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The Girl On Fire By Devashish Sardana

Review copy of the book from Penguin Random house

Book 3 of a series featuring Simone Singh, but it can be read as a standalone book.

Number of pages – 269

Genre – Psychological Crime Thriller

Blurb

Three bodies found in Kullu,
shot and burnt to a crisp.
Two promising clues.
A missing nurse at the centre of this mystery.
Is she a clear suspect . . . or is there more than meets the eye?

Coming off a fresh suspension, IPS Simone Singh is thrown head first into a bizarre case of serial murders—a killer who is targeting doctors at the Regional Hospital in Kullu, Himachal Pradesh. She soon realizes that solving this case is not going to be as easy as she thought, as lying doctors, missing evidence and contradictory eyewitnesses work hard to muddle her case.

Nurse Aadya is on the run. She is running from what she once believed was her salvation, all to protect her baby. Everywhere she turns, she is surrounded by enemies, and Aadya finds herself entrapped in a noose that steadily grows tighter around her neck. It’s only a matter of time before Simone Singh catches up with her.

Can Aadya prove her innocence in time? More importantly, can Simone catch the killer before someone else dies?

My review

The book’s opening chapters start with disturbing scenes of sexual abuse, domestic abuse and crime. We get to know the character Aadya. She becomes a nurse. Enter Dr. Zain Kaushal in her life. The narrative flits between past and present effortlessly.

Several murders take place and the cops suspect the presence of a serial killer in Kullu in Himachal Pradesh. The bodies are burned to a crisp. The killer seems to be targeting doctors. There are a couple of eyewitness accounts. IPS Simone Singh who is six feet tall and with a shaved head, commands attention.

What could be the motive behind the Kaala Coat murders?

I learned about NAAFIS – the National Automated Fingerprint Identification System – which is the centralized database of fingerprints in India.

Although I tried to guess the story, I did not manage to guess the twists and turns. They took me by surprise. It was a page turner and I appreciated the writing but for the scenes of abuse in the story. The story also touches upon mental illness.

About the Author

Devashish Sardana is the author of the bestselling The Girl in the Glass Case and The Girl with Broken DreamsThe Girl on Fire is his third book in the Simone Singh series, inspired by a range of experiences: Devashish’s lifelong love affair with thriller fiction, his passion for suspenseful cinema, and his own struggles with mental health as a kid. The result, he hopes, is a psychological crime thriller in the vein of Gillian Flynn, Lisa Jewell and Shari Lapena, among others. Devashish lives in Singapore with his wife and college sweetheart, Megha. He flits across the globe selling hope in a jar (beauty creams).

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ABOUT AUTHOR
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Aishwariya Laxmi

I’m Aishwariya. I’m passionate about writing, reading, marketing communications, books, blogging, poetry and editing. I’ve donned several hats, such as freelance journalist, copywriter, blogger and editor.

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