Catching the Departed – Book Review

Last month I received a copy of the book – Catching the Departed,from the author for review. The author – Kulpreet Yadav,is the founder -editor of Open Road Review,a literary journal with  global footprint.He is also the founder of the Asian Pacific Writers and Translators Association.This book was shortlisted for the Hachette – DNA ‘Hunt for the Next Bestseller’.

When I saw the title, I was sort of intrigued. I wondered if it would be something to do with supernatural things or a mystery solved after someone departed to the other world.Well, read on to know what it is all about!

This book is the first in the Karan Andy Thriller series…Before we go on to the thriller,here are
some of the interesting and important characters in this thriller…

Ram Avtar- A local lawyer with whose murder this book starts.

Gulabo– Ram Avtar’s widow who is hostile at first but later agrees to help with the investigation on the murder of her husband.

Krishna Bedi or KB Sahib – A powerful person with both money and influence.Also the owner of the New Delhi Magazine.The ‘brain’ behind almost all the murders and events in this thriller.

Monica– The chief of the New Delhi Magazine,an ex-model,who has a soft spot for our hero – Andy Karan.

Andy Karan – The handsome and smart protagonist who investigates the murder of Ram Avtar and is threatened and attacked quite a few times to deter him from going on with the investigation.He is also the investigative journalist at the New Delhi Magazine.

Constable Ramesh Kumar– A friend of Ram Avtar who is also murdered.


Dewanchand – Barman at the Blue Soda Bar,a fried of Ram Avtar and an undercover Intelligence officer.

Mr.Kapoor – A person who claims to be from the Intelligence and meets Karan in secrecy. After a few talks with Mr.Kapoor ,Karan doubts if this person is really on his side or on the enemies side!

A Police Commissioner who refuses to trust Andy at first but later sees the truth in his facts and then accepts him to be a part of the team to investigate the happenings.

Hakkim– A police informant whose young and charming third wife-Heena becomes the reason for his death.

Kismet Khan-A Pakistan based politician cum businessmen man who works with KB Sahib to create the mess.

Storyline…

The story starts with the murder of a local lawyer who is considered
to be useless and of no importance both to his family and a sleepy
village – Tilakpur.No sooner the dead lawyer is reduced to ashes,
another man is murdered and buried deep in a barren hump where no
vegetation grew and is encircled in lush mustard plants swaying in the
breeze.

Anil Karan Singh or Karan Andy is an
investigative journalist and an ex-army personnel who works in the New
Delhi Magazine.Described as the handsome man with a boyish charm who has
eyes like river pebbles is sure to make your heart skip a
beat!anyways,Andy is summoned by his boss Monika to meet her in the
office urgently.

A tired looking Monika asks him to
investigate the murder of a Ram Avtar, who was murdered the previous
year and hints about a possible terror plot.

As an
ex-army man, Andy is thrilled at the prospect of adventure and sets out
to investigate the murder.He speaks to Ram Avtar’s widow and ruffles up
with a man people in the village.He settles down for the night in a
hotel .He goes to the Blue Soda Bar to talk to the bartender who was a
friend of Ram Avtar.But he is disappointed to know that he was on leave.

Andy
returns to the hotel and is knocked out by someone.When he returns to
his senses he finds himself in a hospital.Monica tells him that someone
called her to inform her about his state and that she picked him up from the
roadside!

After his recovery, Andy is all the more
determined to check out what really happened in Tilakpur and why he was
beaten up. In spite of Monika asking him to stay away from the
investigation,he leaves to Tilakpur to investigate the events going on
in the small,sleepy village.

And after this unfolds the
true drama! There is a sleeper cell in Tilakpur and a nuclear bomb is being set up somewhere in Mumbai and there are whispers of possible terror attack.Murund Janjira,an island fort is the seat chosen to build the bomb and Kismet Khan is the brain behind this operation.KB sahib is supposed to use this bomb to bring about some political changes in the country….

So what happens between Monika and Andy Karan? Is Kismet Khan and his men successful in getting the lethal bomb ready? Is Karan Andy able to foil the attempt from KB Sahib to strike terror in Mumbai?What happens to Mr. Kapoor ?Is the nation saved of the disaster and how?

Well , all this is for you to find out when you read this book.

What I liked …

• The language is simple and easy to read and follow.
• The Hero of this book ,Andy Karan, is supposed to be very handsome and smart. What makes him connect with me is the fact that he is just an ordinary man like any of us and does not posses any super natural talent / power like James Bond. This is proved by the events where he is found helpless while being attacked and makes some common mistakes while investigating which fires back at him.A very realistic characterization.
• While reading a book, I am impressed if the places and characters literally comes before the eyes. I am a huge fan of such books and this one fits the bill perfectly.
• The thrill of the story keeps you turning the pages and
  makes you hold the breath as you read the events about the mystery that
  surrounds the village and each character in the book. One moment you think a point has been proved and the next second you find yourself doubting it along with the character who thinks likewise!So this makes it all the more interesting.
• I finished this book in a day and re read it again after a couple of weeks and the thrill and charm did not go down during the second read. Now that is something, right!

What I would have liked in this book is there being more conversations between the characters instead of it being summarized.

And I just wish Monika’s fate was changed[No!I am not spilling it coz its for you to find out].But that is the authors decision and it does lend a twist to the tale….

Would I recommend this book?

Of course! A nice thriller for weekend reading or for the ones who love fast paced thrillers,this book is something that will satisfy both the criteria.Pick up a copy and get ready to step into the world of the charismatic and patriotic Andy Karan.

At the end of the story, Andy leaves on an assignment to Goa. Now I am eagerly waiting for the second book in this Andy Karan thriller series…

At a glance

Title – Catching the Departed

Author – Kulpreet Yadav

Pages– 255

Price – INR 299

Meet the author – +Kulpreet Yadav

Note : This is not a paid review.

Happy Reading…