Book Review: Curse of the red soil by Durgesh Shastri

Curse of the Red Soil is an interesting thriller I just finished reading. Unlike other novels which take place in Mumbai or Delhi or Bengaluru, Curse of the Red Soil is a story centred around Bidar, the northern most district of Karnataka. (Read my October 2006 post about Bidar here)

Bidar is Karnataka's crown but is located at about just 150 kms from Telangana's capital, Hyderabad.

Back to the novel, Durgesh Shastri has built a solid novel plot revolving around 4 engineering students and a rich businessman who is also into illegal smuggling of ancient items. There's a bit of love, lots of suspense, decent dosage of revenge and action.

Aaraadhya, daughter of Bidar's business magnet Mr Patil suspects that her father might have murdered a young maid. Does she go against her father and finds her guilty? Does her friends succeed in playing detectives? Some smart & practical tricks they adapted to extract information is useful in real life too.

Author's deep knowledge of Bidar, its tourist attractions have been fully utilized in the novel, as it also takes us through a guided tour of Bidar fort and other attractions.

Can't think of any flaw in the plot or in the book. The length, detailing and characterization is perfect. Just when you start imagining the climax, author has managed to induce some twists.

Curse of the Red Soil is an informative and entertaining read. It is also affordable to buy. Go get one.

Summary: 
Title: Curse of the Red Soil
Author: Durgesh Shastri
ISBN: 9788192982762
Publisher: Red Ink Publishers
MRP: Rs 175 (Rs 151 on flipkart as of now)
No of Pages:236

Curse of the Red Soil is author's first novel. Durgesh is into academics and also running an NGO. Best wishes to him for his future novels.

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