Review of 'Private India' by 'Ashwin Sanghi & James Patterson'

Blurb: In Mumbai, seemingly unconnected people are dying, strangled in a chilling ritual and with strange objects carefully arranged with the corpses.

For Santosh Wagh, head of Private India, the Mumbai branch of the world’s finest investigation agency, it’s a race against time to stop the killer striking again.

In a city of over thirteen million, he’d have his work cut out at the best times, but this case has him battling Mumbai’s biggest gang lord and a godman who isn’t all he seems.

And then he discovers there may be an even greater danger facing Private India. Hidden in the shadows is someone who could destroy the whole organization – along with thousands of innocent Mumbai citizens…

Verdict: ‘Private India’ is yet another installment in the Private series by one of the finest thriller writer in the world, James Patterson, who this time teamed up with the most famous mystery writer of India, Ashwin Sanghi. Private series is a hit worldwide and this book is able to match their glory. This is what happen when thriller meets mystery.

The cover have the same kind of Private series feeling, the same font style the same running man, same kind of color combination, all gives rebirth to the Private atmosphere. Though the Indian touch is also visible which makes this a perfect contrast. This book will generate a strange feeling among the readers which will force them to read it. I loved the first impression.

James Patterson is famous for numerous things but his skill in putting right thing at right place in thrillers is remarkable and readers would get a same feeling while reading this. The narrating style is so good and engrossing that one can’t put down the book at any cost. The usage of words are simple and suits the atmosphere of the book and the readers will be automatically dragged into the streets of Mumbai where the story unfolds.

The characterization was something very precise. There is numerous characters but one can never feel that they are confusing or the writer is exaggerating things. Each and every character are so different that one can easily remember each one by their characteristics. In a thriller like this we, the readers always looks the detective with envy in our eyes and the main detective in this story Santosh Wagh suits perfectly in the frame, what we often visualize as a detective in our mind. Though I was expecting a bit more from Jack Morgan, the boss of Private.

The storyline is the most important part of a book and in this particular book one can have only one problem that this story is too much thrilling. The book starts with a murder just like other Ashwin Sanghi books, and moves on to disclose that this a serial killing case attaching a huge number of people with it. From Mafia to fraud baba, from doctor to singer, from attorney general to stuff of Private India. By reading this book one can easily have an idea of how the crime base of Mumbai grew. The authors has shown everything, human trafficking, prostitution, forced begging etc. The books gets more interesting when the main hero, head of Private India, Santosh Wagh started to make sense of the puzzle. One can never put the book down until he knows who the main culprit is and when that reveals the readers will mentally kick themselves for not recognizing the clue left by the authors.

I could easily say that this book is the best crime thriller ever written if the first part of the book was a bit for fast just like the second half. When the authors are creating the base for the blast at the second half, the readers may feel a bit slow and can also lost interest from the plot. But I am fortunate that I haven’t lost the interest and completed the book in one go. Another hitch in the book is, it’s a bit lengthy. If the first half was bit speedier and the book a bit more short and crisp, I would call it a perfect. But the authors nailed it at the end.

Final Words: This book have the capability to fasten reader’s heart beat while reading this. This book takes the famous Private series to a new level. A unique crime thriller.

Title: Private India
Author: Ashwin Sanghi | James Patterson
Publisher: Arrow Books
Page Count: 470
My Rating: 4.75/5

Available at –

Flipkart - http://www.flipkart.com/private-india-english/p/itmdzqe8sqjeqkdg?pid=9780099586395&otracker=from-search&srno=t_1&query=private+india&ref=3520a4cb-afaf-48f1-a93a-ef53631a4a78

Amazon - http://www.amazon.in/Private-India-Ashwin-Sanghi/dp/0099586398/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1410426506&sr=8-1&keywords=Private+India

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