A Dire Isle
Harith Athreya Book 2

I first read Raman’s work when @reader_girl_reader gifted me his novel, A Will to Kill. In many ways it reminded me of Bhaskar Chattopadhyay’s Penumbra but with its own unique twist. When I heard that his latest book was out, I knew I had to read it. This one was quite different from his previous bo......more

Book 2 in the Athreya detective series - again the elements of a classical whodunnit are all here. A deserted location, a grisly legend and a collection of people with motives and secrets aplenty. This felt more satisfying than the first book in the series with twists and turns aplenty. A breezy rea......more

A solid, satisfying mystery from the stable of Indian writing. I have enjoyed the author's earlier books over the years, and even though my expectations were high, this book lived up to them. The fact that it is set in a real-world, remote location in Bundelkhand gave me the additional thrill of Ind......more

Coming in 9th place for our 2022 recommendations on Death of the Reader, is RV Raman’s ‘A Dire Isle’, which must be said very slowly in an Australian accent to not sound like you’re reciting your vowels. RV Raman has been one of India’s best barely-kept secrets since his 2014 fiction debut ‘Fraudste......more

First of all, thank you to Pushkin Vertigo and NetGalley for this ARC! This review was written by me voluntarily. In general, I have a quite interesting read although it took sometimes to finish it. The story is a good example where a legend or superstition is manipulated and used to cover a crime. T......more