Books 2014 Vol. 11 - "God is a Gamer" by Ravi Subramaniam

About the Author

Sometime last year, I received The Bankster by the same author which I was not very impressed with. It was a plot involving the corporate bankers and secret nuclear project and blood diamonds. But, I was not really thrilled over there and that book had a lot of grammatical errors. I might not be a grammar nazi but the editors are expected to be!!

But, a lot of changes have happened in the last one year. And, his latest book God is a Gamer is a real game changer. The plot is all over there right from America to India which starts with a senator assassinated to a major ATM heist in the heart of New York in broad daylight to a major banking CEO murdered and many more sub plots which will have you reeling!!

About the Book

Where should I start talking about the plot and which ones should I talk about? Russia plans an imminent change in their payment system and shut down the visa and mastercard and put up a nationalized payment card system. Gillian Tan, a senator, is called upon to control this change as it would result in billions of dollars of loss for the involved parties.

And, soon after, Gillian Tan is assassinated. The scene then shifts to PM's office in India where appointment for the RBI governor is pending and he looks through the shortlisted candidates. On the other hand, Swami comes to know through his mother that some amount of cash was withdrawn from their neighbour’s account when she reacted to the almost-real looking spam mail.

Turns out that this fraud has happened with many of the customers of NYIB, the bank for which Swami is the retail head of India. Malvika, the CEO, has sour relations with him and holds him responsible for the damage and loss the spam has caused the bank. Soon after, to contain this damage and realizing that the CEO lacks leadership skills, the management of NYIB plans to replace Malvika which throws her into depression.


Aditya is the owner of eTIOS and Indiscape, a BPO which has NYIB as one of its clients and a growing gaming company, is an ex-employee and mentor of Swami. His son, Varun, comes into his life after 20 years and takes over the gaming company with his bright and new-age ideas. He meets Tanya in Rio-de-Janeiro and accidentally bumps into her in Goa and then again in Mumbai.

Tanya, Malvika's daughter plans a birthday blast for her in Four Seasons during which her colleagues and the who's who are invited. Even the finance minister makes his appearance and just as he leaves, Malvika is found lying on the ground floor after a 32 floor fall. Tanya actively blames the finance minister.

And, in New York, a grand ATM heist of 5 million dollars in the heart of New York is planned and executed successfully. And, this money is taken from NYIB. The FBI gets on the case and then they start unravelling the threads which connect all the incidents happening.

My Verdict

But, the surprise is at the end of the novel and the tagline befits the plot perfectly! Though you would wonder if the motivation and the target were really in sync with each other.

The novel is breathtaking and everything moves at jet speed. The language is correct and I could spot only one grammatical error in the entire book which was a missing period, nothing major. So, yes, I would say its a treat for any crime thriller lover.

Have you read the book yet? Or, do you love any other book by Ravi Subramaniam? 

Other books I have reviewed:
5 Healthy Takeaways from "Perfect Digestion" by Deepak Chopra
Books 2014 Vol. 9 - "7 Secrets of Goddess" by Devidutt Patnaik
Books 2014 Vol. 8 - "The Sealed Letter" by Emma Donoghue

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

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5 Healthy Takeaways from "Perfect Digestion" by Deepak Chopra {Five Series}

Finally, I have also started reading some of the books which would be useful for the blog and me :) And, this one has scored high on my list. For a beginner health enthusiast, it can serve as one of the foundation books. It explains ayurveda in a simpler way than I could ever understand it till date. So, check out 5 new things I learned from the book.

One holistic system

Ayurveda treats our entire body as a single unit with each part having its own portion of intelligence as opposed to a machine controlled by a central engine. The nutrients from our food enhance the said intelligence. Ayurveda also believes that perfect digestion is the key to keep the body free of any disease.

Our thoughts, our imaginations, our feelings, desires and energies are as much "us" as are our fingernails, our blemishes and our digestive tracts.

Ayurvedic Doshas

Pitta characteristics so do check out if they concur with your nature!

Ayurveda understands a body as a part of three doshas - Vata, Kapha and Pitta. 

Vata - controls movement like breathing, blood circulation, food passing through the digestive tracts, nerve impulses sent to and received from the brain. 

