| Title | : | Love Kills |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | - |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9789350298367 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 242 |
| Publication | : | First published May 1, 2014 |
You won’t live a boring life if you’re named after a whisky (more or less).
Meet Johnny Will, named thus by an alcoholic father who died under mysterious circumstances. Johnny is the founder of Thy Will – a de-addiction centre for the rich and the famous that uses very questionable methods – and the fiancé of Mira Kermani, daughter of the richest man in town.
The beautiful young Mira dies of an overdose of morphine. Officer Ray is convinced that Johnny is the killer. Johnny’s assistant Sera, who secretly loves him, and his half-brother Zac are working hard to protect him from the officer. Or are they? Could Aunt Adele’s hunger for what was rightfully her son’s inheritance have driven her to murder? Or is the murderer an unhappy patient?
From the author of the disturbing and controversial Jacob Hills, an unputdownable story of crime and passion in the hill-station town of Monele.
Love Kills Reviews
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A dead woman. A dead man. A bunch of suspects. A determined police officer. Same old? Oh no. It is dark and twisty interesting.
Not an edge of the seat whodunnit, but an engrossing read nevertheless.
Thy Will is a deaddiction center run by a psychiatrist Johnny Will who had a disturbed childhood. His ways of ensuring that his patients stay sober are unethical and questionable, they say. I found it a bit contrived. But between him, Sera his psychologist and Zac his half brother, they run a tight and successful ship, catering to The Rich and Famous addicts. Things seem all rosy in the quiet little hill station on Monele until Mira, Johnny’s fiance is found dead due to a morphine overdose. And when another gruesome murder happens a few days later, things heat up. Fifteen years ago Johnny’s father was found dead under mysterious circumstances and Officer Ray who had his hands tied wasn’t able to nail Johnny in the crime. But this time, he is not letting him off that easily.
The narration did seem a bit cluttered with each chapter being written from the perspective of each character. I would have preferred longer chapters and lesser characters in this format. But the books keeps you going till the end without breaking the pace, keeping you guessing till the very end. Everyone seems to have a motive and the means, Johnny, Sera, the cousin Azaan, Zac, the evil aunt Adele. At one point I even wondered if it was Marie, the housekeeper. And everyone tells their story. convincing the reader of their innocence until finally, one of them reveals the truth. But is it the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth? Ah.
Three things bugged me in the book. One was the fictitious town of Monele. But this has nothing to do with the actual book. Rather, it was the local in me who found it difficult to accept a picture perfect town full of rich party people and a hotel called Seven Seas an hour or so away from where I actually live. I just got a bit picky. Faraway imaginary Malgudi and Brahmpur were perfectly fine with me. But a Monele that claims to be next door?
The other was the excessive use of Westernised names. Agreed, Ooty is full of Anglo Indians, maybe even people with wannabe western names. I won’t be surprised if there is a house actually named Thy Will, we have a The Tryst there. But this setting, totally removed from ‘Indianness’ and Ootyness did seem a bit odd to me. Not a deal breaker though. The actual plot was interesting made up for this, so I let it pass.
And ouch, ‘The lesser known poet’ being plugged in obviously and less obviously in more than one place. That made me cringe. The author’s poetry blog should have stayed in the About page, not in Officer Ray’s narration or in sly plugs elsewhere.
I don’t usually like to use the genre/category ‘Indian author’, but it was such a nice change to read a gripping murder mystery by an ‘Indian author’ instead of the current trend of ‘humour’ or chicklit. I read the reviews of the author’s previous book, Jacob Hills and will definitely pick it up. -
I read this book in one sitting, and how could I have not, when it is so engaging? The author has not fallen into the usual whodunit trap, where the convoluted characters and contrived storylines strive to keep us utterly confused, but in the process fail to sound real. Love Kills has a realistic plot, and because it is so believable, and the characters so gray, the story affects us like few others. From Johnny Wills and his malicious aunt Adele to the totally smitten Sera and Officer Ray who is irrationally convinced of Johnny's guilt - each person has his own faults - we find ourselves siding with no one and realize soon enough how everyone, no matter how well we know them, has secrets that are better off hidden. While it's difficult to guess who the killer is, and the author expertly keeps us on our toes, scanning for clues; it's even more difficult to figure out who the good guy is or if there is one.
Johnny's de-addiction center is reminiscent of the harrowing Stephen King short story, Quitters, Inc. Love Kills by Ismita Tandon drives home the idea that sometimes we don't know what's best for ourselves, sometimes we need to be slapped across the face to be brought to our senses. Inversely, though, however convinced we may be that we're helping someone, it's often best to stay put, and let people run their own lives. Guilt, resentment, obsession, misplaced concern; the story makes us question the simple feelings that could easily multiply into unrepentant cruelty. Admittedly, parts of the story are a little over-dramatized but that's to be expected, from a scandalous theme.
The authors uses her setting well, and the hill-station town of Monele is inextricably woven into the characters' life stories. Even in a couple of hundred pages, the book manages to have a large scope. In a sense, the novel is generation-spanning, and shows us how deeply family and the social-cage influence a child, and how our passions and failings affect not only those around us, but go on to seal the fate of the generations yet to come.
