Book Review: The Trickster by Vinaya Bhagat

Blurb (as on Goodreads):

It lurks in the shadows.
It lives in your worst nightmares.
It feeds on your deepest fears.
It’s the master trickster, and it’s coming to get you.

When she loses her parents in an accident, Diya Mathur’s world collapses around her. As far as she knows, she’s alone in the world – till a mysterious letter arrives from India.
Suddenly, Diya has a chance at being part of a family again. But moving from Boston to India also brings Diya closer to the place where the horror of the Chakwa – the Master
Trickster – first started. As bodies and tragedies pile up around her, Diya’s belief in the urban legend of the Chakwa increases. Will the monster that ruined her parents’ life now
destroy Diya’s happiness? Or will she manage to defeat it at its own game? With the help of her newly discovered friends and family, Diya must fight not just the monster from her nightmares, but also make sense of a fast-unravelling web of lies that makes up her life.

As a dreamer, I have always wanted to write a book on Supernatural creatures, and not the one from the Bible, but the ones that are a part of Indian Folklore. The stories that our Grandma told us, the shadows lurking in the corners, keeping us from going to the washroom alone at night:P yes, I was a scared kid.

The Trickster was indeed a treat and this is some serious storytelling. The writing style was kept simple, but the plot has a certain edge to it. It is a great thriller and it slowly unfolds and occupies your mind and keeps you guessing. The story is about a girl called Diya who loses her parents in a terrible car accident. As much as she wants to believe that it was an accident, her sixth sense points towards a possible foul play. As she comes to India to visit her father’s best friend Sunny, she discovers a lot of terrible secrets about her family- both maternal and paternal side. As she finds out about her heritage and her family background, one character stands out- The Trickster/Chakwa, who kills people by exploiting their weakness. The Trickster can be anyone because it can change form, making it difficult to catch. But Diya will have to find a way to catch him, or she might end up dead. But whom can she trust?

Supernatural creatures, if placed in a plot wrongly, can tend to make the entire story look foolish. They are tricky creatures, in reality as well as literature. But the author has weaved a great story, a thriller. The characters are so relatable and easy to follow. The plot gets cluttered sometimes because there are a lot of characters, but maybe that’s just to create confusion, so we miss the real killer.

I greatly enjoyed reading this book, it was gripping and dramatic and it was a well-planned plot. Highly Recommended. especially my Indian readers. A brilliant debut.

Purchase Links:                                  |Amazon Paperback|

A refreshing read. Would you enjoy something like this?