Pitta - represents metabolism or digestion like processing food, air and water and facilitate proper intellectual functioning. 

Kapha - governs body structure, holds cells together and forms muscles, fat, bones and sinew, also governs digestive fluids int he body. 

Everyone has all 3 doshas in equal measures but some imbalances in the body may lead to one or other dosha dominating over the others in which case the said dosha must be pacified and balanced . Our body is in a harmonious state when all these three doshas are in perfect balance. 

Digestion is considered a heating process in Ayurveda which is why it is denoted by the agni or digestive fire. 

• Too high digestive fire means pitta dosha which leads to excessive appetite.

• Too low digestive fire means kapha dosha which leads to low energy and weight gain. 

• Too variable digestive fire means vata dosha which leads to extreme hunger or loss of appetite. 

• Perfect digestive fire in which all doshas are balanced. 

Kapha characteristics so do check out if they concur with your nature!

Small Intestine and Its Role

Small intestine is one the major organs where the maximum digestion and extraction of the intelligence from the foods happens. To keep it healthy,

• eat variety of foods everyday

• foods should not be over-cooked or raw

• foods must not be too hot or too cold  

That is why ice cold water is not a preferable option, as much you might crave it!!

Spice to eat to keep the digestive system in healthy order - black pepper, ginger and nutmeg.

Vata characteristics so do check out if they concur with your nature!

Ama and Ojas

When the body is in perfect harmonious state, it produces a biochemical called Ojas which represents the positive flow of energy in the body. It means the body is in complete harmony with the mind.

A complete opposite to this harmonious state is when the body feels sluggish. A sticky biochemical called Ama is produced in such a state. It can be due to improper lifestyle, improper diet or improper digestion.

Signs of ama production in the body - lethargy, feeling of  heaviness, weakness, weak immunity, fatigue, emotional instability, low energy levels.

Visible sign - white coating on the tongue which is also present throughout the digestive canals of the body. That is why tongue scraping should be done right after brushing your teeth.

How to eliminate Ama from the body?

• Eat in a settled and quiet atmosphere where there is no television or talking. 

• Rest quietly for a few minutes after a meal to begin the digestive process in a effortless way. 

• Always eat while sitting. it helps the body relax. 

• Do not eat while upset. Wait for a few minutes to stabilize your emotions and then start eating. 

• Do not overeat. Always eat only 3/4th of your total capacity. leave eating when you feel almost full and still feel light. 

• Always avoid cold drinks or foods. Cold freezes the digestive fires and may lead to creation of ama. 

• Always eat slowly. After a bite, chew and wait till you swallow it before taking another bite. 

• Do not eat till your preceding meal is digested. It takes 3-6 hours for the previous meal to digest so if you feel heavy but crave something to eat, snack on a fruit or any warm beverage. 

• Always eat fresh food. 

• Drink hot water throughout the day, as often as possible, to dissolve the ama in your body. 

sort of diet you should maintain according to your specific dosha

6 Ayurvedic Tastes

Ayurveda identifies 6 tastes in order of digestion - sweet, sour, salty, pungent, bitter and astringent. It is important to incorporate all these tastes in all our meals throughout the day. And, one should eat them in their order of digestion as specified.

For example, sweet should be eaten before anything sour which should be eaten before a salty dish which should precede a pungent one which should precede bitter and lastly, follow with an astringent. That is why dessert should be taken first and salad should be the last meal.

Have you read the book? Do you think digestion is the key element to our well-being? 

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Books 2014 Vol. 9 - "7 Secrets of Goddess" by Devidutt Patnaik

About the Author

Mythology has always been an inherent part of Hindu culture. Where we used to spend our Sundays being enriched in the epics, the newer generation is gradually being drifted apart by the new age technology. So, how do we fulfil this gap? 

Devidutt Patnaik is one of the authors who has been constantly churning stories from various epics for our delight and trust me when I say, we are unaware of some them. I have already read a few of them and would definitely recommend The Pregnant King. Yes, some of his books may be just too mature for kids but we can always retell the stories in our way!

