Saturday 11 June 2016

Book Review : DNA: Dad's Not Adopted by Shikha Kaul

Book- DNA: Dad’s not adopted

Author- Shikha Kaul

Genre- Fiction (Thriller/Mystery)

Publisher- Gargi Publishers

 

Blurb-

Rishabh Shenoy is living a peaceful life. But in a milli-second his life went upside down. Nisa Yuen is a girl from Thailand who is on a mission after her mother’s death. Everyone tries to solve the codes of a hidden mystery.

Ghazal and Pranab are keen to know the truth. But what lays in front of them?

In the middle of this chaos and running scenario, will the truth come in front? Or things would remain entangled in the web of conspiracy? What more difficulties would pop in front of people who are trying to chase the truth?

 

Title-

The title of the book is fine but doesn’t have the capability to leave a great impact. It does have relevance, great relevance but there is no literary impression which it can leave on one.

 

Cover-

It is pretty, yes, very pretty but the elements shown in the cover doesn’t depict much of the novel. But the good part is the back cover. The image of a person, a darkened persona and the city shining bright is really tantalising.

 

Characters-

Characters are the breath of book. If there power is increased then things can go wrong. The book has an enormous amount of characters, antagonists and protagonists both. The major and minor characters are well described, equally.

Mentioning the best ones- amongst the major characters I loved, Ghazal and Pranab. And amongst the minor ones I loved, Nattakit and Nisa.

 

Narration-

Third person narration worked well for this thriller. Everything was well penned, from love to mystery and revelations, everything was well handled. The chapters were divided well and even the flashbacks were handled at ease.

 

Reviews-

Shikha Kaul has penned the story in her book “DNA” with utmost care and precision. Trying her hand for the first time in thriller she has done wonders. The plot was complicated yet had relatable facts and figures, making it easy to involve completely in the tale. The book has four parts and every part contains some important things which make the whole book from start to the end very influencing and gripping. It never felt that things were added just for the sake of adding them. Everything was making sense.

The story revolves around Rishabh Shenoy and how his life is affected by just one incident which he is not even aware of.

Part 1- The murder:
It was a mind blowing move by the author to keep the most important fact in front. The story was very clear from the very start and that made the curiosity level touch the sky. I loved how the chapters were planned in this part. The confession and the reality were helpful in avoiding any sort of confusion that might have occurred. The story has layers and that is the key step in succeeding when one is writing a thriller.

The main leads were put in front without any delay. I loved the fact that author didn’t exaggerate the power of Rishabh. It would have then become another daily soap. The concentration was on story and not on characters, mind-blowing fact.

Part 2- Thailand:
It was my favourite part from the whole novel because it had unthinkable facts and the highest suspense is created due to this part only. Another important factor about the book is that the main leads switch and this creates a new phase with lot of freshness. The movement of the investigation is triggered smoothly.

The smoky lifestyle of the place and the situations are well described. It has the power to make you stand with the two leads, Ghazal and Pranab while they move ahead to find the clues, it’s that much gripping. Well done author.

This part is a great combo of violence, love and attraction with a little curiosity on the top.

Part 3 & 4- The Past and The Trial:
All that is to be known reside in these parts. The way new characters arrive in the scene to let the readers know more about the story is an interesting fact. If the links were kept straightaway in front then things wouldn’t have appeared the way they were now.

Summing up- A thriller can only success when it makes you lose your heart beat at least once. DNA can do that multiple times. As the story progress one starts doubting even a minor character and that is where the sole motive of a thriller is achieved. It needs to connect much-much more than the normal fiction stories. I loved the fact that minute details were thought of and a straight path was followed by the author. Love, hatred and want was supporting the mystery but were not over-powering it. And that is when I fell in love with the book.

Kudos to the author for being successful with her first thriller novel.

 

Eye-catchers-

· “There must be something planned about this unplanned situation.”

· “There’s a difference between leading a life and living a life but the good part is... the choice is yours.”

· “Every unspoken word of his was smoothly landing on to her ears.”

· “You drink water to quench your thirst, not to fill your bladder, but they go together, don’t they?”

· “Everyone loves to hate rains here (Mumbai) and everyone hates to love them too.”

· “There’s always a first time to do and there’s always a second time to rectify.”

 

Turn-on’s-

Everything about the book is a big turn on. The story, the mystery, the characters, places, situations, the ending, everything has the capability to hold any reader.

 

Turn-off’s-

Nothing I found which distracted or hindered my reading experience.

 

Recommendation-

Mystery and thriller lovers can give it a try without any doubts. There are many layers to keep the fun intact.

 

About the author-

Winner of the author of the year award by Salis Online magazine for her debut novel “Hidden Husband”, which is a romantic contemporary fiction, author Shikha Khanduja Kaul has experimented with a thriller and a murder mystery with her second bok. Alongside her career in the staffng industry, she managed to pursue her passion for writing.

 

Connect with the author-

· www.facebook.com/shikhakaulauthor

· Twitter handle- @shikhakaul10

· shikha.kaul.author@gmail.com

No comments:

Post a Comment