• Title – RIP
• Author – Mukul Deva
• Publisher – Westland Limited
• Genre – Fiction/Thriller
• Pages – 286
• ISBN – 978-93-82618-19-5
• Price – 200 INR

Synopsis : R.I.P. The Resurgent Indian Patriots. Self – appointed guardians of a nation seething with anger at the endless scams and scandals rocking its very foundation. Vigilantes who vow to stop corrupt politicians and colluding civil servants. Even if it means killing them. Colonel Krishna Athawale and his team of Special Forces Officers rally to protect the country from the enemy within. They call themselves the K-Team. Ans no one is safe from their deadly intent.

Hellbent on stopping them is Raghav Bhagat, rogue para commando, gun for hire and Krishna’s bete noir. Caught in the crossfire is Vinod Bedi, Special Director, CBI. Reena Bhagat, a glamorous news anchor, embittered by her husband’s betrayal. And two young boys, Sachin and Azaan, torn apart by the loss of a parent.

Review: My first impression of the book seeing to its cover and synopsis of the story was the book held revolutionary ideas. This book in fact holds the spirit of expressing an extreme sense of anger and shame as is felt by each one of us at the appalling, naked greed so shamelessly displayed by the Indian political class. The author echoes my emotions of feeling shame that these politicians are fellow Indians and decides to take matters in his own hands, to galvanize the much-needed change.

The book has recognizable references from the scams that have been burning down India in the recent times though the names and specifications have been cleverly altered. The characters have been given full opportunity to develop life-size personalities. The brisk pace of the story is maintained right from the first line right to the finish with great care taken about every minute detail.

There is not even a single dull moment and the book successfully kept me on my tenterhooks glued to this page turner. The writing is lucid, crisp and powerful. The plot is full of action, anticipation, thrill, drama, passion and a kaleidoscope of emotions that adds a myriad of colors to the story. The narration is a heady cocktail of chill and thrill that’s extremely entertaining & well researched.

Finding flaws with this masterpiece is beyond my capability for I was so engrossed with the story that I had grown to imagine myself in the place of Colonel Krishna Athawale (the protagonist) trying to imagine what all must have been going on in his mind as he lives through the life of a single parent to a ten-year old son, is a fearless commander who always pays heed to his gut instincts, is kind and compassionate, yet never fails to do what is right in the given situation.

It is an edge-of-the-seat thriller that’ll make you yearn to know what happens next. At times you’ll feel that you had guessed what’s going to happen, but the way the story unfolds is a what makes this book a total hit for me. The way the plans are executed is the real show-stealer.

A book that I’ll highly recommend to anyone who enjoys reading a thriller that has the power to give you goose bumps and portrays the emotions every Indian experiences on reading about the abuse our country has been suffering at the hands of the greedy, power-hungry politicians.

The book has all the ingredients to be made into a major motion picture. I totally enjoyed reading the book and am soon going to read other books by the author.

About the Author: An alumnus of La Martiniere College, Lucknow, the National Defence Academy, Pune and the Indian Military Academy, Dehradun, Mukul Deva was commissioned in December 1981 into the Sikh Light Infantry of the Indian Army. He took early retirement from the army after fifteen years of service, including a decade of combat operations in India  & overseas. Now settled in Singapore, he is an entrepreneur  motivational speaker and an executive, business & creativity coach besides being a very successful author.

Some of the other popular books by Mukul Deva include: Time After Time…It All Happened; Lashkar (soon to be a major motion picture); Salim Must Die; Blowback; The Dust Will Never Settle Down.

Rating: 4.5/5

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