An Exciting Revenge Thriller

Review by Ronica Wahi

A Kiss After Dying

By Ashok Banker

First published: June 23, 2022, Michael Joseph.

Pages: 400.

ISBN: 9780241510513

A couple of pages into A Kiss After Dying and the reader knows there is a sinister plot on offer. After a bombshell start, the scene of action changes and for long pages afterwards, the novel seems to go the way of the enemies with a revenge motive-turned-lovers-turned-life partners tale until another bombshell is dropped.

Not for nothing is patience a virtue; yes, a bit of patience would be required in getting to the exciting zone in this novel but this patience will be rewarded. The plan hatched by Hannah, the female protagonist, for the “mission” is a well-thought out one, and she is smart enough to spring into combat mode and alter this well-crafted plan whenever the need arises.

The title A Kiss After Dying is reminiscent of the title of Ira Levin’s superbly successful A Kiss Before Dying, with which Ashok Banker’s work shares the themes of greed, seduction, crime, and revenge. Of course, the plot here is totally different. Banker’s plot with its twists is surely fun to read. Not all of the twists though are surprising or unexpected. There is one twist in particular (of course, it cannot be discussed however tempting it may be to do so) which is utterly shocking and is one of the highlights of the novel, specifically in view of how it is cleverly built up to.

The plot is engaging but the winner here isn’t the plot; the winner is the treatment, for it’s just A-class. With years of writing experience and with over 80 books to his name, the finesse in writing is as expected. The language is fine but easy-to-read. The contemporary lingo and references thrown in mean that young readers/ Gen Z will be able to connect too.

A Kiss After Dying’s Acts and Entr’actes suitably divide the series of events, and are relayed in different narrative voices. The descriptions are vivid, the settings and scenes detail-oriented, the main characters well-crafted and wherever and as necessary, fleshed out. The pace of the narrative is overall good, and is aptly quickened as tense scenes come up.

The end is also not what the reader would expect. It is not only disturbing but also thought-provoking. In fact, the novel itself will make the reader ponder over karma and revenge. The avenger metes out punishment of the kind that immediately brings to the original perpetrator’s mind the torture of his victims. But can exacting revenge really set everything right for the avenger and lead to an absolutely satisfactory closure?

 

Read A Kiss After Dying to know the revenge story and what it leads to. Check out the book on Amazon India:

Kindle: https://amzn.to/3eCMv9v

Paperback: https://amzn.to/3RJcw5S

Hardcover, Import: https://amzn.to/3Qv1I9W

Audiobook: https://amzn.to/3U23gev

Listen to A Kiss After Dying and many other exciting books from a catalogue of over 2,00,000 audiobooks available on Audible. Check it out here:

https://amzn.to/3FFfVPB              

To know more about A Kiss After Dying, and about the experiences, the insights, the lessons that Ashok Banker has acquired over his long writing journey, do watch his interview here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eb7fDIBkDVo

 

DISCLAIMER: Ronica Wahi is a participant in the Amazon Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon. If you make a purchase through any of the Amazon links provided by Ronica here, she may receive a small commission, without any extra cost to you.

 



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Fifteen Stars Under the Sky!

Image
Review by Ronica Wahi We are the Champions By Rashmi Bansal and Devendra Tak First published: February 14, 2020, Bushfire. Pages: 206.  ISBN: 9788193182130 “It takes a child to raise a village.” This statement on the back cover is enough for the reader to know that encountered will be extraordinary tales. Yes, extraordinary indeed, for isn’t a child someone who needs to be raised? What the reader knows from the cover is proved as he/she moves through the pages of this interesting and inspiring chronicle of the achievements of fifteen children from across India whom the authors Rashmi Bansal and Devendra Tak rightly hail as the Champions of Change .  The book is inspiring because it shows how determination and the will to accomplish something can be truly rewarding. Raising a voice against established practices is hard enough and these children have not only raised their voices but also fought to bring real change, change that is not limited
Read more

Thorns and Roses

Image
  Review by Ronica Wahi   Melita By Gill D. Anderson First published: July 16, 2020, InHouse Publishing. Kindle Edition Pages: 165.  ASIN: B08D66WSBF While there is a plethora of written work being produced on the corona pandemic and the imagined post-COVID world, Gill D. Anderson has come up with a novel where this unprecedented challenge faced by the human race plays the role of a catalyst in resolving strained relationships by drilling home the uncertainty of life and the necessity of holding close the ones who matter the most. Melita is the story of Melita and her daughter, Emily, and as the dedication says, is written “For mothers and daughters everywhere.”. Melita and Emily have not shared a close bond and the ties have been weakened over the years, with the relationship having reached “an impossible stalemate” by February 2020. With the mounting fear and restrictions on movement, regrets over what was not done to bolster their relationship seep in. In playing an esse
Read more

An Engrossing Thriller!

Image
  Review by Ronica Wahi Shamus Dust: Hard Winter. Cold War. Cool Murder. By Janet Roger First published: October 28, 2019, Matador. Kindle Edition Pages: 295.  ASIN: B07VV4SLHP Set in London and spanning a few days during which 1947 drew to a close and 1948 just began, Shamus Dust , Janet Roger’s debut novel, is a memorable recreation of a suffering, post-war city. In the novel, the city of London is in the grips of a harsh winter, both literal and metaphorical. The war had destroyed a substantial part of the city, adversely impacted the economy, and led to shortages; such circumstances, in general, eventually lead to increased disparities and increased crimes. Additionally, this London is struggling to maintain the remnants of the crumbling Empire. The choice of such a time of turmoil, along with the dreariness and gloom of a biting winter, heightens the dark elements and deeds – for it is crime fiction – in the plot. Moreover, the fact that Roger has chosen Christmas and
Read more