Weaving a fascinating page-turner

When tragedy strikes, how far would you go to get to the bottom of the truth? Finding out the truth is an arduous task, especially when you have no allies and your own people do not believe you. Throw in some repressed childhood trauma and it's the perfect combination for delusional behaviour and paranoia. Brinda S Narayan weaves a brilliant web that traps your attention and completely consumes you.

The story revolves around Vedika and her family that moves to a new gated community called Fantasia. A series of oddities are seen in the behaviour of kids in the community that escalates to the unfortunate death of Vedika's child. Ruled out as an accident, the reasoning does not sit well with the mother who investigates a little further, leading her to a shocking conclusion that her son was murdered in cold blood.

Set in a slightly dystopian social environment, Narayan shows us that elite communities are necessarily not as glamorous as they seem and illustrates a potentially dark side to urbanisation. She has definitely done her groundwork and has demonstrated a few powerful millennial issues throughout the book.

One of the best things about this is how real the characters seem. Narayan has done a spectacular job of defining and shaping her characters. The different layers each individual has makes them interesting to read about. While the work is purely fictional, one cannot help but relate to these fictional people on a deeply personal level.

The story has all the elements needed to make it terrifyingly good. The non-linear narration that goes back and forth in between timelines, paints a vivid picture in your head. It leaves you craving for more. This clear-cut narrative is also why this could be made into a feature film that would surely have the audience on the edge of their seats.

All in all, this thriller is a must-read. It earns 4.7 stars on a scale of 5.