After the Crash by Michel Bussi

Title: After the Crash
Author: Michel Bussi
Publisher: Orion Publishing Group, Hachette
Genre: Thriller, Literary Thriller
Pages: 400
Source: Publisher
Rating: 5/5

“After the Crash” by Michel Bussi is one thriller you simply have to read this year. Let me write this review a little differently this time. I will give you 10 reasons to read this book and please, please, please read it for sure:

1. A thriller that will have you turn the pages faster than you can gasp for air. You would have to gasp for breath because every page guarantees a twist that you would not have seen coming.
2. There are stories within stories and who does not like a book like that must not be left out there on the bookshelf. It deserves a place in your library and for you to read it and be stunned by the ending.
3. It is about a single survivor of a plane crash and the investigation that carries on for twenty years in France and Turkey.
4. The book is so fast that you will finish it in one sitting. If not, then you will consider doing that for sure.
5. It is very clever. The writing is intricate and it is very detailed which is needed for a book of this nature.
6. The book makes you feel for the character which to me rarely happens in thrillers and this is quite a unique reason to read this one.
7. Two families are battling it out for twenty years over the custody of a child. So how do you work out who she is? This story is set in the days before the DNA testing. There, another reason – an edge of the seat thriller for sure.
8. The story is only driven by characters and some amazing thrills and a couple of chills along the way
9. The scenes of the crash and its aftermath and the break-neck speed at which the plot moves
10. All in all a read that will not disappoint for sure

These are my 10 reasons why you should read the book. Go for it! Order it now.

Affiliate Link:

Buy After the Crash

Book Review: Jerusalem: The Biography by Simon Sebag Montefiore

Title: Jerusalem: The Biography
Author: Simon Sebag Montefiore
Publisher: Weidenfeld And Nicholson, Orion Books, Hachette Book Group
ISBN: 978-0297866923
Genre: Non-Fiction
Pages: 696
Source: Publisher
Rating: 5/5

Jerusalem: The Biography is one of the great reads of the year for me and you should not miss out on reading this one. I have always loved reading anything by Simon Sebag Montefiore. He writes with honesty and passion that is hard to miss. Whether it is about Stalin as a boy and adolescent to Monsters and Heroes, Montefiore does a remarkable job of it.

Jerusalem is a true masterpiece – a biography of a city and yet so much more. It is not easy to write about a city – and also considering that the city is so old and ravaged by the brutalities of time. The thing about the book is that the reader feels as though he is stepping back in time and experiencing the history of Jerusalem first hand.
Jerusalem the book has been written in a very colourful manner – full of anecdotes, how the city came to be what it is today, the rulers, the ones who squandered and looted its riches, the ones who hold it in high regard – its Kings and its Prophets. Montefiore does not leave any stone unturned.

Having said that, there were times I would tend to disagree with the author and yet could not put the book down. There is not much in terms of guidance or analysis by the writer, and yet the book shines. What got me started was the role Jerusalem plays in the apocalyptic vision of fundamentalist Christians and Muslims, and how that has been brought to light in this book. The other aspect that got me going was the deep-rooted connection between Christians and Muslims is made so evident and clear throughout the book and the way it is done is marvellous.

Sparkling and profound, the book is written keeping in mind the most terrible things that have happened behind her walls and also the richness of its land. The book does not take sides. It is an unbiased book and at the same time lays the facts as they are which should be the case while writing about a city. My favourite chapter in the book is, “Sunset of the Byzantines” which truly captures the essence of the book – its timeline and charisma in drawing historical references.

To review a book of Jerusalem’s stature would definitely require a research paper. It is that intense and deep. What I can say is that this is not one of your airport reads. It requires the time and attention that a book of this kind deserves. It however makes you turn the page and wonder at the scale and scope of Jerusalem’s place in history.

Affiliate Link:

Buy Jerusalem: The Biography from Flipkart.com

Book Review: Never Look Away by Linwood Barclay

Title: Never Look Away
Author: Linwood Barclay
Publisher: Orion Books, HBG
ISBN: 978-1-4091-2091-9
Genre: Thriller
PP: 513 pages
Price: Rs. 295
Source: Publisher
Rating: 4/5

Don’t read this book! Not unless you’re prepared to give up sleeping until you finish it. And maybe for a while afterwards. Yep, it’s that good.

Davis Harwood is an ordinary guy, with an ordinary family, living in an ordinary small town. But he has a problem: his wife is depressed and seems to be edging towards suicide. When she buys tickets so they can go to an amusement park for the day, David thinks maybe she’s getting better. But shortly after they get there, their son disappears. David finds him, but now his wife has disappeared. Suddenly, David’s life turns into a waking nightmare where things just keep getting worse.

Lincoln Barclay grabs your throat in the first chapter and never lets go. Unlike a lot of entries in the genre, none of these characters have the unbelievable deductive powers, superhuman strength, or friends conveniently working in key positions. The good guys do their best, make mistakes, then regroup and try again. The bad guys are not possessed by some sort of demonic evil, they’re in it for the money but just don’t care who gets hurt along the way. And good luck figuring out who is really good, who is really bad, and who is sliding along in the middle somewhere.

The characters are so well fleshed-out, and so believable, you could swear you’ve met some of them before. Everything makes sense in context, so you never shake your head and wonder, “why would he ever do something so stupid?” The plot moves briskly; so briskly you won’t have time to anticipate the twists and turns and shocks. You travel right along with David and can’t shake the eerie, uncomfortable feeling that it could all have very well happened to you.

I don’t want to reveal any more of the plot for fear of giving away too much. I’ll just say that this is one of the twistiest of the twisty suspense novels I’ve read, that some intriguing questions of identity arise, and that there are multiple story lines, with the point of view alternating between David’s compelling, first-person narration and the viewpoints of various other characters in the third person. David is a likable, intelligent, ordinary man caught up in perilously extraordinary circumstances, and young Ethan and David’s parents are other sympathetic characters the reader will care about.

This book has major motion picture written all over it. But don’t wait for the movie, buy the book and read it now. It gets my highest recommendation!