‘The standards I was expecting for this novel was not astronomically high. But, after reading it, I was surprisingly blown away. What a ride!
The title and the cover-page of the novel itself is a dead giveaway to the general direction the novel progresses along. Dr. Sohil Makwana’s debut novel charts the hunt of a heinous serial killer in the background of high-tech real-life forensic investigations, bizarre medical facts, eccentric true events, and criminal psychology. It’s a journey of a CBI intern Komal Rathod who is assigned the task to sum up the numbers of cold murder cases all over the state. Smart and vigilant forensic expert Komal goes against the corrupt system and digs a rort of the evil serial killer who has been killing silently for last two decades.”
The first instalment of Murdrum series packs a winning formula, by frightening, enchanting, disturbing and intriguing its readers all at once. Here, the probe literally begins. Any reader who tries to guess the plot and storyline what will happen next is more than likely to be wrong. The thriller blended with humor picks up from the page one and gives you spine chilling ride. Dr. Sohil, with this novel, has proven that he deserves to be crowned the king of plot twists. He manages to combine a ripping yarn with writing that is clever and surprising.
Dr. Sohil has created the bizarre, complex characters (a large majority of which seem to have a weird medical disease or mentally insane) that bounce off the page and seem so scarily real. What is arguably Dr. Sohil’s greatest strength as an author lies in his ability to change the way his readers perceive his protagonist. Taking the main character, Komal, as an example – I started off by feeling sorry for her struggle and empathised with her constant rejection and failure as she wants to become a crime scene investigator, went on to love her from the bottom of my heart and towards the end of novel, felt proud on her as she is the one who never quits. While so many crime books and television programs centre on a powerless woman who is harmed by a man, Murdrum is a rise of a woman. The narrative technique used by the author, in telling the story from multiple intercuts and on alternative timeline, is both a clever and wickedly effective one; the novel wouldn’t have been worth half of what it is had it been told by a linear timeline.
But, a tech-savvy killer knows the job inside-out. The killer is/are (this is the mystery like Katappa ne Bahubali ko kyu mara which will be solved in next part) villain that both fascinates and terrifies us. His/her/their origin has remained relatively mysterious, sparking questions about how a “psycho killer” is created. Dr. Sohil has given considerations to the science behind behavioral threat assessment, case studies, and occurrences of real events in an effort to responsibly inform the discourse. The author wishes to note to readers that the psychological outcome often includes childhood trauma, outbursts of frustration, anger, social withdrawal, and the development of depression.
Every single detail is important and it turns the reader towards another direction. The ending of Murdrum: The Probe Begins by Dr. Sohil is so unexpected. Three pages before the book ends Dr. Sohil throws a huge twist and second last page converts your hate into love. We never expected the way the Murdrum has halted. It’s extremely intriguing and makes the reader curious for the second instalment. It is one of those books that you finish and you can’t stop thinking about.
Even the most astute readers will be in for a shock as Dr. Sohil slowly unspools the facts, exposing the harsh realities of human behavior and psychology inescapable links to violence. A must read. Grab your copy soonest.
Here, is the link https://amzn.to/3yCIB5Y
