A Matter of Latitude

A Matter of Latitude
by Isobel Blackthorn
Genre : Mystery/Suspense Thriller


What would you do if your artist-activist husband disappears on your daughter's birthday - a birthday your husband would never miss? Would you turn into a sleuth or would you just register a police complaint and hope for the best? Do we really care about the exotic places we travel to ? While complaining about environment degradation, don't we also seek out the tourist comforts and are willing to pay heavily in these exotic holiday destinations ? Is development and corruption intertwined ? Are we as tourists actually encouraging corruption and destruction of the environment? What exactly is development ? These are questions that Isobel Blackthorn asks and answers in her wonderful book, "A Matter of Latitude".

Set in Lanzarote,one of the Canary Islands administered by Spain, Blackthorn hooks you from the first page. The author has an unusual style of narration, using two POVs, that of the artist-activist Celestino Diaz and the other one of the British Paula Diaz who is Celestino's wife searching for him. The story keeps gathering pace with mysteries galore and the reader hoping Celestino doesn't die. Blackthorn not only reveals just enough to wet one's appetite for more about Celestino Diaz but also throws enough puzzles the reader's way via her other lead character Paula to keep you trying to solve just when there are more twists and turns thrown in.

The writing style is unusually crisp and effective despite the two POVs which are made clear to the reader in her first two chapters. The pace is steady as you try to figure out if Celestino Diaz will live or die.

This is a definitive must read as it not only tantalizes but also makes you ponder about the larger issues at hand - corruption, environment and development. I will say this much, your vacations and your view of developing and under developing countries  and corruption will never be the same again.

If you are looking for a good mystery book, this is the one to get. You can buy it here.

Keepers of the Kalachakra - book review

Keepers of the Kalachakra
by Ashwin Sanghi
420 pages, Westland
Genre: Thriller

Leaders and people holding important positions in governments die  across the world in a mysteriously similar manner. No one understands how this is happening. Simultaneously sinkholes are appearing world wide killing ordinary people. One secret organization appears to be responsible for it as they believe in eliminating liberals and promoting right wingers while  working in tandem with an a Islamic fundamentalist who is the fountainhead of  spreading radical Islam worldwide. Both believe the clash of civilizations is inevitable and has to be hastened Can they be stopped ? Ashwin Sanghi asks and answers these questions in his novel, Keepers of the Kalachakra.

Zigzagging from the lawns of the Whitehouse US to mysterious labs in India, from  Russian secret service  to facilities in China, Sanghi begins well. Once inside the secret lab facility and in trying to explain the Tibetan Book of the Dead, he loses pace. He picks it up again with action sequences but frankly it is a bit disappointing when he tries to explain Hindu and Buddhist philosophy as well as Christian, Jewish and Islamic history as it stretches the reader's patience as so much info is dropped in, especially in the middle of an action sequence.

All said and done, the ending will leave you stunned if you read the book completely. I will say a brisk beginning, intriguing center that slowly drops into a winding read and a fast and stunning end that will leave people wondering if this is what is really happening as it is too close to actual political events.

Don't include all your research Mr. Sanghi in your books. Fascinating as it is, it slows down the thriller.

If you wish to buy the book, go here  Click to buy it from Amazon