Strangers with Known Faces

by Gautam Dutta

Rajat, Meenakshi, Sadaaf, Amol, and Shanaya are five University students with nothing in common- who should never have met in the first place. They meet after winning a lucky draw- the prize of which was to take part in a puzzle game. Though the game was engrossing, they were unable to solve the puzzle in the stipulated time. However, this lead to the beginning of a deep friendship between them. Their friendship blossomed. But ego and misunderstanding led to an acrimonious break up. They meet again- two decades later- when Shanaya is murdered, and the other four are suspects. The four soon realize that in spite of being estranged for so many years, there were unknown ties that bound them- ties of treachery, deceit, and subterfuge. Ties that have led them to come together in circumstances that no one could have foreseen. And the game that they had left incomplete two decades back has to be played yet again – on a much bigger canvas. Now they have to trust each other, clear their names, and get to the bottom of the mystery, which threatens not only their lives and relationships, but also the fabric of democratic India. As their travels and travails continue, they discover hitherto unknown facets of the people around them, as well as their own selves. Can they succeed in resolving the puzzle this time? Or is history doomed to repeat itself? As hidden aspects of the human personality are revealed, they realize that no one is what he or she appears to be. For the world comprises of ‘Strangers With Known Faces’.

Kindle Edition

Published October 19, 2016

Reviews

[Aishwarya Achu · Rating 2 out of 5]

First of all I got this as a review copy .. Thank you for that...

REVIEW:
This book .... uhhh ....

it had soo muchh potential ... But.. It just dint turn out to be thrilled at all ... The title would make people curious to read .. but as the chapters unfolded the curiosity was down by then...

To be honest I had high expectationss....

The start was good, i pretty much enjoyed reading till end of chap 6.
But .. Chapter 7 - chapter 14 was just ..uhhh ... i skipped through paragraphs ... These chapter were less interesting it didnt conect well... I had to take breaks to get over these chapters...

When the 4 friends individual story was being told, Rajath's story was unnecessarily long.
Sadaaf's story was crisp n short.

The way it ended was uhh .. i dono ..

I had more expectations..

WHAT I LIKE IN THE BOOK:
- The female CBI's characterisation.
-The part where gifts were allocated for to connect the friends to the case

WHAT I DISLIKED
- PLOT.
- Uneccessary draggings.
-Writing style.
- I pretty much hated everything

I appreciate the authors efforts, but i just could not give beyond 2 stars ..

[Murali Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Strangers with Known Faces by Gautam Dutta is an thriller with mix of crime, mystery and romance. Plot is about five friends who got together unexpectedly and departs due to various circumstances, how and what situation made them meet once again makes plot more intresting.

The story have two timelines 2030 as present and current as past. Rajat, Meenakshi, Sadaaf, Amol, and Shanaya are the five friends from various streams of college meet each other while playing the hard puzzle and it make them close especially Rajat & Shanaya becomes more closer but due to misunderstandings and circumstances they depart on their own way. After decades on 2030, A summon from CBI on a murder case makes them unite because murder happened to Shanaya in her own apartment. During investigation their past college life was revealed chapter to chapter separately by each character.

Due to this case Rajat loose his reputed army job and Meenakshi loose her reporter job soon both of them investigate separately and this time more comes into revelation. Rajat become prime suspect as more evidence turn against him. So What's real face of Rajat is the end. Plot is bit lengthy and explains more of 2030's new high tech developments and also goes on little bit of political / corporate side.

The plot is made well as it gives smoother flow with a good language. Also characterization is perfect which makes engaged within story. All these proves dedication of author as shaping story and connecting each chapter in intresting manner is not so easy but author made it easy here. Still other characters apart from Rajat and Shanaya can given equal importance.

Overall, Stranger with known faces as title story too implies that each one has a unknown face of his even though you're so close it can't be identical.

[Pallavi Sareen · Rating 2 out of 5]

It sucked. I didn't care about any character, zero curiosity about who murdered Shanaya and it gave me a bad headache just reading about those annoying little characters, singing songs and talking about Orkut. And the end, dafuq? It's like jumping from stone to stone and then directly off a helicopter. It is so damn ridiculous. UGHHH!

[Shivangi Rawat · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a combo of drama thrill  and Mystery Book has so many characters so I couldn't remember all the names but yes story revolves around 5 people who were friends before and they become strangers as the time passes so the title is strangers with known face they are Sanaya Meenakshi Sadda Rajat and Anmol here Sanaya Murder is in the air  and rest four friends are suspect of her murder there are many fumbles in the story and somewhere in the middle it get boring it's like author have just tried to stretch the story rest is ok cover is so appealing that mask is the best attractive part of the cover, blurb is attractive and title is justified overall we can read once I recommend all the mystery and thriller was to pick this and have a ride the light and  entertaining my rating 3 out of 5 stars.

[Shazia Noor · Rating 5 out of 5]

‘𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒍 𝒃𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒍𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒂𝒍𝒘𝒂𝒚𝒔 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏 𝒖𝒔….𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒖𝒕𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒂 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒋𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒐𝒇 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒊𝒏𝒏𝒆𝒓 𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒅.’

