New Delhi [India], July 22: I confess that I felt slightly confused when I read the blurb of An Author’s Secret, written by Santosh Vishwanath and published by Nu Voice Press. There was a reference to there being a mystery within a mystery. I’d assumed that’s a flavour of exaggeration to pique readers’ interest. Yet, the extremely well-crafted book cover got my attention, and I decided to try it.
I stood corrected. There, indeed, was a mystery encapsulated within a mystery, and the author has done a good job at that!
The main storyline concerns a storeroom supervisor and aspiring romance author, Ankana. Her demised brother’s literary agent knocks on her door and offers her a chance to complete a mystery novel left unfinished by her famous writer-brother. This happens many pages into the story. Until I reached that page, I was wondering if I really needed to finish the book. Not that it was bad till then, but there wasn’t anything brilliant either. Once I reached that juncture when Krishav, the literary agent, reveals a secret (one of many) about her brother, I sat up interested (like Ankana did in the story). I didn’t see that coming. From there, I was bought into the story and didn’t realise I’d finished the book in one go.
Santosh experiments with having the primary story of Ankana set in Bangalore and Mangalore, India, and then jumps to Florida and New York, US, to narrate the unfinished novel. He has also used different writing styles in narrating the two stories, which is commendable. The simple language may not appeal to some Shakespearean readers, yet it will draw the crowd looking for a simple-written complex mystery. I’d say go for this compelling story that delivers twice!
