end of story? by Arjun Shekhar (Book Review- 3.75*/5)!!!

    After reading light books in Jaico Cricketwallah Series, I wanted to read something heavy before going to read other books of my interest. Hence I chose to read a thriller. I picked "end of story?" written by Arjun Shekhar. Well, this is his 2nd novel. Book is published by Hachette Publication- one which I have tried for the first time in life. I liked the quality of publishing and I am happy with the way editing and font formatting has been done. I am little disappointed with the cover page of the book. It's quite boring and will restrict readers from picking up this particular book. I would have loved if they would have designed a better cover page because the story is quite interesting which could have given them enough options for a wonderful attractive cover page. Well, a book is about the creativity of an author and not about the production of a publisher. So on this part, the book has almost succeeded. 

Synopsis:- 

Is someone out there tinkering with our minds? 

Shukrat Ali, a news anchor at Khulasa, the sensationalist tabloid current affairs channel, is out of a job. 

TV channels across the country have closed down as a consequence of a Supreme Court ban on electronic advertising. An enquiry is on regarding the emergence of a sinister new form of ads the media has dubbed propagandads, which uses compelling subliminal messages to subtly rewire peoples minds and influence their actions. 

Even as Shukrat grapples with the question: How does an anchor move on? he receives a summons from a criminal court to testify in the trial concerning the killing of his ex-boss, Satya Saachi Sengupta, the mysterious and towering figure in his life, whose connections with this insidious mind manipulation scheme can no longer be denied.

 Being a key witness present at the scene of the crime, Shukrat must prepare to bare all before the court and tread carefully lest his testimony boomerangs on him. Gripping and darkly humourous, End of Story? is an intriguing and intelligent thriller about the dystopian possibilities of everyday advertising.

About the Author:-

          For his second novel, Arjun Shekhar has drawn heavily from his experiences in both the not for profit sector and the corporate world. He is a Co-founder and Chief Volunteer of Pravah, an NGO that builds leadership and social responsibility among youth by connecting their individual identity search to the society around them. He is also a partner in an Organizational Development firm called Vyaktitva that unfolds the true character of organizations and people. His wife, who co-founded Pravah with him, and twelve year old daughter too have been major inspirations for his writing.

     

  Coming to the author, I must say that he has brilliant command on the language and a perfect vocabulary to write a thriller. His imagination and narration is wonderful. The way he has crafted each and every character shows his strength in creating a plot and sub plot within it. I liked the way he has started the story. He wrote the initial pages as if he's talking to his readers and justifying each sentence that he's writing. It's the first time when I have read something of this kind. Kudos for this to writer. But I have one complain. He has used too many words that's unfamiliar to a layman which can irritate a reader as he'll have to pick up dictionary every now and then. Thanks to my Tablet and Wordweb Dictionary which makes it little easy for me to check meanings of many words that I do not know while reading a book.

         Coming to the story, I would say that the thriller is actually a thriller. Hahaha! I had to say this because Indian authors write shit on the name of thrillers sometimes. I have even seen people writing love stories on the name of thriller. All the suspense that got opened in pre-climax and climax is the best part of the book, undoubtedly. All the moment when the equation of husband and wife are discussed have been my favorite. The discussion of their daughter and her feelings is the gem in this book. The death of boss- the way it is discussed shows the maturity of author every now and then. The book has kept excitement right from the first page to the 300th. And the way book turns whenever a twist is introduced, takes you off your feet. In all, I would give this book 3.75 out of 5 stars. For all the thriller lovers, I would say that you can try it. Well, I won't say that the author is next Ravi Subramanian but he can be one to look forward to if he improves even a bit from here.

 Thanks.

 ABHILASH RUHELA - VEERU!!!