Thursday, 09 December 2021 | PNS | Dehradun
Dr. Sohil Makwana’s crime thriller series ‘MURDRUM’ is an absolute page-turner which ends with a major twist. Spine-chilling, Engrossing, Mind-Blowing- the book has got it all. The words, in a very similar order, came to my mind after I finished reading Murdrum 2: Double Trouble. Murdrum 1 intrigues you and has been one of the most anticipated reads of 2021 with an average of 4.5 stars of around 500 readers on Amazon and Murdrum 2: Double Trouble lived up to the expectations with my jaw hitting the ground. No exaggeration. Murdrum 1: The Probe Begins had left the readers on a nail-biting cliff-hanger, and this utterly compulsive sequel opens with breath-taking sequences of hunting serial killers.
CBI inspector Komal Majbootsingh Rathod (I loved the paradox in the name of the protagonist) scouts out the pile of corpses, and the total murder count reaches 26. The mind makes you doubt yourself as you get stuck in a web of riddles created by the author. Tension and conflicts ratchet up notch by notch as Komal digs the rort of heinous serial killers and the body counts keep multiplying, but every time the author proves you wrong, letting you get absorbed page after page by creating webs of clues and ciphers, and that makes you want to know the hidden messages of the ciphers, each character’s backstory, contribution, the reason why Dr. Sohil chose the title MURDRUM, and ultimately, not only “whodunnit?” but “why?”The writing is scalpel-sharp and uncluttered. The pace is fast and the development through the timelines is commendable. The layers of suspense hit like a wrecking ball every time as your senses fail to perceive them despite the author giving plenty of hints throughout the story. I loved the climax even more. It had a poetic justice to it.
In Murdrum 2: Double Trouble, Dr. Sohil has managed to deliver a Hollywood-style bio-punk read in an Indian set-up interspersed with plenty of interesting intricacies to real-life serial killers, miraculous forensic investigations, and bizarre disease, with its own completely fresh take on the intense and unsettling psychological thriller. Dr. Sohil Makwana has created a meandering roller-coaster ride with sharp notches and sudden falls just like an ECG.
