the bank has to pay a heavy price for the corrupt syndicate. First they take away her job, and then her life. While it could pass on as one of the many unexplained killings that happen in the maximum city, one person refuses to accept the prima facie – Mr. Visht, chairman of the First Line Credit Bank. Mr. Visht, having headed the inquiry commission investigating the fraud smells more than his eyes can see.

However, disappointed at the inability of commissions to catch the real culprits, he decides to associate himself with worthier causes than minting money. ZARA foundation, an NGO that works to protect small landowners against land grabbing seems the perfect choice to him. But, before he can take the first step towards cleansing the system, he too is silenced. 

Thus begins a series of events, mysterious killings, hacking of auditor’s database – the mastermind are willing to go to any length to ensure matters are prevented from spilling out in open. But, despite their efforts, there is Varsha, who’s willing to risk anything to bring justice. She, her friends go on a dangerous path to uncover the syndicate and their ugly game. Whether they unearth the fraud and the mastermind behind the frauds, whether they are finally able to bring punishment to the accused is for you to read and find out. But the book certainly keeps you glued and you almost begin feeling like a part of team Varsha.

What I loved about the book

The language is crisp and I didn’t find much drags

Being related to a specific industry, it’s important for the author to explain the technicalities to the diverse set of readers. And he has done so with finesse, without making it too heavy for the readers.The book delivers what it promises

What could have been better

While reading the book, I felt too much emphasis was given to the hacking story. At some instances, the reader is left looking for some insights on banking frauds than merely elaborating on hacking and murders.

However, this being just the debut, the author shows immense potential to deliver quality corporate thrillers. Looking forward to his next serving!

My rating

4/5

About the Author

RV Raman was the head of KPMG’s Consulting Practice and the co-head of their Risk Advisory Services. Over a career spanning three decades and four continents, he has advised several banks, regulators, exchanges and corporate on matters of strategy, operations and risk management. He is based at Chennai and Fraudster is his first corporate thriller.

This review is written for Writers Melon. The views are strictly my own and under no influence.

Scribblers Orchard Part 21

Read the previous part of the story here…

The sound of the evening Azaan woke Cyrus up with a start. His shadow had lengthened. From a small window in the dirty wall, he could see the sun bidding adieu to make way for the moon. Last he remembered listening to the morning chirping of birds as he was blind folded and led somewhere by Ahuja’s men. “How did it get so late so soon?” he wondered. The pain in his head was quick to remind him of how eventful the day had been…how he had tried a futile scuffle with one of his captors, and then something had hit his head making everything blank the next moment…

He had been lying unconscious the entire day. He tried to move his limbs, to amass the damage done, there wasn’t much damage though, yet his body cried of pain inflicted by the blows of his captors. He looked around the room - dirty, barren walls, bits of old broken furniture lying here and there. There was hardly anything to indicate if someone lived here. However, a strong smell of spices intrigued Cyrus. “Perhaps this smell can tell me where I am”, he thought and went near the window.  There was so much to be done, and with him being stuck, nothing could be done.

With his hands tied, all he could manage was a peep. The evening sky was abundant with white pigeons. Houses covered every square inch of land till the horizon. The sound of azaan was coming from left. As his eyes found the source of the sound, a big smile covered his face. To his left, he could see the famous Jama Masjid. “So I am near Jama Masjid, that should make things easier”, a ray of the evening sun fell on his face, and he knew Allah signaled him there was still hope.

“Mr. Prime Minister, we want to know how can someone of that important a position can go underground for spiritual blessings as the whole nation thought you were kidnapped?” A young female reporter looked adamant. Another reporter supported her, “Sir, it’s not just about us, the reputation of our country globally gets affected. The world media has been in frenzy…the PM of India is nowhere to be found. The gossip mills have been at their speculative best, and there are stories ranging from intervention by Al Qaeda to an internal coup. The nation wants to know the truth, sir!”

The creases on the PM’s forehead appeared more defined this time. With a pause, he said, “We are glad the media is so proactive about saving the nation’s image on the global front. However, you must also understand that considering the current circumstances involving our relations with our neighbors, not every action can be left out in the open. We are working for the public and rest assured, the image of our country at the global front is one of our biggest priorities.