The book reads like one written by a seasoned writer. Those who've read Ismita Tandon's previous books are surely familiar with her atypical style and Love Kills is that style at its best. The myriad points of view, each chapter a first person narration by one of the characters, do initially seem jarring. As do the tenses: the story is narrated in the present tense, but there are moments when the flitting timelines prove somewhat hard to follow. But what the many viewpoints provide is a chance to see each individual closely. Besides, the viewpoints bring us the chapter-title illustrations, and you know what, why settle for a description when we could have an actual picture? The writing is pithy, and funny and strewn throughout the book are the most wonderful poems. Which brings me to the author's amazingly frequent, tongue-in-cheek references to herself, in the garb of Officer Ray's poetic persona a.k.a 'A Lesser Known Poet.' -
Every now and then I am very much in the mood to read a good murder mystery and Love Kills was just that. I have previously read Jacob Hills by Ismita Tandon and know that she is a fantastic author so of course when I got a chance to read Love Kills I went for it. Love Kills was an amazing read which kept me guessing through out.
Johnny Will is the founder of Thy Will which is a de-addiction centre. I found Johnny's character to be the most intriguing in the bunch. He has had an alcoholic father who was not faithful to his wife. His half brother Zac and aunt whose intentions are unknown for the most part are present in Johnny's life. Johnny's way of treating his patients was definitely not traditional and we can see him sitting on the line between good and bad.
Then we have Mira who is murdered with an overdose of morphine. She was Johnny's fiance. Adding to this is Johnny's secretary Sera who is secretly in love with Johnny. This cast makes for the suspects in Mira's murder. As and how the story progresses we find out that each person has a hidden agenda of his own and things are definitely not as they seem.
I was completely reeled in as soon as I started reading. Love Kills is set in a small town with rich people with an eerie back drop. It goes on from various point of views so we get an all around view of what's happening with Officer Ray who is leading the investigation. I was really trying to guess who the killer may be but when the truth came out I honestly didn't see it coming.
Love Kills is dark and gritty. It touches the dark side of human emotions with twisted minds and greed. If you are looking for a good murder mystery which will probably keep you up all night in the hopes of figuring out what actually happened, look no more. Love Kills is the perfect read for you!
*Note: A copy of this book was provided by the author/publisher in exchange for an honest review. We thank them.
Find more of my reviews at The Readdicts-
http://thereaddicts.blogspot.in/ -
The ultimate thrill of a murder mystery can be gauged by a fact that you never know till the end what exactly happened and how it happened and who did it? How and why are the most primitive and sought questions in a murder mystery. This book set in a small town off from Ooty has some hidden secrets of a murder happened in broad daylight and a list of suspects out of which no one can be called a murderer? So will the mystery ever be solved? That's what is there to be read and decipher.
The plot charms it's way through right from the word go. There's no eerie but the cold blooded murder and it's collateral impact on the others is mesmerizing. Every word and every line of the book making readers all the more curious. The book has been carved out with extreme caution and care and the vocabulary and suspense is of top notch. The easier the title looks the more difficult is the mystery behind it all and that what makes the book all the more effective and heart rendering. The small town setting influences the mind more and the feeling of the truth within the grasping reach is of a rare and an effective quality. The narration as smooth as fluid.
There are no downsides in the book.
With all the viable elements a murder mystery requires along with a lot of suspicious characters the book manages to capture the mood and attention of a reader with command. The story is a roller coaster and the tone so catchy. enough elements of doubt and suspicion adds to the spice and though it looks simple yet it's complicated in a subtle manner. It's a grand revolution and makings of a true murder mystery. -
Love Kills is a murder mystery at heart which is quite fulfilling to read. The best and most interesting thing about the book is that each chapter is narrated through the perspective of different characters. The book was a little slow for me that's why 4 stars otherwise its a wonderful read.
People who don't read generally ask me my reasons for reading. Simply put I just love reading and so to that end I have made it my motto to just Keep on Reading. I love to read everything except for Self Help books but even those once in a while. I read almost all the genre but YA, Fantasy, Biographies are the most. My favorite series is, of course, Harry Potter but then there are many more books that I just adore. I have bookcases filled with books which are waiting to be read so can't stay and spend more time in this review, so remember I loved reading this and love reading more, you should also read what you love and then just
Keep on Reading. -
Packed with mystery, suspense, murders, growing list of suspects and ever increasing number of clues, Love Kills is a hard to put down. The plot of the novel is very well-written and is quite gripping, enough to make the reader complete the entire novel in a single sitting. The story is written in 1st person narrative, through voices of its various characters. The frequent and turn wise switching of the narration disrupts the flow and pace of the story and may sometimes confuse the reader of what they are reading.
The inclusion of ‘Journal of an Alcoholic’ worked as nice twist provided an insight of what was about to happen- of course in a typical riddle type way. The characters in the novel are powerful and perfectly written for a murder-mystery.
The small town set-up, the characters, the confusing clues all together makes up a deadly combo.
Read the full review at
http://readersclubdelhi.com/love-kill... -
Though this is Ismita’s first book that I read, I did hear some good reviews of her last book, Jacob Hills. I picked up this book because murder mysteries intrigue me. Pitting yourself against the author and trying to figure out the whodunit is always thrilling.
An overview
This is the story of Johnny Will named after a Whisky who runs Thy Will – a de-addiction center for the rich and the famous. In the pristine locales of an imaginary town, Monele, located near Ooty unfolds a story of crime and passion. The story begins with the mysterious circumstances in which Johnny’s father died 15 years ago. The investigating Officer, Officer Ray, suspects Johnny’s hand in that death. But he does not get enough evidence to prove it.
Read more
http://www.rachnaparmar.com/2014/08/b... -
Easy and quick read. Thriller and the narrative style is interesting.
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I have read Love on the Rocks, Jacob Hills and recently Love Kills by Ismita Tandon. She is surely one of the best Mystery writers and not only in India. Looking forward to more books from her.
