Avtar Singh (3)

I received a FREE copy of this book in exchange for an HONEST review. I don’t inflate ratings…I just rate them how I personally liked/disliked them - aka – my opinion...which means you might feel differently. Check out my other ratings and see if your “tastes” match mine.

For some reason it always seems that MOST books people receive as free review copies get excellent reviews…even if they aren’t so excellent. I’m not sure if this is because people feel they “owe” something for the free book or what. That's not me...

Anyways:
This novel is an easy read. This is not a complement unless you just want something to read to pass the time on the plane/train and then toss it in the trash not really caring if you every finish it. It is a very liner story with no surprises, no twists and no REAL crime solving/detective work involved.

I’ll try not to give away too much and ruin the very thin/weak story line. Basically there is a deputy commissioner of police, his assistant and another “up and coming police officer” who run around (and get made fools of a lot) trying to solve a few crimes in a corrupt political environment (this novel is set in India but this type of story could take place in any number of countries around the world). It was almost like watching the news about a few mildly interesting crimes that eventually got solved but the author decided to throw in some sex and vampires (ooohhhh) in hopes of spicing up a dull piece of fiction.

The criminals were basically handed to the deputy commissioner by one main character and many minor ones. He kept getting messages similar to this: “Oh my nephew knows who did this”…or “If you would have asked sooner, I would have told you who the criminal was. Come to my house tonight and I will give him to you…”

I am fairly certain that the author modeled the main character around what he himself would like to be and was trying to live vicariously through him…always praising the main character for his “cool under fire”, the way all the women wanted him, etc, etc. It was like listening to someone brag about themselves only all of it was lies.

I felt like I was reading a cheap imitation of a James Church “Inspector O” novel (set in North Korea) except unlike Church’s main character (Inspector O), Singh’s main character (can’t even recall his name at this point) was thin and shallow.

Overall – 2 STARS.… (altro)

Sorry Librarything - I meant to review this a few months ago!

Anyway, we have a story of a detictive, Sajan Dayal, who is following the mystery of someone who is cutting off fingers. With a junior detective, Smita, by his side. Dayal isn't exactly a dirty cop. But he isn't clean either. Its a world that is half new, half old, and corruption runs rampant. Smita is probably the only completely clean cop in this book - and she is fairly innocent.

Along the way, Dayal meets a women who some claim to be immortal - a vampire. She seems to be involved somehow, but at the same time, off to side, observing. Her neighbors seem to afraid of her, and of course a relationship between Dayal and Raiza form.

I especially like the setting - Delhi is another character and the most important one. Generally, I found the character to be dry, a bit characteristic. The story was mostly unforgettable- the author spent too much time on getting the setting right, that the larger story of the detective was not that good.

Overall, there are better stories of this sort out there.… (altro)