At the couch of a luxurious living room in Mumbai, a curious pair of eyes watched all the action on TV. The sips of the Single Malt got more frequent as the PM showed up on the stage and began his speech.

The spotless white shoes stopped their movement as the reporters began the question.

“Aha, let the fun begin”, he said with a sarcastic smile.

Cyrus looked down from the window. The narrow by lanes of the walled city bustled with activity. Lanes were illuminated and loudspeakers jarred out campaigns in fake friendly tones. It was election time in Delhi. The walled city, being a major minority vote bank was always a lucrative deal for the politicians. Cyrus spotted a PCR van. His vocal chords put together all their might to summon the police to come to his rescue. The next moment, he realized the tragic game destiny had played, nobody would ever hear him now. 

Helpless and dejected, he closed his eyes and remembered his father’s face. “Oh dad, give me the strength to fight out this Chakravyuh” he said a silent prayer in his heart. A fighter till the end, his father had taught him never to give up. Cyrus looked around in his room, for any possible tool that could help him. His captors had left him alone, comforted by his inability to call for help. Near the door lay an old couch with something covered by a bedsheet. Curious, Cyrus quickly moved toward it. As he reached the couch, his eyes widened with shock...

Beneath the bedsheet lay a little girl, unconscious…

To read the next part of the story, click here… 

Me and my team are participating in ‘Game Of Blogs’ at BlogAdda.com. #CelebrateBlogging with us.

Book Review – Private India

Author – Ashwin Sanghi and James Patterson

Publisher – Arrow Books

Genre – Fiction

Pages – 470

Price – Rs.350

When two heavyweights like Ashwin Sanghi and James Patterson join hands, the book lovers can’t wait to savour the delicacy. The icing on the cake was when BlogAdda announced the book up for review. Playing the fastest fingers first on the keyboard, I waited with bated breath to read the book, the Indian chapter of the much talked about Private series. Then ting tong, the door bell rang, and the book was in my hands!

The Cover

The beautiful Gateway of India facing the Taj Mumbai in its grandeur! The lovely Worli Sea Link looks at you, but wait, there is something the cover is talking about, a man running away from something, the killer, or his own fears, well that only the book can tell. Speaking for itself, the cover throws a bait to the readers when it reads “It’s the season for murder in Mumbai”

My View

The Indian arm of the World’s finest investigation agency, Private India has a strange case that nobody seems to crack. The mastermind is on a killing spree, leaving his target with a little garnish on the body to add to confusion. Nobody knows who the next target can be – a doctor from Thailand, a politician from Mumbai, or an upcoming pop singing sensation, the targets are random, or so it seems. The only thing that connects the killings is a bright yellow scarf, a return gift from the killer to the corpse.

While the reputation of Mumbai police and Private India is at stake, Santosh Wagh and his team are assigned this hard nut to be cracked. Even the best of brains are finding it tough to keep pace with the killer, for the moment they join the dots, the killer presents them a new gift, bringing in new confusion.

Just when the team is busy trying to crack the case, one of the team members receives the same yellow scarf in her car. Could she be the next victim? With the finesse and high success rate, the killer swiftly make the next move before anyone can get an idea of the plot simmering in his mind.

Looking at the number of pages, I was a little skeptical whether the book would meet my high expectations from Ashwin Sanghi and James Patterson. But true to the words on the back cover, the pages turn themselves! The duo has been successful in holding the readers’ interest as I literally fought my sleepy eyes as I stayed awake till the wee hours of the morning to know who the killer was. Yes it was 400 something page wait, but totally worth it. 

What I loved about the book

• The pace of the book is real fast and it’s a struggle with sleep to keep down the book when you still want to know details of the killer.
• The story telling is beautiful, sans any drags.

What could have been better

The book stumbles on grammatical errors every now and then. Coming from such big 

authors, this is the least expected.

My rating – 3.5/5

This review is a part of the biggest Book Review Program for Indian Bloggers. Participate now to get free books!

