Zebra Crossing

(Image Source: http://www.chaseforfun.com)

never did I see

a zebra crossing the road

when the lights turn red

This Haiku is shared with Haiku Heights - Zebra Crossing.

The Perfect Thriller

“The Japanese Stieg Larsson” – that’s what The Times had to say in regards to Keigo Higashino. As I am a big fan of Larsson’s Millenium Series, this statement was enough to serve as a catalyst and I picked up Higashino’s latest offering, and God, was I satisfied? Well, the answer is positive.

Salvation Of A Saint is a Japanese Crime Thriller penned by Keigo Higashino, the author of bestselling novel The Devotion of Suspect X. Fortunately for many readers like me who do not understand Japanese, the book has been perfectly translated into English by Alexander O. Smith and Elye J. Alexander. A big thumbs up to you two.

Let’s go straight to the basic plot. A man was found dead in his house, with his wife out of town. The Forensic team concluded that he was poisoned. As the investigation progresses, the wife appears to be the most likely suspect who could have poisoned her husband, and that is where the real problem lies. How can a wife poison her husband when she is miles away from home?

As Tokyo Police Detectives Kusanagi and Utsumi conduct their investigations, we are left wondering as to who could have performed this crime. Though we suspect the wife as well, it is difficult to imagine how she executed it. That’s when Professor Yukawa comes into the picture. He uses scientific analysis and research in finding out the method by which the man was poisoned. Together the three of them work meticulously to unravel the missing links. Were they successful? Read the book to know more.

It’s not an easy job to concoct a brilliant thriller. A lot of attention needs to be paid to the characterization, the flow, the construction of the plot and the eventual conclusion. Needless to say, Higashino scores a perfect ten on all the above parameters. Ayane and Hiromi could be any normal women we have come across at some points in our lives. They turn out to be good company, almost like a friend you always wanted to have, and when both of them come under suspicion for having committed the crime, our heart goes out to them, and we pray that they are proved innocent eventually.

What I loved most was the constant debate and sharing of opinions, sometimes creating differences in views, among Kusunagi, Utsumi and Yukawa. The minor confrontations between Kusunagi and Yukawa are fun to read, and you quickly realize you have similar friends with whom you had multiple petty quarrels and differences, and yet, that didn’t affect your friendship. The bond between Kusanagi and Yukawa paint a picture of such a friendship.

Detective Utsumi comes out as a lady who is sensible and tough. She has good intuitions and focuses on minute details. Her close observations and analysis towards things which other deem as irrelevant make her my favorite character in the book. To be honest, I would love to meet someone as bright and smart as Utsumi in real life (no, not over a crime case though).

Somewhere in the novel, Yukawa comments that the killer has committed the perfect crime, where you can’t find enough evidence against the culprit. Well, I would say that Higashino has managed to come up with a perfect thriller, where I can’t find enough flaws that could stop me from concluding this review with a five star rating.

Publisher: Little, Brown Book Group

Imprint: ABACUS

Publication Year: 2013

Language: English

Binding: Paperback

Number of Pages: 384

My Rating: 5/5

Thank You Blog Adda for providing me with the wonderful opportunity to review this book.

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

Youngling

(Image Source: http://www.123rf.com)

he counts stars tonight

amidst his garden of dreams

mother's lullaby

This Haiku is shared with Haiku Heights - Youngling.

A Test To Pass

"Melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat," she repeated, slowly.

Mrs. Morgan sighed. There was no way she could grant passing marks to Katherine in the Culinary Test this semester.

"I already heard that twice my girl. What next? What do you do after melting the butter to prepare this dish that you have been asked for?"

Katherine knew there was no way she could answer that. She made an attempt to recollect the recipe from her memory, but nothing fruitful came to her mind. She didn't love cooking, but she had to pass the subject.

A silent flood welled up inside those crystal eyes of hers.



This 109 Words Micro-Fiction is shared with Saturday Centus - Week 157.

Xerox

(Image Source: http://www.cardiac-iron.us/)

wish I had copied

that curl on your crimson lips

times lost forever

Xerox can't capture

pristine love beats on paper

times lost forever

This Haiku is shared with Haiku Heights - Xerox.

Waterfall

(Image Source: http://www.hdwallpapersfan.com)

oh dear waterfall

be my guide in this valley

princess waits for me

princess waits for me

her heart singing songs of love

beyond the rose bush

beyond the rose bush

please show me my destiny

oh dear waterfall

This Haiku is shared with Haiku Heights - Waterfall.

