I am a fan of crime fiction, especially when there are flavours of distinct surveillance and police investigations involved and I always feel that they make up for some of the most thrilling, fast-paced, enjoyable reads. Ties of Blood by Niti Kewalramani is one such book which had me so deeply glued that I finished it in no time, itching to find out the who’s and what’s. This supercharged, intensely plotted police investigative drama is what you need to read now.
As an avid and voracious book reader, whenever anybody asks me for suggestions as to which book/genre can one possibly begin their reading journey with, I usually suggest they turn to crime/thriller fiction first since the rush of adrenaline is enough fuel to set the potential reader going for miles on end. The idea is very clear-to make him/her so engaged and consumed by it that they simply cannot withdraw from it.
Still, personally speaking too, crime is surely one of my favourite genres to read and enjoy as there is usually so much going on that I feel as if I am on this huge roller coaster which is faster than even Tesla cars (bad one huh!)
Ties of Blood by Niti Kewalramani is a crime thriller, a police drama to be precise, that had me hurtling along a path where it was simply not adrenaline but much more. As a murder mystery, this one uncoiled itself quite simply initially but later intensified into something so intense that I could barely blink and poof. Before I could comprehend or say STOP, this 218-page whizz-bang of a story came to its conclusion, leaving me all thrilled, amazed, and drenched in its wondrous twists.
But the end was what had me completely in a tizzy, never having expected it to unfurl in this manner.
So coming to the main plot in this one, well this one revolves around the fate of the Jain family- Motilal Jain, Ashok Jain and Surya Jain who are the 3 generations helming their leading multi-national company SGI. When Surya is found dead and suspected to have been involved in drugs and alcohol, the family wants to label this one as something else, not wanting to get any limelight on his wrongdoings. Whether it is a suicide, accident or murder, well it is upon the crime-investigating officer Hasan to uncover and determine and that is what forms the rest of the story.
To begin with, I think Hasan’s character for me was one of the prime highlights of this one since his sarcasm, as well as his cynicism, was what kept me gripped throughout. Hasan, one of my favourite characters, was his spot on cynicism, his hawk-like quality of perusing and discovering what needs to be discovered, unleashing his strenuous and rugged investigative abilities and also the entire backdrop given to his persona by Niti, well it has the whole of my heart. He is shown to be of this particular nature for a reason which has also been touched upon by Niti, which, again for me, was a scorer since seldom does the writer bother to explain why he/she drafts a character in a particular manner, outlining and explaining their character traits.
Aided by Shreyas and Urvashi, it was his daredevilry, his sarcasm and that capability of his pursuing and sizing out all available information and options before coming to a conclusion, that lead him to unlock this one, which by the way culminates into a much bigger mystery than what meets the eye.
You know, such fast-paced thrillers, especially the ones where such amazingly plotted characters and well-sketched scenarios are involved, always make me feel as if I am on some loopy, exciting ride that challenges me as if daring to catch me off balance and lurch me away from its thrill.
Jeffrey Archer and James Patterson, for me, have been my favourites when it comes to being some of the best crime fiction thrill creators. I have to admit that this work by Niti, written so lucidly, is absolutely reminiscent of Jeffrey Archer, astonishing me to the core. I had never imagined any Indian writer could infuse so much zing, adrenaline, and excitement in one go, and that too in such a short space, in something as commonplace as an investigative police drama, in one story itself.
One grappling with it right until the end of it. With a closer to real-life scenario and yet such brilliantly fashioned larger-than-life characters, Niti’s knack for writing such thrillers is evident from this one, where she has done splendid work. Murders, their motive, the purpose, the back story, the characters, the thrills and chills, each and every element has been carved meticulously, taking into account their role in the final eventual transpiring, making the reader grasp at Niti’s super speed and knack for intense engagement with it.
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A superb tale, this is one book you should be adding to your TBR, especially if you are a fan of a good police investigative drama and want to get some real kick out of reading a superb piece of investigation. For me, what worked as the most wondrous USP was Niti’s ability to seamlessly connect all the dots towards the end, bringing it all together so precisely that I had no option but to dub her one of India’s reasonably pliant contestants to Jeffrey Archer. Good work.
So, hope you guys liked my review Ties of Blood by Niti Kewalramani: A Captivating Review of an Investigative Police Drama.
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