Scribbler's Orchard – part 16

Team name - Scribbler's Orchard

Read the previous part of the story here...

Arjun was now at his agile best. Much time had been wasted and any moment spared now could translate into harrowing experience for little Roohi. Arjun stepped out of the building and immediately alerted his team on wireless. “I want to know everything about those three people…their history, geography urgently. This is getting serious. They might be involved in the missing of PM…make it fast and inform me as soon as you get any clue, got it? Contact inspector incharge of Juhu police station since his team found the bodies first. And I also want complete information on Mr. Ahuja, will just message you his address”, he spoke non stop.

Meanwhile, his restless eyes looked for any person who could give him a clue…guards, vegetable vendors, who could possibly give me the information I need? But a person as smart as Mr. Ahuja must have already taken care of them. Who do I go to now?

Just then, his eyes fell on the Ganesha idol in the society temple. “Oh God, you ward off all evil, please remove the clouds of confusion, and show me the right path. It’s the question of life and death for someone.”, he said. “Who do I go to who has answers to my questions? Who could know it all, who could have been a part…” Arjun stopped, he recalled Cyrus. “He should have the information I need. I need to meet Cyrus right away!”

Arjun, raced his car towards the hospital, hoping to get his answers from Cyrus.

The very mention of Mr. Ahuja soured expressions on Cyrus’s face. For a few moments, Cyrus was lost in his thoughts, the pain very evident in his eyes. “Yes I was working with him, but I did not work for him. I was interning with his lawyer. A reputed name, and good money was good enough to lure a law student, but slowly I realized that all that glittered was not gold. Mr. Ahuja’s business interests many illegal activities like money laundering and corporate lobbying. The image of himself he has portrayed in society was just to camouflage his vested interests. I wanted to stand up to provide justice to those who needed it. In his firm, I would have become a reflection of the lawyer who falsely portrayed my father’s murder as suicide. I didn’t want to be in the same league. So I quit.” he typed on the i pad.

Arjun was reading attentively, making mental notes. He promised Cyrus he would leave no stone unturned to nail the people behind all this, and left the hospital.

Cyrus recalled his time during internship. How the very Mr. Ahuja, he was so much in awe of, actually emerged as a person who would go to any extent to have his way…

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of shoe heels. As Cyrus glanced at the floor, his eyes widened in shock. These were the very white shoes, the signature style of Mr. Ahuja!

Outside, the guards had been tipped to turn blind and deaf for the next 10 minutes.

“Hello, Mr. Shekhar?”, Jennifer said. Shekhar’s lifeless eyes were slowly losing hope. “Mr. Shekhar, I have some more information on the case. We might know who was behind the murder”Jennifer said. The mention of the word “Mr. Ahuja” widened Shekhar’s eyes!...

Read the next part of the story here

“Me and my team are participating in ‘Game Of Blogs’ at BlogAdda.com. #CelebrateBlogging with us.”

Scribbler's Orchard: Part II

Team Name: Scribblers Orchard

“Me and my team are participating in ‘Game Of Blogs’ at BlogAdda.com. #CelebrateBlogging with us.”

Read the previous part of the story here

Tara lay still on her bed. Her eyes wandered on the walls with pictures of her rosy past...a loving husband like Shekhar, and an adorable daughter Roohi! There was nothing more in life she could ask for.

And then, everything changed…

Shekhar left his job as a news correspondent with an English Daily and decided to go freelance, for he was a free bird who couldn’t manage any intervention in his stories. As a correspondent, he had written liberally against the corrupt politicians, exposing them. So, when he went the freelancing way, the powerful people ensured life became a struggle for him.

Tara was growing the corporate ladder fast in a reputed media house. However, her professional growth went inversely proportional to the quality of her relationship with Shekhar. She took solace in her work to stay afloat and pretend a happy family picture to their 9 year old daughter, Roohi.

But now, even that reason was gone. Despite working for a media house, nobody was willing to take risk of pursuing Roohi’s story, for the politicians Shekhar frequently wrote against owned significant stake in the media company. Tired and dejected, Tara lay on her bed, her wet eyes closed in prayer for safe return of her daughter.