👤If you think this is another college friends romance or betrayal story, you're mistake for sure.

👤Story begins with a huge incident of explosion at Shanya Mishra's apartment which ends up killing her and make it to every headline of the news.
She died in a mysterious way. And to extend this mystery, it seems like she was mentally prepared for her death because prior to that she had prepared a will, in which her University friends were made beneficiaries.
Rajat, Sadaaf, Meenakshi, and Amol. It wasn’t that they were left with a lot of money. But they were given gifts that made them remind about the good times they once had.

👤They were all held under investigation for Shanaya's murder. And through this investigation they reveal how their friendship has started and ended drastically years ago.
These five were friends in college. Then they broke up, and did not even stay in touch. Two decades later, once again they all meet in a circumstance that they could not have imagined.

👤So, who's behind this huge scandal in the country? Why Shanaya was killed in her own apartment?

👤The plot of this book is really interesting and engaging. Author has done a very good job to keep one hooked to the book. I couldn't leave the book in between, that's how much engaging it was. Narration is quite smooth. Language of the book is perfect which means it can be read by anyone. Every character is very well portrayed. You won't find a single topic that was stretched for no reason. Every detail given in the book was in fitting quantity.

👤I would definitely recommend this one to the readers who loves crime thriller/suspense.

"𝑳𝒊𝒇𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒘𝒔 𝒅𝒊𝒇𝒇𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒑𝒆𝒐𝒑𝒍𝒆 𝒕𝒐𝒈𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓. 𝑴𝒂𝒏𝒚 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆𝒔 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒂 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒐𝒏; 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒕 𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆𝒔 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒂 𝒔𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒐𝒏. 𝑫𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒐𝒈𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓, 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒚, 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚, 𝒍𝒂𝒖𝒈𝒉, 𝒄𝒓𝒚, 𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒅𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒆𝒏𝒋𝒐𝒚, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒔 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒅𝒂𝒚. 𝑬𝒂𝒄𝒉 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒈𝒐𝒆𝒔 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝒘𝒂𝒚. 𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒏𝒆𝒊𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒇𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒔, 𝒏𝒐𝒓 𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒔𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒍𝒚 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝒇𝒂𝒄𝒆𝒔."

[Ravi Gurunani · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review -  Strangers With Known Faces is a crime thriller written by Gautam Datta. This book is a perfect treat for people who enjoy complex stories with complex characters where by each passing page you get to know more about the characters; slightly irritating but engaging. 

Book Title and Cover - The book title is interesting. It creates curiosity about the book and gives a hint about the story. Cover is appropriate however it could be made more interesting.
Blurb is intriguing and up to mark.

Language and Narration - The language used in this novel is lucid and rich in vocabulary. The narration is done in first person narrative. It is done well.
Book is without any errors and thus it makes for a wonderful reading experience.

Characterization - The author has done a beautiful job of portraying his characters. As the story continues, the characters grow and have a unique impact on the readers. The back story about the characters was very interesting and glued me to the book.

Story line and Plot - This book surely serves us a unique plot with fresh story line. Author has done a well job weaving complexity of characters with broken friendships and crime. 
Twists and turns are given throughout the book which binds readers with the book.

Rating-
Book Title and Cover- 3/5
Language and Narration- 3.5/5
Characterization- 3.5/5
Storyline and Plot- 3/5

Final Rating- 3/5

[Sayan Basak · Rating 4 out of 5]

BOOK REVIEW OF - Strangers with Known Faces

BY GAUTAM DUTTA

• Paperback: 257 pages
• Publisher: Invincible Publishers (2016)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 9386148161
• ISBN-13: 978-9386148162

THE PLOT IN BRIEF-

Rajat, Meenakshi, Sadaaf, Amol, and Shanaya are five University students with nothing in common- who should never have met in the first place. They meet after winning a lucky draw- the prize of which was to take part in a puzzle game. Though the game was engrossing, they were unable to solve the puzzle in the stipulated time. However, this lead to the beginning of a deep friendship between them. Their friendship blossomed. But ego and misunderstanding led to an acrimonious break up. They meet again- two decades later- when Shanaya is murdered, and the other four are suspects. The four soon realize that in spite of being estranged for so many years, there were unknown ties that bound them- ties of treachery, deceit, and subterfuge. Ties that have led them to come together in circumstances that no one could have foreseen. And the game that they had left incomplete two decades back has to be played yet again - on a much bigger canvas. Now they have to trust each other, clear their names, and get to the bottom of the mystery, which threatens not only their lives and relationships, but also the fabric of democratic India. As their travels and travails continue, they discover hitherto unknown facets of the people around them, as well as their own selves. Can they succeed in resolving the puzzle this time? Or is history doomed to repeat itself? As hidden aspects of the human personality are revealed, they realize that no one is what he or she appears to be. For the world comprises of 'Strangers with Known Faces'.

