Book Review — The Call : Part One ‘Mumbai’ by Vipul Barpute
The Call : Part One ‘Mumbai’ by Vipul Barpute
Publisher: Notion Press
Pages:63
Price: Rs. 199 INR(paperback), Rs. 99 INR(Kindle edition)
ISBN: 978–]648926655
Buy here: https://amzn.to/2MR8GHQ
It isn’t like one of those regular evenings, at least not in the Radio City building, where a huge crowd has gathered to welcome Sid. Sid’s a guest on Richa’s famous radio show in town ‘Let your heart out with Richa’.
While Sid gets a pompous welcome and is showered with love by his fans, someone out there doesn’t seem to like this. He’s got something else planned for the night.
Everything seems normal at first, but as the darkness of night sets in, the studio encounters something unexpected, something uncalled for.
To know what happened, just turn the book around and start reading.
My take on the book:
Radio City RJ Richa has invited best-selling author Sidharth for the finale of her show. Sid who got hitched secretly only that morning to his love Naina arrives with her for the show amidst much fanfare. After the initial celebrations of Sid’s marriage and the huge response the show draws owing to Sid’s arrival — millions of callers and audience tuning into this late-night show, the night takes an unexpected turn when an unidentified caller gets on the line and wouldn’t let go off the call. The technical team fail to disconnect his call and he tricks Sid and the radio station team to obey his rules.
The Game Master, as he likes to call himself, wants Sid to confess about his past secrets failing which he would end Sid’s happiness. After his initial reluctance, Sid is left with no choice but narrate his past, as the person on the other end is cold blooded and cruel beyond what he sounded at the start of the call. What is the actual intention of the Game Master in trapping Sid on a popular radio show and what secrets does Sid’s past holds forms the rest of the story.
The story is a racy thriller of how a celebrity who visits a radio station gets caught in unexpected circumstances that quickly turn into life threatening. The story is extremely gripping as the Game Master keeps throwing a new challenge to Sid as he goes on narrating unknown secrets from his past. Though the book consists only of 63 pages, the author managed to put in a significant amount of story within these few pages. The book is unputdownable as every twist in the story keeps the reader on the edge till the end. Even the few hints thrown at the reader can get lost in the fast-paced narration.
The ending is the highlight as the truth is revealed — nothing is what it seems to be. However, there are some editing mistakes that could have been avoided. Also, the ending seems sudden and without tying together all the loose ends; as the title suggests there may be more parts where the remaining story will be explored. Pick this one for an entertaining, nail biting thriller.
My rating:
4.5/5.