Her prayers were disturbed by the ringtone of her cellphone.

“Hello, is this Roohi Gupta's house? The one who studies in MP school?

“Yes, I am Roohi’s mother. You know where she is?”

She heard a loud shriek and the line went blank…

“Hello, hello, you there?” Tara froze…

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Cyrus looked at the railway tracks. Parallel and lifeless, they were taking him away from the land of bitter memories. That evening too, he had looked at the tracks with the same remorse. Like the screeching sound on the tracks that brings the train to a halt, his life too, had come to a halt.

They found his father’s body on the railway tracks. Manan Daruwalla, an honest IAS officer, had earned more wealth of morals than the wealth his family needed to live a comfortable life. As a consequence, his children had changed more schools than the digits in their years. Honest officers like Mr. Daruwalla were transferred almost as soon as they gave a hint of their honesty to the corrupt system.

The Delhi posting, his last had been very different. At the receiving end for unearthing a famous politician’s illegal land acquisitions, Mr. Daruwalla received death threats every day, to remain quiet or become quiet forever. A brave officer, he was not the one to be shaken by the threats and told his family to be brave and honest rather than surrendering to weak situations in life.

Then one day, his bravery surrendered to life. The corrupt politicians he had vowed to expose finally had their way in silencing him forever. His body was found on the railway tracks. The public prosecutor, bought by the politician proved it case of suicide by a depressed officer with domestic issues. Cyrus had vowed that day to become a criminal lawyer so that nobody ever suffers to the hands of injustice the way his father did.

His thoughts were disturbed by a screech. The train had reached Mumbai Central.

It was his friend Rohan’s wedding after 2 days. They had been childhood friends and Cyrus was proud of the success Rohan had achieved despite being from a humble background. Rohan insisted he would come to the station to receive Cyrus.

Cyrus looked through the crowd on the platform. Here he was in the maximum city, in the midst of crowd, yet he felt a strange loneliness and antipathy. Nevertheless, he was here for his friend. Cyrus walked aimlessly near the station entrance. As he looked out for Rohan, his eyes fell on a schoolbag lying in a corner. He knew any unidentified object could be a bomb, but hey, who would hide a bomb in an empty school bag. Still, something inside him felt something fishy about the bright pink school bag and he decided to examine himself first.

As he surveyed the bag, a big smile came on his face. The bag displayed a small name slip, “Roohi Dutta, IV-B, 65, The Orchard…9820xxxxxx” The next minute, he was desperately trying to reach someone on his phone.

“Hello, is this Roohi Gupta's house? The one who studies in MP school?" Cyrus said.

“Yes, I am Roohi’s mother. You know where she is?”, said a husky female voice on the other side of the call…

The next moment, he saw darkness all around and collapsed at the station…

The iron rod had hit him hard enough to take his conscious away…

Read next part of the story here

Book Review – Love Lasts Forever…

Author – Vikrant Khanna

Publisher –Srishti Publishers

Genre –Fiction

Pages –248

Price – Rs. 150

Does love come with an expiry date? Is there a thing called as “And they happily lived ever after?” This question kept popping in my mind when I was asked to review this book. “Love lasts forever”, is it a mushy mushy story of a couple madly in love who were just perfectly made for each other? (I prayed not, for it would have made for a super boring story)…or was it some expert tips on How to make love last forever? (Although I wouldn’t mind the tips, it would have still been like so many books that fade away from our memory). And so, the day delivery guy handed me the book, I accomplished the mission “Kill the curiosity” in 2 hours flat!

The Cover –

Bright green cover with wedding rings sitting pretty above the title which reads “Love lasts forever”! And then my eyes fell on the words below, “only if you don’t marry your love”. Now I was totally zapped! Had our films and poets believed the same way, we would have been devoid of many masterpieces that revolve around lovebirds finding solace in the company of each other for eternity!

And that was not all, seemed the author had challenged the readers on the back cover “So you think your love can last forever…? Get married!”

My View –

The book instantly becomes a “pick me up” because it takes the story of love forward from where our conventional film makers leave it. We all love to see lovers getting united and getting married in the end. But do we really think about what happens afterwards, when lovers become Man & Wife?