Along with such retelling of small episodes in the puranas or retelling of the major epics themselves, he also specializes in writing about the interpretation of the epics in the factual form as they come! Whether this interpretation is true or not is something which the author right away absolves himself of by stating that every man's interpretation of these works is correct.

About the Book

As much as we all love our mythology, we love it as a fiction. We love to visualize characters, we love to hail some of them and wish the others to the dungeons. But, here we have the stories of the Goddess and not just the stories but the literal interpretation of the female standing through the ages in our culture. 

It was a matriarchal society earlier, the male could not refuse the woman. In Mahabharata, Urvashi curses Arjuna for refusing her advances. In Greek mythology, Artemis turns Actaeon into stag that is ripped to pieces by his own hunting dogs....

Did you know what a virgin really meant? According to the book, it meant a woman who was ready to bear a child. Every woman was a virgin during the ovulation period which also explains how Draupadi's virginity would be restored before going to the next husband. Also, the term whore was meant for females who were free to go to any man. As the times changed, both the terms lost their true meaning and started denoting the chastity of women. - Gaia's Secret

the book is full of such illustrations and the font itself is easy to read and easy on the eyes

Kali has been portrayed as a symbolism for both violence and sexuality. She is wild and naked (Smashan Kali) which represents she can not be domesticated. She (Bhadra Kali) also has been portrayed as the medium who connects Shiva to the universe and his domestic responsibilities by indulging in familial duties with him. 

 

As opposed to Kali, Gauri is the calmer version of the Goddess who is dressed in bridal finery but her unbound hair reveals her independent nature. She is self-created and rides a tiger. Brahma seeks to control her making him unworthy of worship. Shiva is indifferent to her which makes him desirable to the Goddess and Vishnu values both the importance of Kali and Gauri as opposed to both the extremes. 

Hinduism is mainly symbolism and even the small stories can be interpreted than what they actually appear in their face value. Similarly, Brahma represents the human mind that misbehaves. Shiva vehemently rejects this misbehaviour. Vishnu is the human mind which does not condone this misbehaviour, ye understands it. What is the misbehaviour? It is the assumption of property - that culture and all its creation belong to humans. 

My Verdict

The book is not a light read. It talks about philosophy but while reading it, one should remember that it is just one man's interpretation and does not provide a holistic perspective of the issue. 

For example, while saying that the earliest of our culture was actually matriarchal, we also find a contradiction made by the author himself- the male partner chosen by the female (specified above) is killed at regular intervals.  

The chosen came to her during the sowing season and he was sacrificed at the harvest season.  

While the female gets the right to choose her partner, she does not have the right to stay with him for lifetime! In fact, love is then doomed in such circumstances. How does it become a matriarch society? 

Have you read the book or any other book by the author? How do you like his writing? 

Related Posts:

Books 2014 Vol. 8 - "The Sealed Letter" by Emma Donoghue

Books 2014 Vol. 7 - "Keep the Change" by Nirupama Subramaniam

Books 2014 Vol. 6 - "Perfume : The Story of a Murderer" by Patrick Suskind

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

Books 2014 Vol. 8 - "The Sealed Letter" by Emma Donoghue [Weekend Post]

I love sensational novels. I think we all love sensationalism. We thrive on it, in fact. That is what makes the city times and page 3 circulated far more than the regular newspapers get read. So, when I came across the book, I instantly knew I wanted to read it.

The book is based on the famous divorce case, Henry Codrington vs Helen Condrington, of 1864 in England on the grounds of infidelity on part of the wife, Helen. It was the time when women empowerment movement was gathering quite a bit of attention and Emily Faithfull, a major player in the above divorce case, was an active member of the movement.

The Plot

Emily Faithfull encounters Helen one day on her way to the press. And, that leads to bittersweet reconciliation between two long lost friends. As the story moves on, we and Emily both get to know that Helen's cavalier, Col. Anderson, and Helen are having a hushed affair and Emily is a unsuspecting promoter of this affair. 

Helen portrays herself as an ill-used wife of Henry Codrington and a devoted mother of her two girls. While the latter was true to a degree, the first was a twisted version of the reality. The relationship between Codrington and his wife had reached to a cooling degree of affection but it was as much the responsibility of the flirtatious wife as much as the aloof husband. 

