05 December, 2012

#BookReview :: The Valentine's Day Clue (Nayak Brothers #1) by Rupali Rajopadhye Rotti



Just two days after Valentine’s, the assault on a friend gets the Nayak brothers started on a journey of their life… But who’s keeping a tab on their every move? And why are they being hunted?

Unscrambling the truth on their investigation trail leads them through catacombish underground tunnels, high-altitude caves, and scary carcass structures. It soon turns into a mystery far more than they could handle…

And just when the dots seem to get connected, the bad guys move in for the kill. Now, it’s a race against time to save a life, without a clue of where and how to begin.







The Valentine's Day Clue by Rupali Rajopadhye Rotti is set in the picturesque and continuously developing city of Pune, India. It tells us the story of Nayak Brothers, students, sons of a cop and the wanna-be detectives. When a friend is assaulted, they take it upon themselves investigate it. Slowly as they get more involved, the plot thickens and they stir-up a lot of trouble. Now the question is that will the brothers be able to solve the first case of their lives or are they really out of their depth?

First, let me tell you about the characters. The author has created few characters that are so true to life. The protagonists – the brothers are young and lively. Their aspirations and enthusiasm reminded me of myself at that age (it wasn’t too long ago) very much and that’s what is the USP of this book. Whenever we read a mystery, the protagonist always seems so larger than life either with their detection skills or with their action scenes. I mean if we really had a Poirot, a Sherlock Holmes or a Jack Reacher, then there would be fewer criminals roaming around free. Nayak brothers are not larger than life – in fact they are just amateurs often stumbling on their way. It is their optimistic and ‘never give up’ attitude that makes them so likeable. They grow through their experiences.

The plot, in general, is a simple one for hardcore mystery lovers like me. But then it was the first case for the Nayak brothers and as such it was one that an amateur pair could handle. It had enough twists and turns to keep me interested and turning the pages. The narration is detailed but easygoing and there are images and diagrams to help you visualize the story too.

As a debut work, this novel is quite promising and I will be sure to pick up the next book when it comes out.





2 comments:

  1. Thanks for the great review Debdatta! I love the idea of amateur detectives. I grew up loving the Three Investigators and the like and this sounds great! I appreciate the honest words and think I'd like to give this a read. Best of luck to Mr. Rajopadhye Rotti.

    Paul R. Hewlett

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  2. Thanks for the review! Sounds like a pretty interesting book and cant wait to read your review of the series to this!

    I just started following your blog and hope you can stop by my page and maybe follow back as well?

    www.themakeupmother.blogspot.com

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