AN INTRIGUING CRIME THRILLER, AGAINST A BACKDROP OF INDO-PAK GEOPOLITICAL TENSIONS

Book Review: 'Unforeseen' by Chandan Sen Gupta

India, along with many other developing countries, is becoming a growing hub for medical tourism, and a lot of foreign nationals come to our country for high quality and low cost medical treatment. Though visa hassles in such situations are quite common (though the Foreign ministry is doing commendable work in this regard, with facilities of visas on arrival and expediting the visa process on humanitarian grounds), what about a story in which such a foreign national is embroiled in a crime in a foreign land? The author Chandan Sen Gupta comes up with such a book “Unforeseen: A battle for his daughter’s life”, which is a crime thriller about a man wrongly implicated for a murder crime trying to prove his innocence, against a backdrop of wider geopoliticical tensions, political innuendos and the deeply complex crime mafia.
The storyline follows Yousuf, a young Pakistani teacher from Rasoolpur, who along with his family, comes to India for the life saving surgery of his ten year old daughter. However, little does he realise that this journey would take a different turn. He is wrongly implicated in a murder at an Old Delhi hotel. Convinced that the only way to prove his innocence is to expose the men behind the crime, he boards a train to Jammu. While on the run, he is soon overtaken by the outlaws on whose trail he had set out. Being pursued by both the police as well as the murderous infiltrators, Yousuf realises that there is much more to the crime than he knows. Will Yousuf remain alive to take on the murderers? Will Yousuf succeed in exposing those behind the conspiracy? The narrative, which is both gripping and breath-taking, then goes on to answer these questions.
The front cover of the book is captivating and will pique the interest of mystery-thriller lovers. The blurb at the back cover also gives a genuine glimpse about the storyline of the book. The characters in the book are explored in depth and the plot offers a variety of delights. The sub-plots are also weaved into the story well. The prose and the writing style of the author are engaging, however there are a few editing glitches.
This book makes for a good read, especially for mystery-thriller buffs who like to delve into riveting mysteries that involve international crime syndicates, encapsulate foreign intelligence agencies, and involve crimes crossing international borders. This is a well-paced book with intriguing twists, strong characters and a well-written climax; and this crime fiction should be read by lovers of the genre and those looking for a short interesting read, for it also comes out as a fantastic tale of struggle against odds and human resilience.