Well, a similar dilemma has gripped Ronit. Aspiring to rule the seas, he is enjoying his life at the pre sea training institute till love finally comes calling. Love was one of the most beautiful feelings he had experienced, except for one thing that soured it – the girl he so madly loved was the sister of the guy (who was actually a girl himself!) he loathed at the academy! Someone who was on the target list of the most chosen pranks for Ronit and his buddy, Joe Singh.

But all is fair in love n war, and fair it seemed to befriend the enemy to reach his lady love. Like a man who has conquered the world, Ronit’s happiness knows no bounds when after great difficulty, he gets married to the girl he loved. But life, as we know it, throws surprises we would never have imagined. Within a week of getting married, Ronit starts doubting his decision. Day by day, the wife he could die for seems like a Devil who would one day suck up all his blood and life!

When problems overpower our capabilities to handle them, we often retort to escapes. Ronit too, rushes to the next possible sailing assignment to escape the domestic tsunami. Little does he know, that destiny was yet to spare the torture. His ships gets caught by pirates in Somalia. Here he was trying to escape the Devil in his wife when real devils are ready to blow his brains in air till they receive their ransom!

With death and misery all around, Ronit finds a relationship coach in his captain, who too had a love story! Whoever said distance strengthens love did have some brains after all. In captivity for months, and listening to the story of Captain, Ronit slowly realizes the trick circumstances played with him, that, life with Aisha wasn’t as bad after all as he had thought it to be.

But it had been more than a year in captivity and there was no hope of survival. Would he be able to meet Aisha one last time? Would life give him another chance – to love and make up for what had gone? Would his love survive with him, or would he too, die the death of many sailors caught by Pirates?

Well, that’s for you to discover…

What I loved about the book –

• I love this style of oscillating between flashback and present. Develops an emotional connect with the readers and gets them hooked on till the last page. An quick read despite the 248 pages.
• The book holds your complete attention for a major portion of the story. In fact, I got somewhat angry with the author to read about his description of his wife’s devilish ways. But then I thought, its not a narration, it’s an account of someone who hates his wife and the author did succeed there in getting into the skin of the character.

What could have been better –

Towards the later half, you wish for brevity in writing. And well, you get overdose of it during the climax.  Perhaps the author could have worded the climax a little more interesting rather than rushing to draw the curtains.

However, apart from few nuances, I would recommend the book if you feel the spark in your relationship has gone missing. Without sounding preachy, the author gets us wondering if we put enough into our relationships before expecting from our partner…

My rating – 2.5/5

About the author-

A sailor by profession and a writer by passion, Vikrant has penned two novels before this. He lives in Delhi with his family. You can get in touch with him at www.vikrantkhanna.com

This review is written for Writers Melon. The views are strictly my own and under no influence.

The Ugly Truth

Pic Courtesy:Google Search

I looked at her she looked at me

She looked like a reflection of me

A reflection I detested for its existence

It was hard to cope with my heart’s resistance

She gave me a friendly smile
I had been ignoring her all this while

Thoughts of killing the common link came to me
But it was too late now, the result I could see

Last night could not be reversed

Why did I do it? My sorry self, I cursed

What was mine was no longer just mine.

Non stop sulking inside, I could no longer be fine

This was a face off, my heartbeat increased.

What if someone saw us together? The thought made me freeze

I got up to walk away, to bury the ghost of a wrong decision in the past.

Wanted to end the embarrassment fast.

Her look said the hatred was mutual, we finally came close 

She gave me a scan as if hating my existence, I just froze

She smiled and said "Same day! Same dress!"

"Ya, fashionista sale last night!" I said. My face got pink!

We women leave no opportunity to catch a good sale. We want to get the best bargain and at the same time, want to own the stuff no one else owns. What happens when we bump into someone equally intelligent, wearing the same outfit? This poem was written during the coffee break when I bumped into a girl who was equally embarrassed since we wore the same Kurtis and looked like twins!

Do you have a similar experience to share? Comments are welcome!