Book Review: The Grand Oxford Mystery

 

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. 

You can buy it here Amazon

Book Review : Oliver's Travels by Clifford Garstang

 

Oliver's Travels
by Clifford Garstang
302 pages, Regal House Publishing.
Genre : Fiction


"To find what you’re looking for, you have to know what you’re looking for" - Oliver Travels.


What is memory? If we forget someone or something, where does the memory of the person or incident go? What is the watchmaker argument? Why is belief not knowledge and where is truth in all of this? Is charity a myth? Can you be certain of something? How? These questions and more are asked by the author and answered in his book, Oliver Travels.

Oliver Tucker graduates college and decides to not stay with his father, elder brother who is an army vet from Afghanistan, sister Sally Ann who is married and who all live in Indiana. Instead he moves in with his mother who lives in Virginia. He decides to go in for an interview at the local university, he doesn't expect to get the teaching job but he does. Since his job starts only in the next semester, he has a couple of months and decides to write while doing odd jobs. At a coffee shop, he spots Mary who also teaches English and they end up getting married. But an old photo in which he cannot recognize his father's brother - Uncle Scotty who is supposed to have traveled the globe bothers him. Oliver writes a story of his alter ego. As he writes Oliver Travels - a fantasy travel in his head it leads to him really travel. But what is looking for? As he writes, the stories of both Oliver the author and Oliver the character begin to merge as fiction is nothing but truth mixed with a few lies. But will he find the truth?

Garstang's book is metaphysical in nature. His writing is crisp and makes you pause and wonder. Will we go to the lengths to find the truth as Oliver does? Or would it blame it on someone else? At times, it is humourous like the Great God Google which most of us use to get information instead of heading to a library. It is now like the Oracle of Delphi which spits truths to our generation and the next. Humane, witty and insightful, this book is a must read.

It deals with a lot of stuff that is going on in today's world which most people do not connect and think of as separate and different occurrences. But it is not as they are all tied in. Do read Oliver's Travels to find out how.


Buy the book here  on Amazon.