The Grand Oxford Mystery
by Manjiri Prabhu
312 pages, Comm Dot Media Publishing
Genre : Destination Thriller
How did Oxford get its name? What is a letter locker? What is the Oxford Mystery and why does it have to be solved in Oxford right away if no one is to die? These questions and more are asked and answered by author Dr. Manjiri Prabhu in her destination thriller, "The Grand Oxford Mystery"
Emma is a tourist guide at Oxford. She works part time for Paul, an elderly novelist who dictates chapters to her which she types and takes print outs. Something is strange about Paul. He has a pet dog which he refuses to feed. He pays Emma not just to take down his dictation, give him printouts of his novel but also Emma feed the dog which she does happily. Then one fine day, Emma arrives to find Paul had committed suicide but why?
Re Parkar, an investigative journalist has a horrific vision of his sister in flames. So he arrives at Oxford, so his mother Maria can reassure him. There he gets to meet his mother's friend Professor Jeffery. Emma is the niece of professor Jeffrey. Re and Emma team up when Jeffrey receives a note stating that something horrible is going to happen at the Oxford award ceremony the next day. They have 28 hours and the note is from Paul who is dead. The novella itself is the clue and the eight chapters are scattered across Oxford. Will they be able to solve the mystery on time and stop a catastrophe from happening?
The author's admiration for Oxford University comes through as she takes you across Oxford with her descriptions as the protagonists look for clues.The writing flows well keeping the reader guessing. Some readers will try to solve the puzzle before the protagonists do. The pace is staccato in the beginning and becomes almost breakneck as it reaches the end. So be prepared for a roller coaster ride. This is a mystery set inside a thriller.
For writers and authors, each chapter will make you ponder about your own writing life. For others, this is a mind game book with each chapter set as a maze - what is Paul up to and why was his plan to threaten from the grave? Isn't it unusual ? Have fun reading this book.
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