A THOROUGHLY GRIPPING SUSPENSE TALE
Book Review: 'Beyond Secrets' by Alka Dimri Saklani
Suspense-mystery genre, though not a new entrant to the Indian literary scene, is nowadays quickly catching up with other more sought-for genres and becoming a new craze among the readers. This is because Indian readers, apart from reading mystery books by foreign authors, also want to read suspense thrillers by their compatriot authors, for they bring a certain Indian perspective to their stories. The author Alka Dimri Saklani comes up with such a book “Beyond Secrets”, which is a layered suspense thriller.
The front cover of the book is intriguing and gripping, just like the storyline, and shows a man standing on a jetty with the misty sea around him. Along with the premonitory line on the cover which says “The truth is about to knock”, it gives an eerie feel to the reader. Though a better and more engaging book cover could’ve been used, this cover too conveys the essence of the book well. The blurb on the back cover is interesting and well-written, and readers interested in the mystery-suspense genre will definitely pick up the book on reading it.
The storyline follows the characters Noel, Nidhi and Appu and how their lives intersect in the orphanage Aashiyana. Noel is a counsellor who risks his career for volunteering in the orphanage. Nidhi is an engineering student, but deep down is a broken girl in search of some unanswered questions. Appu is a sweet little orphan, unaware of the cruelties of the world. The little rendezvous that they have in the orphanage changes the lives of the three. Many lies and secrets get discovered, along with many callings from the past. And when they depart from there, they are not the same anymore. The storyline then goes on to answer the question- Will they ever be able to rediscover themselves and will their paths ever cross again? The book is thus, shrouded in layers of suspense and a great deal of mystery.
The characters in the book are compelling and explored with depth, and are chiaroscuros-ish, for they are not black and white, but layered shades of grey and take different stances and decisions in different situations. The narrative is engaging, full of suspense and has a good portion of twists and turns, but some sequences don’t pack much of a punch. The writing style could’ve been better as some work needs to be done on the sentence formation, and adroit editing also needs to be done at places.
This is a book in which the twisting plot, intriguing and greyish characters, and the intense and suspense-laden narrative leads to an incisive exploration of different nuances of relationships and whether broken hearts so in awe of each other can be mended, and if so, in what time. The author paints an unflinching portrait of the lives of three interconnected characters in this briskly narrated and tenaciously riveting suspense tale, though the execution of the story could’ve been better at places. Nonetheless, this book is a layered caper into the world of mystery, lies and deceit; and offers a good revelation into the Indian psyche told through an original Indian perspective.