But, till a telegram of importance does not get answered to by Helen does Henry think his wife to be cheating on him. Once the suspicion gets rooted, Henry employs a detective to follow his wife and report her movements. Everything was above reproach till she makes a slip and what follows is the infamous courtroom drama. 

To secure her side of the witness, Helen again ropes in Emily to give a testimony against Henry by taking advantage of Emily's guileless nature.

My Verdict

I could see a lot of parallels from Anna Karenina but the way Helen has been portrayed as compared to the classic heroine is very different. Helen ends up being shown a manipulator and a deceiver, Henry Codrington comes across as a victimized husband and Emily Faithfull is a foolish instrument, dangerous in intelligent hands!!

The book slows a bit at times but it has rave reviews in GoodReads. Feel free to skip or skim some pages and decide for yourself if you would like it. I would say it comes across as a decent read but then you would not miss anything if you do not come across the book. 

Have you read the book? How did you like it?

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Books 2014 Vol. 7 - "Keep the Change" by Nirupama Subramaniam [Weekend Post]

Well, as I mentioned while reviewing If it's not forever, It's not Love that I am not a major fan of Indian fiction, especially the romance genre. But, when I was browsing through the catalog of Just Books online, I came across this book and picked it up based on the hunch that its cover illustration is interesting. 

Needless to say, I found nothing in the book which could justify the title!! It is a typical story of a South Indian Tam Brahm, on the verge of being over-aged for marriage, breaks through her boring life in Chennai and moves to Mumbai for a corporate experience and new life. 

Sometimes I think Jimmy is totally detached from our work and doing timepass. I like this new word - timepass, like eating peanuts on the train, chumma. Amma will be shocked to know that chumma does not mean timepass in Mumbai but kissing, as I discovered a few days ago, much to my embarrassment and Jimmy's amusement. - From the Book 

The Plot

Damyanthi is 26 and is despair of her parents. She refuses to marry any of the guys brought forward by her well-meaning relatives and for good reason, to be fair to her. She wants a man who does not have oil slick hair and dreams of a life far away from Chennai where she could do all the forbidden things. She wants to live her life on her own terms and not dictated by the rules of the society.

And, finally, her dreams come true when she is recruited by First Global and shifts to Mumbai in face of much reluctance. There she comes across Jimmy (her colleague and best friend), Sonya (her hot flatmate), CG and finally, Rahul. She meets Rahul on her training program in Goa. He is everything she had ever wanted in her man. But, was he THE one? 

My Verdict
It is one of the lighter reads which you can carry for a train journey. It will leave you with a happy smile though I have to say it will do you good to skip a few pages, here and there. The story breezes through and it is more or less like talking to one of our friends or neighbors and hearing their story. The regular Indian story. Try it out if you are a fan of Indian authors Book Club.

Have you read the book? What do you think about it? Do you want to read the book? Any other Indian author book you think is good enough?

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Books 2014 Vol. 3 - On the List : "The Body Book" by Cameron Diaz

Books 2014 Vol. 6 - "Perfume : The Story of a Murderer" by Patrick Suskind

After a long time, it was a decent read. I have been a subscriber to just books for almost a year now and have hardly made use of it. But, then, I got bored and was sifting through their catalog when I found this book. The novel has been pretty successful and has been adapted in movie, plays and songs.

The Plot

The story is about Jean-Baptiste Grenouille right from his day of birth to how he dies. Since he was a kid, he brings misfortune to almost everyone he comes in contact with. His mother dies of the crime of abandoning him right after his birth, the wet nurses who feed him are driven to give him away because he used to drink a lot more milk than the other babies, the tanner and the perfumer he used to work for.

These misfortunes can be a co-incidence but the way they have been tied up with Grenouille leaves a very chilling feeling for the reader. Grenouille is a survivor and he has never known any feeling except hate. Love or passion is something he comes to know at a very later stage in life. In the early years, everyone who used to come in contact with him would be vary of him without knowing the exact reason.

