Written in Blood by Ankita Verma
Publisher: Jaico Publishing House
Pages: 388
Price: Rs. 399 INR(paperback), Rs. 314
ISBN: 978–9391019594
Buy here: https://amzn.to/3JhVJme
My take on the book:
It was the early 90’s, when Kashmiri Pandits had to leave their homes to escape the mass lynching; Sana Sheikh lost the love of her life, her younger brother, everything in life to these events. However, she built her life back, along with a leading media house. In conflict ridden Israel in 2005, a young boy Shezii along with his parents, who were visiting Indian diplomats were intimidated by terrorists, and left a permanent scar on Shezii’s psyche.
In current day, a deadly terrorist runs his Jihadi network from his prison in Cairo, and plots for an attack in the Kashmir valley. Dr. Kamran Khan, a well-known professor with political aspirations can go to any lengths to manipulate people around him. Sana’s daughter Aliya, who is back from London joins the Shezii’s college and inadvertently grabs his attention as well as becomes the target for Dr. Khan’s malicious plans. How Shezii and Aliya, with contrasting personalities, life goals and religious beliefs, get pulled into this political and terror game of death forms the rest of the story.
Written in Blood is a contemporary political thriller that covers a multitude of aspects like religious extremism, standoff in Kashmir and international terror groups. From the word go, the story moves a brisk pace and maintains it through out, keeping the reader on the edge. All the characters are well developed to perfection, while few of them like Aliya are mysterious and keep the reader intrigued. The story moves between geographies — Kashmir, Tel Aviv, Cairo, Delhi with ease, as the author maintains grip on the narration.
The weaving of the characters around the central character of Sana is the highlight of the story with every thread binding back to the story towards the end. Though some parts of the second half feel dragged, the climax makes up for all the missing pieces of the puzzle. I honestly would like to see it this turn into a series with the characters embarking on more adventures.
I read the earlier book of the author Ankita and though I loved it as much, this time she has outdone herself. The story is almost flawless and is sure to give an adrenaline rush to fans of thrillers.
My rating:
5/5.