THE TITLE-

The title is very much appropriate and relevant to the plot. It often occurs that pride and selfishness are muddled with strength and independence. They are neither equal nor similar; in fact, they are polar opposites. A coward may be so cowardly that he masks his weakness with some false personification of power. He is afraid to love and to be loved because love tends to strip bare all emotional barricades. Without love, strength and independence are prone to losing every bit of their worth; they become nothing more than a fearful, intimidated, empty tent lost somewhere in the desert of self. In this era, how much do we know people? Do we know the mask or the skin beneath the mask? Ask anyone and they'll most likely say their family is crazy, and if they don't say their family is crazy, their friends are crazy. That's because everyone is crazy after taking the mask off. People are most themselves when not really trying to fit in, when either alone or around those already closest to them and that is crazy. Strangers with known faces beautifully portray the above instance and make it clear that “We all wear masks, and the time comes when we cannot remove them without removing some of our own skin.”

REVIEW OF THE BOOK-

Let’s begin with the characterization displayed in the story. Each and every individual played their role very well. When you first meet a person, sometimes they'll pretend to be all that you like. Deception is hard to predict instantly at times, but if you hang with them for a while their true colours will eventually begin to show. This exactly happened when one of the friends was found murdered. As the investigation begins, the plot digs down into the characters’ and will give you firm view of reality against perspectives. I had read somewhere that Perfume was first created to mask the stench of foul and offensive odours...
Spices and bold flavourings were created to mask the taste of putrid and rotting meat...
What then was music created for?
Was it to drown out the voices of others, or the voices within ourselves? Well it’s up to you to find the answer.
The plot was beautifully crafted and I loved the amalgamation of the sense of disguise with a murder and crime. As Hamlet said to Ophelia,”God has given you one face, and you make yourself another." The battle between these two halves of identity...Who we are and who we pretend to be, is unwinnable. Just as there are two sides to every story, there are two sides to every person. One that we reveal to the world and another we keep hidden inside. A duality governed by the balance of light and darkness, within each of us is the capacity for both good and evil. But those who are able to blur the moral dividing line hold the true power. The characters’ exhibit this particular phenomenon of duality in this crime thriller.
There is also a touch of love in the plot, but keeping disguise as the major aspect. It has beautifully brought out the fact that If we’re wrapping ourselves up to conceal any vulnerability, whatever happens to us has to go through all those extra layers. Sometimes love doesn’t even reach where we truly live. There goes a beautifully quote by Jennifer Birkett “The mask of art is the means through which corruption is spread. The mask makes vice seem beautiful, turns squalor and nastiness into glamorous thrill, seduces the onlooker into the game – and leaves him or her with the corpse on his hands.”
I loved the way the author had pitched the idea of faces in the entire story. I believe the serial number of a human specimen is the face, that accidental and unrepeatable combination of features. It reflects neither character nor soul, nor what we call the self. The face is only the serial number of a specimen.
I loved the entire plot and the way it gradually moved towards the climax. Speaking frankly, I felt like, there was a closet somewhere inside me. Every day I went near that just to open the door and see all the masks of my face that I hid there.
To select one which isn't me but still would look like me, which would hide me from the world in a better way. Day after day I stored so many masks in that closet that one day I searched for my real face in it and it wasn't there. I never understood whether I lost it or I forgot how it looked like, the more I searched the most lost I felt.
Please give this thriller a read because it will make you feel that the mask in which you choose to disguise yourself uncovers who you subconsciously are or want to be every time you turn a page of the book. Masks reveal in the eyes the face that lies hidden as if the mask is a dark glass mirroring your soul.



YOU SHOULD READ THIS BECAUSE-

1. THE “You’ll never know who you are unless you shed who you pretend to be” PLOT

2. THE CHARECTERIZATION AND THE BEAUTIFUL PLOT SEQUENCE.


Drawbacks (believe me, the negative points are negligible if you compare to the positive aspects)

• The climax could have been a bit better.

Takeaways:

• The beautiful cover and the blurb.
• ONCE AGAIN, the characterization and the flow of the plot.



RATINGS-

Overall I would like to rate the book 42 on a scale of 50.
4 stars out of 5
1. Originality of the plot and sub plots- 8/10
2. Net emotions in the story- 8/10
3. Usage of words and phrases-8/10
4. The title, cover and the illustration-9/10
5. The net impact on the readers- 9/10

Overall, it’s worth reading.

In a mask we are faceless and classless, ageless and anonymous. Masks reveal the primal urge to behave like the beast in rut that leaps on the stranger or waits in the penumbra to be leapt upon. If you want feel the instinct of the above instance please order your copy at

http://www.amazon.in/Strangers-Known-...

KUDOS TO GAUTAM DUTTA- It was really a beautiful plot.


Reviewed by-
Sayan Basak
Kolkata

[Avishek Gupta · Rating 3 out of 5]

Strangers with Known Faces by Gautam Dutta is a thriller with begins with a lot of potential. The premise of the story and narration of events is very Bollywoodesque. The book, in fact, contains elements of a commercial potboiler and keeps the readers hooked on in the initial chapters. However, the narrative loses steam towards the end. The climax and ending are a bit convoluted and unrealistic.

