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.

 



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