Review: Shadow in the Mirror by Deepti Menon

BLURB

It all begins with a death. Nita, a pregnant woman falling from her balcony becomes the string that unravels the plot. Her death casts a shadow over many lives; her heartbroken father, her husband and Vinny, a young journalist, drawn in by the whiff of foul play and murder.

What follows are stories within stories, eras and worlds colliding with each other, leaving behind splintered relationships and mesmerizing slices of lives that appear to be drawn together and driven apart by the whimsical threads of destiny.

As events cast their shadows ahead to link the stories of Vinny, Kavita, Roma, Krish and Nita in an unrelenting knot, a journey starts to uncover the truth. What is the secret that links Nita’s death to the other characters? Will Vinny be able to unravel the mystery of Nita’s death?

From intimate diary entries and letters, to bantering over a meal and sharing memories while spring cleaning, this novel de-familiarizes the ordinary, presenting a kaleidoscope of our own pasts, broken edges and pulsating hearts.

My Review

Shadow in the Mirror by Deepti Menon starts off with a gripping story line making the reader glued for more. The plot constitutes of love, suspense, and some twists and turns that churn the reader as the characters and their backgrounds unfasten in the storyline. 

It starts off with the death of a young pregnant woman, Nita. 

Vinny, a journalist, gets an insight that it is murder, and begins to investigate. Thus, starts the reel where characters are unfolded, lives open up from the year 1958. There are a couple of flashbacks and fast forwards as the story spreads out.

My 2 cents:

 At times the back n forth was confusing the reader in me, but in the end, the climax was noteworthy although I would call it a mystery, not tag it as a thriller. Maybe I as a reader did not get the subtle pointers that the author was trying to objectify! Although, I felt the constant backward and forwards could have been avoided to confuse the reader and could have tightened the plot by preventing the introduction of many characters for example Roma, Vinny's friend. 'Felt it was superfluous to the plot. 

The author has used simple language to describe each character, and every detail has been captured very well thus, making it an interesting read. Not to forget the mention of an attractive book cover where those eyes could captivate anyone!