#bookreview: The Blue Monsoon | Damyanti Biswas

The Blue Monsoon by Damyanti Biswas
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I took a while to write this review because I've been having a tough time trying to reconcile my feelings about The Blue Monsoon. Where The Blue Bar was gripping and easy to love, ending on quite a hopeful note, this one picks up again two years later on a somewhat dreary note. And as the rains and flooding in Mumbai threaten Arnav's case, so does the dreariness sometimes overwhelm the reader.

When I say dreary, I don't mean that the story is slow in any way. It's quite as gripping as The
Blue Bar, maybe even more so because we already know, and are invested in, the main characters. In this one, Arnav is faced by how much he doesn't perceive or understand because he is a high caste man in Indian society; Tara is struggling with her lack of independence due to her high-risk pregnancy and injury; Sita is just trying to do her job without complicated relationships; and in the midst of it all, the deaths--dismembered men with tantric symbols carved in flesh--and threats keep coming. Links to influencers and hopeful politicians again push these cases into the limelight... and maybe there's a point where Arnav's weariness seeps through the narrative and makes everything feel too much, too bleak.

In many ways, The Blue Monsoon is a critique on the lingering caste system in India; but more than that, it attempts to show how privilege blinds one to injustices, how affirmative action policies don't quite solve anything (and sometimes makes them worse), and how gender (or rather, being female) exacerbates everything. It's not an easy read by any means, but then again, none of Biswas's books are.

Overall, the Blue Monsoon is a dark, gritty, crime procedural/thriller and probably should come with some trigger warnings. (Some gore, including castration; sexual abuse and harassment; difficult pregnancies; discrimination/slurs against transwomen)

Note: I received a digital ARC of this book from Thomas & Mercer via NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

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#netgalley #bookreview: The Blue Bar | Damyanti Biswas

The Blue Bar by Damyanti Biswas
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The discovery of a dead body on real estate tycoon Rahul Taneja's lands sets Inspector Arnav Singh Rajput on a trail that may not only uncover a serial killer, but also dig up things in his own past that he's long since buried. Like his dead sister, who he's still trying to find justice for. Or Tara, his once-girlfriend, who vanished without a word. But the path to solving this case is blocked by rich men with friends in high places, corruption at the highest levels of government, and complications from two warring Mumbai gangs.

Biswas drops you into the heat of things in Mumbai, immersing you in a gritty world that is unlike the usual crime thriller settings in the UK or USA. In her words, you can almost feel the push and pull of the crowds gathering for Dussehra and Diwali and hear the street vendors offering bhelpuri and pao bhaji. She adds authenticity with the use of local terms, often following them up with a deft explanation, expecting you to remember it from then on.

Each chapter is told from a different POV--most of it Arnav and Tara, though occasionally we hear from the unsub and his assistant Bilal. In Arnav's voice, you hear his frustration and conflict, in Tara's, you feel her tenacity and her fear. It's the unsub's voice that is chilling in its depravity, callousness and anger--and when the final reveal comes, you're left reeling, like how...? and yet how inevitable.

Like in You Beneath Your Skin, Biswas is not afraid to show the seedier parts of India, highlighting the way women are often disregarded and their lives treated as nothing but "packages" and "item numbers". She shows the horrifying requests men make of women who have no other options, but she also shows the horrible things women can do to young, naive boys in their power.

The Blue Bar is very much a story of powerlessness, whether is Arnav against the serial killer and the corruption in the police force; or Tara against the seedy men who are out to destroy the life she's managed to build for herself; or the unsub against his tormentor, but it is also about choice and risk, and taking responsibility for those choices.

Where in many crime thrillers, you watch as jaded protagonists' lives are falling apart, in this one, Arnav is faced with a second chance at family and happiness. Will he take it?

Note: I received a digital ARC of this book from Thomas & Mercer via Netgalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

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#bookreview: Unsound | Toby Neal

Unsound by Toby Neal
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I’ve read one Toby Neal before, so when this came up as available for review on Edelweiss, I didn’t hesitate to take it up.

Unsound is a companion story to the Lei Teixera detective series, following the life of the police psychologist, Dr Caprice Wilson - which actually confused me a little at first until I realised it wasn’t part of the main series. I’d been expecting something more towards a straight detective story, but nope - this is a little more of a psychological thriller instead.

When a drinking episode goes too far and Captain Ohale threatens to fire her unless she goes to rehab, Caprice meekly agrees and heads off to Maui - to hike the Haleakala Crater alone while she battles to get sober. However, she soon discovers she’s not really alone - her stalker has come along with plans of his own.

The story was interesting enough. Neal moves you from action to action and emotion to emotion, without faltering. There’s Caprice’s crazy drunken antics to laugh at, the mystery of the strange objects that raise your hackles, the danger and fear out on Haleakala Crater, and, as always, the beauty of Hawaii to enchant you. However, it quite often also felt like a long, slow journey through an alcoholic’s mind, one who’s trying to use psychological tricks to both break her addiction and justify it. I guess that's okay if you like that sort of thing?

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#bookreview: The Depths by Nick Thacker

The Depths by Nick Thacker
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Jen Adams' boss, Dr Elias Storm, is killed on the same night that her son Reese is kidnapped. Jen and Mark Adams sneak into Dr Storm's office to look for clues - only to find themselves snatched up by the British Royal Marines, Amphibious Task Division and taken to the Agartha station - an abandoned research station deep beneath the Atlantic Ocean.