Five college friends had split due to unfortunate series of events which created a lot of misunderstanding and distance between them. Four of them are reunited after many years, when the fifth friend dies, and all four of them are the prime suspects in her murder. From a setting like this, the story could have been a page turning gripping thriller. It does provide the thrills and the chills in some initial chapters. But the introduction of high voltage action sequence and the plot for a military coup in the Indian parliament were a little hard to digest. The military show-downs and vast mention of various kinds of weapons reminds one of popular assault video games. Personally, it would have been a much better reading experience for me had the plot stuck to unearthing the mystery of the defense deal and how it came into light after various twists and turns. Also, the four gifts that Shanaya leaves her friends turn out to be quite trivial in the end. I expected these gifts to be some important clues in reality, but was disappointed when it did not happen. The narrative, at places, suffers from repetitions. When the back story of Rajat, Meenakshi, Amol and Sadaaf are being narrated, they all end in the same fashion, with similar paragraphs, and similar language. This appears very monotonous for a reader and indicates lack of creativity. Also, the dialogues are a bit unrealistic at places, with characters discussing tenets of philosophy in highly tense situations. Also, initially the story indicates that one of the major characters is a traitor. But in the end, they all turn out to be larger-than life-heroes. It would have been so much better had there been a tale of deceit and revelations, rather than civilians taking on armies and militias and engaging in gun fights. Even though the backdrop is a fictional futuristic world, certain incidents in the book did appear to be far fetched and avoidable.

So, what are the positives I got from this story? Like I mentioned, the premise of the plot is very interesting and it had huge potential. It does ignite the interest and imagination of the reader. Some of the scenes are clearly cinematic and lets the reader visualize. The main characters are all gray and have their faults and shortcomings, making them more real. Also, the writer has shown that in distant future, individuals, establishments, societies, and nations on a whole would be loose on moral and suffer from lack of value. In that regard, the writer's vision of future and the impending apocalypse is quite good.

All in all, this is a good one time read which had every potential of becoming a memorable thriller if little caution was practiced to make it more realistic.

[Sohinee Reads & Reviews (Bookarlo) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review by Sohinee Dey

I have been reading too much of thrillers these days and this book just got added to my long list of "thrilling experiences"!

The book starts off with a good pace and I was initially hooked to the storyline but as the plot progressed, I started losing interest in it gradually. By the time it hit the climax, I had already lost interest in completing the book. Nevertheless, I did brave on till the end!

The beginning starts with the reunion of four friends Rajat, Anmol, Sadaf and Meenakshi where they are being summoned in the solicitor's office for questioning regarding the murder of their fifth friend Shanaya. This was the particular scene which I loved the most. The blame game which the characters were indulging themselves to and then coupled with the inquisitive Gupta made the scene appetizing in contrast to the palpable tension which I could feel between the characters. If I compare this scene to the others (even though I am not meant to), I would say that in the entire book, this was the perfect scene for a thriller novel. When everyone could be suspect, yet not, this is what adds to the suspense.

Now moving on to the rest of the plotline. Later, into the story, the past events are being narrated where the friendship of these characters are described explicitly. All of their memories and the events were described along with highlighting the cause of their rift. Yes, they met, they fell apart and now they meet again when they are suspected for the murder of their friend "Shanaya".

I really loved the concept behind the storyline. Every person hides behind a mask and oftentimes​ they are not what they really appear to be in the light. You would never know, if it's a devil or a angel hiding behind the mask. This thought is always in our subconscious mind yet we tend to overlook it for most of the times in the being a victim of such a faceless person who covers up pretty well with his/her winsome mask. The proposition behind this book caters to the idea of unleashing of the beast who hides behind a facade.

So, to sum up my experience with this book, I would say that it was neither good nor bad. It was an average experience. The narration could have been more gripping and the author could have offered a suave approach to the storyline. I felt that the plotline needed to be balanced out; the beginning was perfect except for the prologue, I felt it was unnecessary as I didn't see any actual connection of starting a prologue set in the year 2030 and then jumping back to the present. The language was really good and I found the dialogues to be really interesting which is very rare for me! As for the climax, it needed to be more powerful and convincing. This book gradually descended on the interest meter and ended with a soft thud. Overall, the impact needed to be spine thrilling with sweaty palms and racing heartbeat. Unfortunately, this was not the case with this book. Also, the cover could have been a tad bit more dramatic considering the title and the plot.

[Aditi Mehta · Rating 3 out of 5]

Title, interesting and suspenseful in itself develops curiosity about the book and how it's going to be, though giving us the hint.
📖 Strangers with known faces revolves around five university friends Anmol, Rajat, Shanaya, minakshi and sadaf. Connected by fate and drifted away by misunderstanding and ego. But the fate has other plans. They met once again but this time as a crime suspect of Shanaya's murder.

▶️When I tried to structure my thoughts to write this review, I don't know how to write the review of this book with so many plot twist, characterization, good old-fashioned murder mystery solutions like CBI interrogation, people blaming each others into few words but I tried my best in writing this review.
Firstly, true to its title the book is deeply layered duel between truth and lies. Every character is hiding behind the mask, dual faced. It is the murder mystery/thriller book which takes us to 2030 and it's hi-tech technology. This is what set it apart from other book of similar genre.
The book is full of thriller that will keep you on your toes, written intellectually with great vocabulary to keep you guessing and full of suspense but the human element and psychology is forever etched in mind.
I thoroughly enjoyed the book setting, the CBI interrogation and the truth unrevealing every interrogation.

