About the Book
Book: The Black Orphan
Author: S. Hussain Zaidi
Publisher: Harper Collins India
Pages: 248
Publish Date: 29th June, 2024
Format Read: Paperback (gifted copy)
Summary
The story starts with the CIA troops, with the help of an Indian agent, locate bin Laden, surround him and execute him. Cut to, a few years later in Mumbai where The Indian Atomic Research Centre announced that their testing on their indigenous fusion bomb was successful. The next morning, the chief scientist was reported to have committed suicide. In comes our protagonist NIA DIG Ajay Rajvardhan who was called in to investigate. He suspects that it was not a suicide but framed as one.
Cut to, NIA had arrested a young woman on charges of terrorism. Her lawyer contests the charges. Ajay is called in to testify. There he meets Asiya. And he is smitten. Amidst suspicious bomb-threat and murderous activities and their investigations, the couple falls in love. But… appearances are deceitful…
Quote Spotlight
God is the creator and protector of man. And this is basically what most faiths preach, when you get down to it. Which boils down to the simple fact that there can be no justification for killing another human in order to protect the God who created us.
— Ajay to Asiya, page 140
Review
Characters are well-sketched. The writing is tight — well-researched story, good suspense buildup, good pacing; tension was palpable in the pages. There were lines that hit hard — quite relatable for this day and age. The main let down was that the prime twist was predictable. Anybody who has watched a few Bollywood espionage films of the recent times will be able to predict. That trope is too overused to expect it from an experienced and prolific author like Mr Zaidi. That disappointed me.
My Rating
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Thank you Blogchatter and Harper Collins India for the review copy.