The Depths is pretty much a classic thriller. I read it in (almost) one sitting; it was a very enjoyable read, despite a few errors (well, I think they were errors - swapped names and such which didn't make sense - either that or I was speed reading too much that my brain fried).

I loved the plot-twist towards the end (*jeng jeng jeng, you've all been looking at the wrong person and in the wrong place!) though what Mark did right at the end threw me a bit. I didn't think it was necessary and I'm not sure it made sense, but oh well.

I received a free copy of this book in return for an honest review.

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#bookreview: Exodus 2022

Exodus 2022 by Kenneth G. Bennett
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Joe Stanton wakes up searching for his missing daughter - the daughter he knows is dead... the daughter he never had. This bizarre hallucination is only the beginning of a wild ride that Joe and his girlfriend, Ella, find themselves on - one that includes a billionaire weapons contractor, a genius scientist, telepathy, the future of life on the earth and Joe's impending death.

I totally loved Exodus 2022! I'd read it halfway before bed on
Monday night and was intending to do stuff on Tuesday morning, being a public holiday, but partially because I was lazy and also because I really had to know what happened I ended up spending the whole morning finishing the book.

The story has a very strong environmental thrust and some paranormal overtones. I'd hesitate to say fantasy... it has a more "religious" feel to it (i.e. other higher power, good vs evil).

I only had 3 issues with this book, which isn't quite major enough to warrant any drop in my rating, but I figured I would mention them here:
1. Iffy formatting in the kindle version made some awkward line breaks between sentences. It didn't affect the sentences or meanings or anything, but was just a little annoying.
2. Priest with tattoos, long-hair, earrings and on holiday together with his girlfriend? Not something that would normally be tolerated in churches where I'm from, but then again I don't know much about the Episcopal church.
3. The ending (which was happy/tragic for me) raised one... question...

I received this book for review as part of the Novel Publicity Tour.

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About the Book - About the Author - Prizes!!!

About the prizes: Who doesn't love prizes? You could win one of two $50 Amazon gift cards or an autographed copy of EXODUS 2022! Here's what you need to do...

1. Enter the Rafflecopter contest
2. Leave a comment on my blog

That's it! One random commenter during this tour will win the first gift card. Visit more blogs for more chances to win--the full list of participating bloggers can be found HERE. The other two prizes will be given out via Rafflecopter. You can find the contest entry form linked below or on the official EXODUS 2022 tour page via Novel Publicity. Good luck!

About the book: Joe Stanton is in agony. Out of his mind over the death of his young daughter. Or so it seems. Unable to contain his grief, Joe loses control in public, screaming his daughter’s name and causing a huge scene at a hotel on San Juan Island in Washington State. Thing is, Joe Stanton doesn’t have a daughter. Never did. And when the authorities arrive they blame the 28-year- old’s outburst on drugs. What they don’t yet know is that others up and down the Pacific coast—from the Bering Sea to the Puget Sound—are suffering identical, always fatal mental breakdowns. With the help of his girlfriend—the woman he loves and dreams of marrying—Joe struggles to unravel the meaning of the hallucination destroying his mind. As the couple begins to perceive its significance—and Joe’s role in a looming global calamity—they must also outwit a billionaire weapons contractor bent on exploiting Joe’s newfound understanding of the cosmos, and outlast the time bomb ticking in Joe’s brain.

Get EXODUS 2022 through Amazon or Barnes & Noble.

About the author: Kenneth G. Bennett is the author of the young adult novels, THE GAIA WARS and BATTLE FOR CASCADIA, and the new sci-fi thriller, EXODUS 2022. A wilderness enthusiast who loves backpacking, skiing and kayaking, Ken enjoys mysteries, science fiction, action adventure stories and, most especially, novels that explore the relationship between humans and the wild. He lives on an island in the Pacific Northwest with his wife and son and two hyperactive Australian Shepherds.

Connect with Kenneth on his website, Facebook, Twitter,or GoodReads.

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#bookreview: The Golden Crystal by @NickThacker

The Golden Crystal - Book Trailer from Nick Thacker on Vimeo.

The Golden Crystal by Nick Thacker
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

After a failed mission in Afghanistan, Captain Bryce Reynolds finds himself being offered two million dollars, and treatment for his ailing mother, to protect James Whittenfield Jr. and his research company for the next six months. The deal seems too good to be true, and everything quickly turns bad when the Whittenfield Laboratories headquarters in Washington DC is breached by a team from Whittenfield's rival, Dr. Tanning Vilocek, the owner of Vilocorp. A bid to head off Vilocek soon turns into a race around the world as both teams both work against and with each other to gain the crystal for their own purposes.

Two things The Golden Crystal reminded me of straight off: Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code and movie Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008).

I read The Da Vinci Code way back in college, so I can't really compare writing styles and the like; my memory doesn't extend that far. The similarity I felt mainly stemmed from the way Thacker pulls from legends, myths and ancient history, as well as mathematics (the golden mean), to weave together a compelling story of two men's race to obtain the magical Golden Crystal (which is where Indiana Jones comes in). It's an interesting blend.

The book caught my attention early on, though it seemed to slow in the middle as Thacker digressed into little history lessons along the way. I suppose those "lessons" were useful to the story and the plot, but maybe it made the novel lose a little something as a whole. Nick really picked up the pace towards the end, culminating in a very exciting ending.

All in all, a very well-done debut!

I was given a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

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The Golden Crystal is available from Amazon.
Also visit Nick's blog or follow him on twitter.