Santhosh Shankar

The historical fiction which happens in the World War II era is a combination of Jewish mysticism and actual history tied in a beautiful knot that never lets our attention down. The author's writing style is simple and elegant. Unfortunately I have mixed feelings for this book. Though it is considered common knowledge that Jewish tales are somewhat known, I had absolutely no idea whatsoever about them. So this book was more of a revealer. It was quite distracting switching modes between serious business happening in the real world and the lightness of fantasy world.

I would have really loved with all the beautiful emotions of terror, love, humanity, anger etc., only if it had less detailed mysticism. Either way, as an avid reader I enjoyed reading it.

This book is a very good collection of articles. But unfortunately it fails to perform when put put under the category of a book. There are multiple errors and spelling mistakes. Many sentences are repetitive which furthers makes us question the authencity of the book. A Book that has so much details on Tamil language ought have good language in it don't you think?

As always I don't want to bore you with the summary of the story which is already given by the author above. Let's dig into the review right away.


Review: This is a story that wraps Love, Lust, Fame, Kindness and Madness in a tangly plot which surprisingly is easier to read. The story begins with suspense and then all the characters and their substories are revealed as the plot progresses forward. There are too many emotions in it and most of them are valid if not some. 


The characterization of each of the characters in the story is good. But there are some issues like the past of Isha. I had no clue as to why she behaves the way she does here, maybe that is a continuation of the author's previous books? I am not sure. But her background could have been portrayed a bit better. Without those explanations it seems like the author wants us to hate Isha which he achieves successfully, but then I couldn't empathize with her as much as Sameer did at the end.


Though the portrayal of KD is good, with many films in the same niche it seemed a bit cliche. This book says so much about practical abuse that is common in many relationships and it's time that we give some attention to this overshadowed issue. I feel KD's friend/manager is underrated, his character was the most practical of all and I personally like him the most.


What I found weird is the in between wisdom quotes from the author himself. The writing style the author has chosen is quite familiar with the Indian readers, but the sudden sprinkle of life quotes here and there were quite disturbing. Not only did it rupture the good flow of the plot, it also made each chapter appear as a moral story with a moral at the end. I am sure that was not the intention of the author, so such quotation could have been incorporated along with the thoughts of protagonists or the storyteller. Then again I think that would not suit the third-person/author-friend writing style. 


 This book has many strong moral opinions in them, which I appreciate. I would encourage you to explore all those opinions in Unbooked and Unhooked 


Verdict/Rating: Overall this is a good book, an honest attempt/experimentation(at least it looked like it to me). The author has come up with a good tale, very good characterization and has experimented with his writing style too. The set and pace of the plot is also good. I would give this book a 3.5-⅘ stars for all his efforts.


Recommendation: I would recommend this book to any beginners(readers) as the language is pretty simple and the plot is easy to understand. I finished the book in a couple of hours with ease. 


Happy Reading!

PS: Note to Author- Hi Adithya, you have done a very good job with this book. I would love to see your upcoming novels and how you experiment in them. Also, a suggestion from your reader - try to reduce the usage of the same words again and again. All the very best.


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Summary of this story is presented well by the author himself as the book's description. So, let's move on to the review part without wasting our words.

Review: The author: @adityanighhot has made a brave attempt (and a very good one in that,) in the Crime thriller/Short story Genre. The story is onto the point with no roundabout way of indulging the audience. The author has chosen a simplistic approach when coming to language, which gives the story ‘APPROACHABLE' status - meaning anyone can read this regardless of being a reader or not. The final moment that every reader anticipates is ‘the final reveal' and is unexpected in a good way. Building a character within very few words is very difficult, the author has handled this very well in the case of ACP. Portraying the soft and humane side of Police officers is something rare these days and I like it.

The same strong points of this book, unfortunately, have a grey side to them also. It lacks the cloud and depth of mystery which is common for a short thriller. The dialogues between the characters in spite of carrying some subtle variations (Like the authoritative tone of the ACP and obedient replies from his subordinates), could have been more characterized. The reason for crimes, though peculiar, feels a bit shallow. Some concentration could have been done towards the characterization of the guilty (like explaining their mental state a bit more).

On the whole this was a good snack for someone like me who reads a lot. The author has done pretty well, considering that this is his debut short story.

Rating: I would like to give 3.5/5 stars.

Recommendation: This is a quick, no BS thriller read, with easy language. So I'd recommend anyone and everyone to read Catch Me If You Can.

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After a long time a book that has enough details to intrigue and not so much to induce boredom. I felt the same when reading David Copperfield .