▶️The book do complete justice to its genre in the old fashioned definition of characters development, even side characters, contemporary CBI settings. However the book does exhibit a fair amount of clichés and a sense of predictability.

▶️I do find the book to be tad too long because backstory of characters seem to stretch on. I understand that it helps to build background of the story but it could have been made shorter to me. I find some chapters hard to engaged that made me skip the paragraphs to move along quicker but still able to follow the story. Despite the length and slow paced the plot seems disorganized. The climax seems in rushed, like author is trying to wrap up the plot after initial slow paced. Apart from all this flaws it is a great book that didn't let me put it down till the end.

[The Reviewera · Rating 5 out of 5]



Book Review of Strangers with known faces

By Gautam Dutta 

Genre Fiction , thriller , mystery

Awards not yet 


Review

Shanaya Mishra, a university student got under unfathomable circumstances. All evidence are saying that she died due to the explosion in her apartment.

Did she really died during the explosion in the apartment?

Or

Is it a pre-planned murder ?

To investigate the case of Shanaya's death Nishant Ranawat and Shweta Natarajan two CBI officers got appointed. CBI started their suspects Rajat , Meenakshi , Sadaaf and Anmol . During college times they were close friends of Shanaya. But that was almost two decades ago , and now they were standing face to face again. As the suspects of Shanayas murder .

Now would they help each other clear their names?

Or

Will they again keep their egos before their friendship?


" The Japanese say you have three faces. The first face, you show to the world. The second face, you show to your close friends, and your family. The third face, you never show anyone. It is the truest reflection of who you are."


Plot and Narration

A very well plotted storyline with many twist and turns , which makes this book an engaging read . Description of every single character is done beautifully. Unfolding of mystery is done in such a way that the readers will never able to predict, what will happen next . And this simple fact is the best thing in any mystery , thriller genre.


Reflection of the book

The story of this book moves around friendship , relationships , love , ego , hurt and pain. Book is written in third person omniscient, which will definitely make an impact and will hook you while reading. Beside that I felt like the book is a bit longer , a bit streched out but the good thing is that the author has followed up his story Amazingly.


⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐




Why you should read this book?


✓ If you are a fan of thriller mystery and suspence you will definitely enjoy this book.


✓ You will love how the author has described the bond of friendship.


✓ Title is very accurate for the story.


✓ Book is packed with many twist and turns which is intriguing.


Kudos to the author for writing this book.

Reviewed by
@ebookbug

[Shivani · Rating 4 out of 5]

After finishing Strangers With Known Faces by Gautam Dutta, one will definitely want to grab a copy of his next novel as soon as it comes out.

The murder of Shanaya Mishra leads on to the unravelling of a vast conspiracy behind it for which the four other protagonists come forward and help to solve the mystery, each with a different skill set.

A common theme for a conspiracy thriller is when a character uncovering the conspiracy encounters difficulty ascertaining the truth amid the deceptions; rumors, lies, propaganda, until the conspiracy and co-incidence becomes entangled.

According to me, the theme of the book is very much justified.

For once, it’s almost unbelievable that it is the debut of the author.

The writing piece is based on the year 2030 and ahead. Five friends with no connection in relevance to career get closer; get apart due to circumstances and the choices and mistakes they make in life and finally get busy with their own lives progressing slowly but steadily until their names come up during a scandal involving a murder of one of them and now they have to come together to solve the mystery. That is when we see how useful it to be friends who belong to different fields.

The story is also about listening to your heart, making terrible choices and proving how it all gets better in the end. It’s about love and betrayal. It’s about broken friendships and mended souls. It is also about the dirty politics and obsession.

Everyone around you wears a mask and it never really wears off. They’re layers after layers piled up and you think you know them but they’re just strangers with known faces.

The title very well justifies the content.

There are minor editing mistakes which are ignorable but would be nice if they’re taken care of in the next edition!

The cover of the book could have been more engaging. Although, it satisfies the title name, it could have been more attractive.

I personally believe that the chapters to the character’s lives should have been little equally distributed. For example, Rajat Sahay’s story is six chapters while Anmol’s story is only one, from being the most to least, respectively.

There are a few lines from the book I admire—

“You could get away with it because that was a virtual world. Things are easy when you sit in one corner of the world, and not show your real self to others.”


“Life throws different people together. Many times for a reason; and at other times for a season. During the time they are together, they stay, play, laugh, cry, sing and dance and enjoy, but all that ends one day. Each one goes his own way. They remain neither friends, nor enemies but simply become strangers with known faces.”


