Recently I
came across an exciting thriller in The Caretaker by A. X. Ahmad. It was an
exciting read indeed and here I am sharing my views with you. Just guess who
the real caretaker is taking care of Martha’s Vineyard mansions.
Who is A.
X. Ahmad?
Mr. A.X.
Ahmad is a full time write from India. He had formal education at MIT and
worked as an internationally acclaimed architect before taking up writing as a full-time
profession. The Caretaker is his debut novel as A.X. Ahmad, though he wrote
short stories and essays in many magazines as Amin Ahmad before.
The Caretaker
in short
Ranjit
Singh often gets haunted by a hallucination of his disgraceful past as a
Captain in Indian Military Service. Thus he shifted himself to Boston (as an
illegal immigrant) with his Preetam and young daughter Shanti. He is
desperately trying to start his life afresh leaving behind the scandalous past
aside. He took a work in the grocery store of his uncle for his leaving. Later, after a couple years he found a job of caretaker on Martha’s Vineyard, which is
inhabited by some rich residents. Among them leaves an African-American
politician called Senator Neals with his wife Anna Neals. They just returned
from North Korea as a Hero.
Ranjit was
staying in a rented house nearby which is off-course not in a very good
condition and is suffering from heavy oil leakage. Passing the winter became
really tough for the whole family, and with no suitable options available, they
decided to spend the winter in Senator Neals’ house (as they will be absent for
the whole winter). So they secretly move into the Senator’s house. The real
problem started from here. One night two armed personnel attacked the house. Ranjit fled with his family immediately as
they were also trespassers and could be arrested. Unfortunately Shanti, the
young girl took a wooden doll from the house while fleeing and later it was
clear that it was the wooden doll the two attackers were after. So Ranjit and
his family found themselves in a real tangle indeed. Unknowingly, they became a
part of a massive political scandal. He is a wanted now and has only limited
resources and more importantly very little time to save himself along with his
family.
Now who are
these intruders and what is the mystery behind a simple wooden doll? To save
his family Ranjit has to answer them as quickly as possible. Will he be
successful in unravelling the secret and save his family? Will his scandalous
past in India be untangled as well? Will he get back his dignity?
The
thrilling story revolves around both past and presents (secret military
operation in Siachen Glaciers and Martha’s Vineyard). Several action packed
sequences in Indo - Pak border, Boston, in islands make the novel really a page
turner. The novel is well written with nice easy flow and all the characters
depicted very well indeed. The life of immigrants in the US is also portrayed
very well. Moreover the fast pace of the novel is just the right icing on the
cake
The
gripping tale will take you to height of excitement with an engaging plot. It
is that rare breed of books which you will find difficult to let it down once
started.
With
Caretaker, I am a happy reader at the end of the day. I must congratulate the
author for his debut novel and looking forward for more such exciting thrillers
in the near future.
THE
CARETAKER
Author:
A.X. Ahmad
Publisher:
Minotaur
Number of
pages: 294 pp.
Book price:
399/- INR
Book
Source: Indiblogger
This post
is a part of the Book Review program of Indiblogger in association of Harper
Collins
Thanks for sharing the review. Looks like an unputdownable suspense thriller :)
ReplyDeleteYes I liked this novel a lot............. A very good thriller indeed............
DeleteLooking Nice
ReplyDeleteThank you................
DeleteI think it is very interesting
ReplyDeleteIt is indeed very interesting............. Thank you very much..............
Delete