Grenouille has a very keen sense of smell and he used to use this sensory organ of his to do every work, even to find his way in the dark. He used to store all the scents in his memory and never forgot one. Once he helped find money for his landlady, the one who ran the orphanage, when she forgot where she kept it, just though his olfactory senses. This was enough to make the lady turn him out of her house and she sold him to a tanner. And, his life progresses on.

While working for the tanner, Grenouille has a taste of freedom one day when he wanders into Paris. He started visiting and exploring Paris thereafter to find the new smells. He was used to create a library of the smells and to concoct and create new smells.

On one such exploration, he comes across a very fine and fresh scent of a virgin girl. He follows the scent keenly and once he reaches to the source, without knowing what his actions would yield, he kills the girl and strips her and starts devouring her scent till it fades away from her body. That was the moment when he actually feels passion. And, that was the moment when he decides he would want to create the scent of that girl which was unlike anything he had come across.

Once when Grenouille was on his last round of delivery, he comes to the once most famous perfumer of Paris, Giuseppe Baldini, from whom he learns the secrets of perfume making. And, then, goes on to Grasse to learn more about it. On the way, he takes a seven year detour to remain away from the human world. Once he reaches Grasse, he is enthralled by the scent of a girl named Laure and he knows that the essence of his greatest perfume should be that of this girl's. 

Grenouille is a man who was born without odor and was treated as a cast away even though no one around him including him realized the exact reason why. Whenever he came in contact with anyone, they were repelled by him. May be the lack of any kind of odor was the reason. Thus, it is the journey to find his identity and acceptance. When he succeeds, the tragedy or the irony is that he realizes no one will ever love him like a normal human. 

My Verdict

Absolute Must!! I loved every part of the book. Yes it can be a stretched at times for the lack of thrill, if that is what you are seeking. But, these moments are crucial because they explain what is Grenouille going through and why is he the way he is, a cunning cold-blooded individual. Yes for all who love intense reads!

Have you read the book? Or, has this gone on your to-read list after reading the review?

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Books 2014 Vol. 3 - On the List : "The Body Book" by Cameron Diaz

Books 2014 Vol. 5 - "It Started with a Friend Request" by Sudeep Nagarkar

Source

Well, P likes a lot of Indian authors! And, for good reason, sometimes. He prefers to read something totally non-brainy and fun and something which have a close resemblance to real life and a book which gets finished in a jiffy! I put all the desi college love stories by the budding authors into that category.

I generally tend to ignore such books coz they are too tame for me and they do not give me the adrenalin rush which I crave after a book is over. Thriller is my genre and romance is his! Anyways, let me come back to this book. I read the book coz I was getting bored and I did not get a good book for myself since quite long and also thi book is good.

Aleesha moves to Bombay from Kolkatta right when the novel starts and she lands up living with Tamannah, daughter of a family friend, until they are forced to shift on a short notice by the landlord. Aleesha meets Akash in a night club on one of the nights she goes out with Tamannah. And, they end up exchanging their BBM pins and start talking. 

It is a typical love story of Aleesha, a bong beauty cum brains, and Akash, a poor and hard-working guy who lost his father too early and is responsible for his mother and sister, who are aptly supported by their respective friends, Kritika and Aditya. And, there is another track of Tamannah's obsessive love with her colleague, Deep.

The writing is simple and story moves quickly without dragging at any place. The story resonates very closely with the couples we see in real life. The intent of the author is glorify the protagonists love. Indeed every love story is special but I failed to connect with it. Yes, I enjoyed reading it but it never gripped me that I was desperate to find out what happened. But then, I think I was not the right audience for this book.

My Verdict

The book is simple and good for a train journey or a bus ride. Its a well-written book. But, if you are looking for a thought provoking or a nail-biting page turner, this one did not turn out one for me. But, please remember, I love thrillers instead. I would recommend it to people who like love stories and enjoy romance at its best.

Have you read this book? Did you enjoy it? 

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Books 2014 Vol. 3 - On the List : "The Body Book" by Cameron Diaz

Books 2014 Vol. 1 - "A Treacherous Likeness" by Lynn Shephard

Books 2014 Vol. 4 - "The Cuckoo's Calling" by Robert Galbraith aka J.K.Rowling

Finally, I finished the book. As far as I remember, I had mentioned this in the first week of January or soon after. Yup, a crime thriller which took me almost one month of reading. And thereafter, I gave myself a few days to internalize the book to know how I feel about it.