Cover Ratings: 3.5/5

Title Ratings: 4.8/5

Editing: 3.5/5

Storyline: 4/5

Overall Ratings: 3.9/5

Regards,

Shivani Shah

[Asif Uzzaman · Rating 4 out of 5]

STRANGERS WITH KNOWN FACES is a mystery written by Gautam Dutta, which is debut book of the author. It tells a story of five friends, namely, Rajat, Meenakshi, Sadaaf, Amol, and Shanaya, who became friends with each other in a puzzle game at some event, after winning a lucky draw.
The story begins when one of the five, Shanaya gets murdered in her flat, and the other four are summoned by the CBI, where they meet each other after a very long time. Then the story moves back as the four reveal their past. One of the most interesting aspects of this book is that it is set the year 2031, when there are certain high-tech weapons, town is constructed with multiple levels of highways, and the neighbouring country of Pakistan has become friends with India!
The actual protagonist is Rajat who struggles in his personal life after marrying a politician, and finds himself driven back to his college love. As the story slides ahead, evidences point against Rajat, and he finds himself surrounded with difficulties in all fronts. He and Meenakshi get fired from their respective jobs, and the only option that remains with them is to find the murderer by themselves. There are conspiracies going on against Indian democracy, which has its roots as far as Russia.
Strangers With Known Faces is based on the very concept that we meet people in life and lose contacts with them with time, which make them strangers with known faces to us. The story proves to us we cannot know any person to the fullest, never mind how close the person is to us. There is no doubt about the excellency of the plot of the novel, however the flow could have been smoother. Sentences are well structured with suitable choice of words, but a lack of proofreading is felt at places because of grammatical errors.
Overall, the book is a fine read, and is one of its type. You should grab it if you are looking for some contemporary mystery written with a novel perspective.

[Tejal Dave · Rating 3 out of 5]

Stangers with known faces by Gautam Dutta comes under the genres of crime and mystery. The story revolves around five college friends- Rajat, Amol, Shanaya, Meenakshi and Sadaf. Due to some misunderstandings they had a split in their college days and they parted ways. But destiny had a role to play and almost after two decades murder of Shanaya brings them together again. Due to Some circumstances they all are murder suspects and they decide to solve the mystery to prove their innocence and to give Justice to their friend Shanaya.
Title of the book suits the plot and can relate to the characters also.
Cover does Justice to the title and storyline but could have been better.
The concept of the book i liked the most. In today's world each and every person wears an nvisible mask and it's difficult to judge the one from their appearances even if it's your best friend.
The pace was maintained in first few chapters but moved ahead story loses it's charm and effect on a reader. Could not connect with few chapters at all. The storyline is quite predictable and some of the content given unnecessary importance like Rajat's past. But again in second half story picks up the interest.
The language is really good and rich on vocabulary. It shows the author's deep knowledge about the subject and technical aspects. Some of scenes are written really well and can easily visualize them. Climax could have been better.
Overall it's a one time read for a reader who loves reading mystery.
Rating :
Book title and cover : 3/5
Language and Narration : 3.5/5
Storyline and plot : 3/5

Final Rating 3/5

[Solitude and books · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a psychological thriller that has a political story plot . It starts with the mysterious death of Sharanya. She is found dead in her apartment possibly from a cylinder blast . But it seems she knew way before that she was under the target by some one . She was murdered . But why and by whom is the question . How will this puzzle get solved. Are her collegemates involved?

Four of her college mates are qnquired after almost 24 years . Surprisingly they are prime suspects as they all were somehow involved in the Lehcokzy Deal. Gupta , Her solicitor of the will call them up.

While they all deny their engagement with her any way and put more light on the fact that after the game that took place in their college decade ago they were never been in touch.

Later we come to know one of the mates were in relationship with another .
Few more questions come up when I read about the lucky draw in their University years ago , 5 people been chosen , the game of Escape room and how terrorist and unlawful activities are in it. Who are the traitors ?

Their multi layered facets slowly drop to the ground and each come to know about the others along with their own selves. Betrayal , cheating , hidden secrets, lies and psychological manipulation takes the place of trust.
There are few subplots too that keep running side by side . The chapters are kept short and the pace felt medium to fast . story telling was quite gripping. All in all a good entertaining read.

[Ankit Chouhan · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the best out of mystery thriller genre books that I have read. This is surely an exciting and thrilling read.
As it is clear by the blurb the story revolves around 5 characters who meets accidentally but are bond together for life.
They became friends at their university times but time separates them but again time reunites them once again that too after 20 years. This is such an interesting plot that will keep you hooked to the story throughout.
The actual protagonist is Rajat who struggles in his personal life after marrying a politician.
The story is amalgamation of various elements friendship, love, passion, politics and mystery.
Overall it is an amazing read the title perfectly suits the plot that their are strangers with unknown faces. And it's rightly said  “We all wear masks, and the time comes when we cannot remove them without removing some of our own skin.”
The story is a great read and those who love thrillers and mystery stories. The narration and plot is wonderful too. The language could been a bit better and on the editing and grammatical front as well. Characters are built strongly no doubt in that.
One such a story that you get least to read.
Overall I will give it ⭐⭐⭐⭐/🖐️.

[Aakanksha Mishra · Rating 2 out of 5]

Strangers with known faces

After reading the title and blurb of this book I was quite impressed and wanted to read it. The cover of the book was also very intriguing which I really like. I was expecting a lot many thrills, suspense, and drama from this book but the book was quite disappointing.

