Review: Shadowed Promise by Sunanda Chatterjee

SHADOWED PROMISE
From riots in Bombay to the riches of Beverly hills...

by

Sunanda Chatterjee

Blurb

Moyna’s cousin panted at the doorway, heavy with child. “Who did this to you?” her father shouted. And Moyna knew that somehow she would be blamed for this unspeakable shame on the family. Her aunt blamed her for all the tragedies, from the death of Moyna’s own parents to the riots in Bombay. But, as her cousin lay dying of stab wounds, Moyna promised to protect the baby.

In a panic, eighteen-year-old Moyna made a hasty decision that would return to haunt her years later. 

Bullied as a child, Sameer wants to make the world a safer place.  He has spurned a cushy career in his father’s law firm for public service. Sameer is drawn to the mysterious Moyna when they meet in Los Angeles. The attraction seems mutual, but Moyna remains cautious and secretive about her past, insulating herself from love to protect others from her unlucky curse.

At the cusp of political victory, Sameer faces increasing gun violence and death threats leading to an FBI investigation. But his greatest challenge comes when a shadow from Moyna’s past threatens to destroy their future.

What hope do they have with the media hungering for a scandal?

A story of friendship, redemption, and forgiveness, “Shadowed Promise” is a journey from blind faith to triumphant love.

My Review

Shadowed Promise is another captivating tale by Sunanda Chatterjee. I have read her previous works, and she is not a newbie. Her style with words, characters, emotions have continued to captivate me. Thus, the immediate need to pick up her book when around. 

This is a story about Moyna who lost her parents at an early age and was living with her relatives where the aunt was crude and insulting to her, but they brought her up in their family for the sake of the society. Any tragedy broke out, this girl's fate was blamed thus, making her very cautious and anxious at every step of her life. When her cousin lost her life, the blame was put on her. In spite of the accuse, Moyna gave her cousin's baby her name and protection, but destiny had something else stored for her. She went abroad for further studies on scholarship thus, allowing her to flap her wings and test drive her potential on her own. Life had it's own challenges where she would halt now and then over any tragedy around her blaming herself for it, but she made it to the top as a practicing lawyer. She found her mate in her college friend, Sameer. Life was going at a reasonable pace where she continued to blame any adversity due to her fortune until Sameer came up with a tag line, "Lucy loves me" that would comfort her and help her come out of the shock. 

The story has unfolded beautifully regarding her cousin's child who was left with his grandparents in India, and how he united with her in the States. 

As a reader, I could not digest the fact Moyna settling abroad over the same mind-set of blind faith of she being the reason of all wrecks. Being a 'nobody' in a foreign country to ultimately becoming a thriving lawyer, and being scared, and anxious at every step of the way. Although glad she could kick that mentality aside and embrace her husband's injury over a shooting and unite the four as a family. Better late than never! 

Shadowed Promise is a story of keeping one's word, conviction, and forgiveness. Thus, making it a recommended read! 

Guest Post--FIGHTING FOR TARA BY SUNANDA J CHATTERJEE

Today I welcome another prolific author---Sunanda Chatterjee

She is a Freelance author, blogger, and ex-Indian Air Force physician Sunanda Joshi Chatterjee completed her graduate studies in Los Angeles, where she is a practicing pathologist. While medicine is her profession, writing is her passion. When she’s not at the microscope making diagnoses, she loves to write fiction. Her life experiences have taught her that no matter how different people are, their desires, fears, and challenges remain the same.

 Her themes include romantic sagas, family dramas, immigrant experience, women’s issues, medicine, and spirituality. She loves extraordinary love stories and heartwarming tales of duty and passion. Her short stories have appeared in short-story.net and induswomanwriting.com.

She grew up in Bhilai, India, and lives in Arcadia, California with her husband and two wonderful children. In her free time, she paints, reads, sings, goes on long walks, and binge-watches TV crime dramas.

My Question

From a pathologist to writing books. How did the germs creep into words that became three novels. In short what inspired you!

Her Response

I grew up in a small central Indian town of Bhilai, which was established for the Steel Plant in the 50’s. Almost all our neighbors worked in the plant, and most were engineers or doctors. As such, the pressure to become a ‘professional’ was immense, even more so than the rest of the country. My father is an engineer and my mother a science teacher. My three siblings became engineers and I became a doctor. I think if I had grown up anywhere else, I might have gone into fine art or creative writing, my true love. But as a doctor, I joined the Indian Air Force, then came to the US to pursue a PhD in cancer research. Academics and family became the most important drivers of what I did. I completed my residency training, and became a pathologist.

As a pathologist, I make life-changing diagnoses on a daily basis. Many patients get a clean bill of health, but some get chemotherapy or other harsh medications based on what I find in their biopsy. I carry the burden of the words “carcinoma’” or “melanoma” or other such deadly diagnoses with me. It is a draining, challenging environment.

When I took this job, on my days off, I found myself alone at home, and after all errands were done, I had a few free hours. For the first time since I was a child, I actually had time to indulge in creative activities. Writing for me is catharsis, an escape into a world of my creation, where my characters do as I tell them, where calamities happen, but I give them tools to deal with them. I took up writing as a hobby, but as a die-hard academic, I took writing courses and read umpteen books on fiction writing. As I learnt more techniques, I kept changing my first book several times, and by the time I published it, ten years had gone by.

The second and third books became easier to write.

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