So, lets begin to talk about the book. The story begins with Robin lost in thought of her recent engagement and hunting for the office where she is supposed to be acting as a temporary secretary for a week. Cameron Strike, the detective and an ex-army guy who lost his leg in Afganistan, is her employer. 

Strike has recently broken up with his ex-fiancée and has been living in his dumpy office. He is completely broke, receives murder threats from his previous client, and in huge debt. Robin's arrival to his office changes his fortune in one way!! He is visited by John Bristow, a lawyer, to ask Strike investigate the death of his sister, the very famous model Lula Landry, which had taken place three months back.

And, then, begins a very disconnected process of investigation which picks up pace in the last few pages of the book. The entire plot seems to like have been churned out in bits and parts from all the other detective novels. That is also one of the reason I could not bring myself to stick to the book. 

Accepting that book is good in bits and parts, I think it could have been easily edited to a novella if we leave out the personal lives of the detective and, though less described, his assistant. They stand out in the entire process. One tends to lose interest about their personal lives and ends up wondering why they picked the book!!

My Verdict

It is not an amazing book and you are not losing out on anything by missing it out.

Have you read the book?

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Books 2014 Vol. 3 - On the List : "The Body Book" by Cameron Diaz

Did you hear the latest news? Cameron Diaz has released a book to help with the figure-conscious women. I so wanna read it. Check out some of the interesting articles on the book here and here.

Two things on the top of the list in her book are Drinking Loads of Water and Exercising for all the Right Reasons. Have you started doing that?

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Books 2014 Vol. 2 - Next Read : "The Cuckoo's Calling" by Robert Galbraith aka J.K.Rowling

So, this is my second novel for this year. I have kinda started it and am on 79th page precisely!! Ok, that was unnecessary information but now a days its taking me more of time to finish any novel as I am savoring the time I get to sit on the bed and read and in between chatter with my new husband :D 

Ok, that reminds me that we have already finished selecting snaps for the album and put up the honeymoon pics as well. I shall soon do a wedding post once I get the pics on my system. 

Have you read the book? How do you like it?

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Books 2014 Vol. 1 - "A Treacherous Likeness" by Lynn Shephard

Books 2014 Vol. 1 - "A Treacherous Likeness" by Lynn Shephard

I used to write the book reviews on my other blog but I am not able to post on it even occasionally so I thought I would rather record my books on this blog only. Don't worry. I am not making it a regular feature. I am just gonna post this on weekends and weekdays I will talk beauty. Yeah, I know I have hardly been talking since the last month!!

Anyways, I had been dying to read a good book since a long time. And, then I found this in one of the airports but I hardly got time to open it till last 15 days. But, once opened, I was totally hooked to it. Now, what is the book about? 

Well, this is one of the books which tries to create a fictional plot based on the life of the poet Percy Bysshe Shelly and his wife, Mary Shelly, the author of Frankenstein. It tries to unravel the mysteries of the poet's childhood traumas, the suicides surrounding the figure, his marriages, his love affaires and the death of his kids.

Fanny Imlay, elder step-sister of Mary Shelly, commits suicide. Harriet Westbrook, first wife of Shelly, is abandoned by Shelly and later gets pregnant, though it is debatable by whom, is also found drowned in Serpentine in Hyde Park, London. Soon after the first wife's death, Shelly gets married to Mary and leaves London along-with his newly wed wife and her step-sister, Claire.

It has been indicated that Claire and Shelly have intimate relations but it was never really made clear. But, the tragedy of Mary and Shelly's marriage also lies in the fact that none of their first three children and one adopted daughter survive. It is believed that Shelly's life was haunted with his own past and was prone to bouts of melancholy and depression. He was also highly delusional. 

Thus, this books creates a fictional thriller piece using all the associated characters and real-life incidents. It definitely is an amazing book for all crime and thriller lovers. It is supposed to be a sequel to Tom-All-Alone's but the book can be read independently as well.

Have you read the book? Share your thoughts!