The story revolves around 5 characters - Rajat, Meenakshi, Sadaaf, Amol, and Shanaya. Strangers with known faces, as the name suggests, is a kind of book where the characters were once best friends and with passing time they became strangers, but with known faces. So the novel starts with the murder of Shanaya who was involved in some illegal activities against her own country. She left 4 things for her best friends in her will which make police arrest Sadaf, Amol, Rajat, Meenakshi. They were now real suspects in the murder case. After that, I supposed that there will be a lot of fun reading some mysteries, murder scenes and a lot more but there was none and it disappointed me. I was so bored reading few pages around 40 or 50 that I skipped many of them to read the further story. After what follows that these friends come together to investigate the case to reach the real culprit if it was not one of those. The concept was good throughout the book but it was not portrayed in a good manner. I lost interest while reading it but I completed it because I wanted to know what happens next. It was like the author was trying to elongate the story till the end but rushed while writing the end.

There were twists and turns in the story and author tried to make them look good along with the plot but in my opinion, they were not necessary. There were not any errors in the book and language was quite easy which would have made it a good read had the borings scenes didn't spoil it.

As I have already said that the book's cover is what I liked and decided to read this book. But as they say, we can't judge a book by its cover.

It is a light entertainment. So you can consider it for one time reading.

[Nikita · Rating 2 out of 5]

The story revolves around five best friends, who studied at the same university for some years then parted their ways, after no longer in contact, destiny brings them together under mysterious death circumstances of one of them. I was very very interested in the first pages, where murder was listed and how the victim, Shanaya Mishra left tiny objects of little significance to each four of them. But as i turned the pages and tried to wrap my brain around the storyline, i just couldn't, i tried very hard to like the book but there were tonns of unnecessary details like i don't wanna know what the rent of the room was. For me, the book was very dramatic. Many professions have been mentioned in the book very haphazardly. The only thing i liked about the book were some of the quotes and some initial chapters. There was some tension building in some chapters, it soon faded out or ended poorly. Didn't feel any emotional attachment to any of the characters.
Would recommend to those readers who are ready to invest a lot of time into a book.

[Ankita Singh · Rating 3 out of 5]

The novel had an intriguing beginning with two bomb blasts that happened because of malfunctioning drones owned by the Indian army. The first chapter begins with the death of one of the main characters. 


The story was interesting and intriguing, it kept me interested, until I reached the flashback chapters. Rajat's flashback was long, and included unnecessary-to-the-plot details. I wish it'd been shorter. It dragged way too much, stealing the book's pace. 


The story slowed down considerably from that point. Though there was enough suspense to keep me going, I wish there'd been a bit less description and a bit more action. 


My favourite character is most probably CBI Officer Shweta. She held up the case after discovering that her partner was a mole pretty well.


The few things that I didn't like were the story's dragging pace, the grammatical errors and the typos. I'd recommend the author to get the book proofread by a professional, because the story is really good, it just needs some polishing. 


All in all, it was an intense, suspenseful read, and with some improvements, it could definitely be a hit!

[Prudhvi Teja · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book: Strangers with known Faces
Author: Gautam Dutta
Genre: Mystery
.
Rajat, Meenakshi, Sadaaf, Amol, and Shanaya are five University students. They meet in a lucky draw and become good friends. Some how by misunderstanding they break up. Why they brake up ? What happened between them ?
.
They came to meet again after 2 decades , when shanya died and the other four are suspects. What are their backgrounds ? Who are innocent and who is guilty one ? Did they cleared their names from suspects ? How they reveals mystery ? Is one of them really a culprit, if yes who is he/she ? If not who is he/she done the crime ?
.
》Title is apt for the book.
》From commencement to conclusion, everything story is well penned by author.
》Characterization is good.
》Book has 45 small Chapters with 257 pages, this makes easy to read.
》Story is in medium phase.
》Language is Good and easy to understand.
》Over all it's a good read for mystery readers.

[Ishan Agrawal · Rating 3 out of 5]

I always admire thrillers with a tinge of mystery in it. And for me there are two points on which a suspenseful tale should hold good. One is plot and the other is climax. This particular novel scored brownie points in the formar but kind of failed and fell flat on the latter aspect.

"Strangers With Known Faces" is good in bits and pieces. On some fronts like the opening scene or the expression of the bonds between the protagonists are real treat to watch. The way they all drift apart and then summoned due to murder of one of them is also something that holds attention of readers. But then the events leading to the ending and the narrative in the later half seems like creating too much fuss leading to an irksome experience.

The cover page could have been better and final few pages called for some tight weaving of storyline. Still, the first half was really intriguing and can be given a chance if you are trying this genre for the very first time.

[Shashwati Patil · Rating 4 out of 5]

My verdict :

The story line revolves around five friends, who have met accidently on a occasion, the friendship is built so rapidly but Is broken due to few misunderstandings, days pass by, and after years a shocking news leads them to gather again. 

The book has few different and difficult terms. Although five lead characters are there, the narration is being done by single person, the story is smooth and long going, it slow down in a moment, but end of the book, your predictions are wrong and you have really something unexpected in the end. This makes it more interesting and wonderful. The book is bowl of emotions, poured so well like romance, fun, fights, hurts, relationship friendship, angry. The author has done great job. 

