Book Review: The Velvet Hotline by Arsh Verma

review of the velvet hotline by arsh verma

Sneha Pathak reviews The Velvet Hotline by Arsh Verma (Ebury Press, 2023) When I picked up Arsh Verma’s The Velvet Hotline, I thought I was going in for a hard-boiled, racy crime thriller. The quote on the cover by Ruskin Bond and the fact that Verma is an IPS officer were perhaps responsible for this. […]

Book Review: Minor Disturbances at Grand Life Apartments by Hema Sukumar

Review of Minor Disturbances by Hema Sukumar

Sneha Pathak reviews Hema Sukumar’s Minor Disturbances at Grand Life Apartments (Published by Coronet, 2023) Minor Disturbances at Grand Life Apartments is Hema Sukumar’s debut novel which is set in the fictional Grand Apartments in Chennai and takes its readers through the life of the various characters who inhabit the place. We meet and become […]

8 Contemporary Indian Fictional Detectives

list of indian fictional detectives

Sneha Pathak curates a list of contemporary Indian fictional detectives that every thriller lover must read. I have always loved detective novels. As a child, I was always desperate to read more of the Enid Blyton series which was scarce in my small hilly town. What somewhat fulfilled my craving was the detective shows featured […]

The Fast and the Dead by Anuja Chauhan

New Book by Anuja Chauhan

Sneha Pathak reviews The Fast and the Dead by Anuja Chauhan (HarperCollins India, 2023) I started reading Anuja Chauhan’s second novel in the ACP Bhavani series on Karwachauth, or ‘KC’ according to the book. KC is also the day when the main action of the book begins, and I was able to finish it in […]

The Greatest Punjabi Stories – A Review

punjab in stories a book review

Sneha Pathak reviews The Greatest Punjabi Stories Ever Told (Published by Aleph Book Company, 2023) The Greatest Punjabi Stories Ever Told is the latest in The Greatest Stories series published by Aleph Book Company and is a worthy addition that adds to the value of the entire series. The Punjabi stories in this anthology have […]

Subversive Whispers: A Thought-provoking Collection

subversive whispers

Sneha Pathak reviews Subversive Whispers originally written by Manasi in Malayalam and translated by J Devika in English (Published by Penguin India, 2023) Subversive Whispers is a collection of thirteen short stories written by the Malayalam writer Manasi and translated into English by J Devika. All thirteen of these stories are bound together by a […]

Mandodari by Koral Dasgupta – The Known and the Unknown

review of mandodari by koral dasgupta

Sneha Pathak reviews Mandodari by Koral Dasgupta (Pan Macmillan India, 2023) and concludes if mythological rewritings are your thing, Mandodari should be on your list. What got me interested in reading Koral Dasgupta’s Mandodari was the titular character. I had heard of her, of course. In passing. In a sentence that would summarise her entire […]

Books to Read for Pride Month

books to read for pride month

For us readers, June is a chane to take stock of the books to read for Pride Month; whether to be a responsible ally, find yourself in its pages or try and understand the stories of the members of the LGBTQIA community. With this in mind, here is a list of a few books on […]

A Racy Edge-of-the-Seat Thriller: Tears of the Dragon Leaves You Asking for More!

tears of the dragon book review

Sneha Pathak reviews Tears of the Dragon by Ankush Saikia, a racy edge-of-the-seat thriller that leaves you asking for more. First, there were the gentlemen detectives with their cigars and their grey cells. Then came the spies with gazettes in one arm and a dry martini in the other. And then were the PIs, hard-boiled […]

Black River : A Deadly combination of murder and mayhem

book review of the film black river by nilanjana roy

Sneha Pathak reviews Nilanjana S Roy’s Black River (Context, 2022) which masquerades as a police procedural, a thriller, and a suspense novel. What attracted me first to Nilanjana S Roy’s Black River was its cover. Done in swirls of inky blue and punctuated with lighter shades of the same colour with the title standing out […]