Tokeliciously Toked

There are books that make you smile; there are books that make you cry.

And then there comes the third category – books that drive you crazy. In case you need an example, look no further than Jugal Mody’s Toke. Toke is one of those wickedly delicious and nonsensically crazy page-turners that manage to intoxicate your reading nerves and keeps you awake all through the night, as you gradually unravel the brilliance of the author in weaving a plot so unconventionally spell-binding.

Jugal Mody hits the precise notes on his debut. Right from the cover, we know something unusual is on offer. A pixelated depiction of Vishnu, wearing stylish Wayfarers, does let your imaginations run wild, and you can’t stop yourself from diving straightaway into the story. Nikhil is the narrator, and like so many youngsters of today, considers his life to be in total disarray. He hates his boss, loves Suparna ‘from HR’, and finds his colleague Alok intolerable. Having encountered a tough day at work, he realizes he needs to relax, and thus pays a visit to his friends Danny and Aman. He smokes weed along with them, and lo, Vishnu arrives, informing him that the world is in danger and he should help his friends in saving mankind. What follows is complete mayhem that leaves no stone unturned in grasping the readers’ attention.

Jugal Mody loves fictions. He worked in gaming and has handled web and social media for Filmfare and Tehelka. Through out the book, his humor leaves you in splits. Whether it is the Author Introduction at the beginning or the Afterword at the end, your funny bones are never spared.

The characterization is absolutely perfect. Nikhil gains your trust in no time and you soon find yourself rooting for him, his love and his mission to save the world. Danny and Aman are among the best supporting characters I have come across in a story since a very long time. They keep the flow intact, their acts drawing out your smiles at regular intervals. Suparna’s role of a lady confused with the happenings around her has been superbly sketched. Somewhere deep in our hearts, we wish her to fall in love with Nikhil.

And then there is Crow. Yes, a crow that can talk, and brag, and shout, and hug, and do everything that you and I can do. What more, it smokes weed too. The clever imagination of the author in using the Crow’s wings similar to hands is truly commendable. This character surely stands tall, and is undoubtedly my favorite character of Toke.

The unconventional characterization of Vishnu scores high points as well. Here, we have the God conversing in modern jargon, and performing tasks that we do not really associate our Gods with. All credit goes to the author for his wacky imagination.

There are other characters too, but they are more or less like surprise packages in the book. Mentioning about them might ruin all the fun. My suggestion, read it to relish it.

This is one novel that surely deserves a 2^nd and a 3^rd reading, and more. A real entertainer, Jugal Mody’s Toke left me 'Tokeliciously Toked'.

Title: Toke

Author: Jugal Mody

Publisher: HarperCollins

Publication Year: 2012

Language: English

Binding: Paperback

Number of Pages: 224

My Rating: 5/5

Volcano

(Image Source: http://www.goodfon.com)

will the volcano

emit petals red and pink

tonight as we kiss

This Haiku is shared with Haiku Heights - Volcano.

For All Aspiring Authors

Ever dreamt of being an author? Perhaps your answer is yes, but then, why haven't you done anything about it yet?

Ok, agreed that you have drafted your story on MS Word and it's lying somewhere on the hard disk of your machine. What next? Clueless, right?

There is a huge difference between dreaming and turning that dream into reality. While the former doesn't require any genuine effort, it's in the latter that the true potential of a person comes out. Hard-work and dedication is needed to achieve the goal and acquire your ambition.

It's definitely not easy to gain a foothold in the literary world today. True, you write well, but so do many others. What you probably need is proper guidance. You possess the necessary talent, now it's time to channelize your skills in the right direction.

Bestselling author S. V. Divvaakar and his team comprising of eminent personalities bring forward the National Author Mentorship Contest. An aspiring writer has to submit a synopsis and the first three sample chapters of his/her original work. The winner gets a personalized mentorship package covering literary, commercial and marketing aspects for the selected entry.

You can share your writings directly by clicking here http://www.svdivvaakar.in/namcontest/ or in case you are a facebook buff, submit your entries through the Facebook Page as well, by clicking here https://www.facebook.com/SVDivvaakarOfficial/app_208195102528120.

All the best to all wannabe writers. Who knows, your dreams are on their way to the bookstores!

Uproot

(Image Source: http://www.agefotostock.com)

petals uprooted

he loves me or loves me not

cyclone in her heart

This Haiku is shared with Haiku Heights - Uproot.