Book Review : Elegance and Evil - a fab weekend read

 

Elegance and Evil
by DK Coutant
The Wild Rose Press
Genre: Fiction

Cleo Cooper is on a sabbatical in Santa Fe. She misses her home in Hawaii but is shocked to learn that one of the volcanoes have erupted and many of her friends are affected there.. Then one of her acquaintances in Santa Fe, Ginger, is found dead in the desert. The death is by heat stroke according to the police but is it?

The suspects range from the son of a Russian spy to a Saudi Arabian woman who works with abused women in a Center run by Ginger and her.While the FBI is on the case, Cleo Cooper does her own investigation. The moment she begins to investigate, someone tries to kill her. It is not just once multiple attempts are made to kill her but why?

Zipping between Hawaii and Santa Fe, the author ensures logic drives the narrative instead of common prejudice against a particular nationality in a mystery thriller. It was refreshing to read and I learnt in the end, the author is also a geopolitical forecaster. No wonder. 

The writing is crisp, fast paced. It would be the perfect read if you wish to curl up with a book for the weekend. 

To buy the book , go here Amazon



 

Book Review : Who killed Osho ?

Who killed Osho?
by Abhay Vaidya
Genre: Non fiction
Om Books International, 2017

 

Rajneesh aka Osho was a controversial Indian spiritual figure. He died in Pune in 1990. His business model of commune,international followers, etc. was new to the world and is the kind that so called spiritual figures in India follow today. But was he killed? If so, who are on the list of suspects? The author who is a journalist, narrows it down to whom and how Indian spirituality has become a business nowadays. 

Vaidya traces the growth of Rajneesh from a small boy interested in arguments and debates to the his death at the age of 58 under mysterious circumstances and who could be possibly involved. It was news to me that the Osho's lectures and books are now copyrighted and Osho itself is a trademark which now belongs to a company based in Europe. Neither did I know that there were allegations that the then US government was against the commune in Oregon or that many of Osho's followers suspected the US government of secretly poisoning him nor that he died at young age of 58 under mysterious circumstances. He had a worldwide following which included celebrities and high profile people of the world. He also had communes in different parts of the world. It never ceases to amaze me how the death of a world renowned figure under suspicious circumstances soon devolves into who can make off with what. What is even more astounding is that the Indian government irrespective of parties in power don't really care about such people. 

While Vaidya has done a good job by narrating the Osho story with documents, the writing starts off well but the pace slows down badly and only in the end picks up speed with a request for a SIT to look into how Osho died. It is an interesting book which only throws up more questions than answers. If you would like to buy the book, click here