Hence every book worm can read this book :) 

[Nikita · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reflection of the book
The story of this book moves around friendship , relationships , love , ego , hurt and pain. Book is written in third person omniscient, which will definitely make an impact and will hook you while reading. Beside that I felt like the book is a bit longer , a bit streched out but the good thing is that the author has followed up his story Amazingly.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
My Rating 3.5/5
Characters 3.4/5
Plot 3.6/5

Why you should read this book?

✓ If you are a fan of thriller mystery and suspence you will definitely enjoy this book.

✓ You will love how the author has described the bond of friendship.

✓ Title is very accurate for the story.

✓ Book is packed with many twist and turns which is intriguing.

Kudos to the author for writing this book.

[Ankit Sharma · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book with simple yet intrigue tale of five friends facing life their own way. There is breakup. There is patch-up and also frantic action that brings the life of these five friends to a standstill phase. Stranger with known faces is one such tale to take you on a ride you don't wish to miss.
This all starts with murder of Shanaya Mishra in the year 2030 and the suspect were no other than her friends Rajat, Amol, Sadaa and Meenakshi. CBI nabs the four to interrogate and ask them to speak everything they know of Shanaya which takes them back to their college life. These weren't classmate but were friends due to game they played together and it was destiny that brought these five together. Evey-thing was well until Rajat stands for the college election and wins the post of Union president. This starts the downfall of Rajat because his decision were always influenced due to woman with whom he was infatuated with, Neelam. She uses Rajat for her own good creating rift among the friends. None of Rajat's decision did any good to BTU and soon the college turn against the Union president. However Rajat picks himself up to move on. He joins Army and soon becomes a Reputed officer of Army. Meenakshi goes out to become a reputed lawyer while Sadaaf takes on more challenging job of reporting. Amol on the other hands start this revolution of organic farming. Time passes and decades later the old friends meet again except Shanaya was dead.
Shanaya was one prime accuse of Lehockzy deal which was in news for buying expensive drones and few of them burst into flames in a crowded place taking toll on human life. CBI was involved investigating Lehockzy deal and death of Shanaya had some connection with the deal.
However with no solid evidences against the four, CBI was helpless while on the other hand Rajat and Meenakshi investigate on own to get some cue of all mess they were into. Soon Rajat's name again highlights in breaking new for the land deals and each and every evidence only point Rajat to be the culprit behind. Was he the real culprit? well to know that you should read this book to read the turn of events after the land deals.
My favourite moment of all was Rajat's plan of sexy car wash with Debolina which never happens the way he think and why the hell he has to do that. Well this book is for those who are looking for a book with little twist and turn to hold them during their read.

[Ruchi Patel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice writing. Firstly frankly I am the person who judges book by its cover and i usually don't like cover with the photographs or faces of human, but unlike cover, i found book interesting. I like writing style, in the beginning the suspense buils up nicely, but somewhere, in the end it couldn't hold attention so strongly because of the length of content. Otherwise nice story and wonderful writings

[Vikram Mahto · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you ask me " should you read this book or not?" Then I must say Yesss. It's well narrated. A guy with the mask hiding his face and blurb of the book makes exciting to read it. To expose the Shanaya's murder mystery, you'll like to next and next pages.

The book is written in small chapters, so you can quickly finish the one chapter and then move forward to next one.
The book is the mixture of emotions, romance, fun, fights, relationship and friendship.

[Ananta Dutta · Rating 4 out of 5]

So many books release every week. Some become bestsellers some don’t. A lot of books remain underrated and of course, a lot become overrated too. Those books are written only for the mass-appeal. But, the book worm in me, always looks for the ones that would have that impact on my mind. The book that’ll leave me so overwhelmed that I’ll remember it 10 years down the line. Strangers with known faces by debutant author Gautam Dutta does that perfectly!
It’s a story of 5 friends who meet by chance at a college-event, come close and split off due to misunderstandings. Years later they meet when one of them is murdered and others are the suspects. The story deals with issues like friendship, love, passion, politics and the struggle to prove one’s worth. The book has everything- drama, romance, comedy, tragedy and action. The ending is somewhat unexpected but that’s exactly what makes the book a memorable read.
What I didn’t like was the use of very difficult and technical terms. Also, in some parts the pace becomes very slow. What I liked was the candid style of storytelling.
I would not recommend this book to everyone! Because this book is not everyone’s cup of tea. But it’s a hot cup of strong black coffee. It makes you feel something. And maybe that’s how the author wanted it to be.
Ratings-
Story- 4/5
Storytelling- 3.5/5
Cover design- 4/5

Overall rating- 3.83/5

[Kritika Sharma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall the book is pretty good however I am not sure why it is listed under Romance... It is not a romance novel instead it is a crime/thriller/mystery kind of book.

The current time zone in book is 2030, and the story jumps between our present and 2030.
The plot revolves around 5 characters who meet accidentally through a lucky draw system and then are bonded for life. The story revolves around Rajat, Meenakshi, Sadaaf, Amol, and Shanaya where primary focus is on Rajat and other characters are given due importance respectively.

They become good friends in University but breakup due to various circumstances. After two decades they are at the peak of their careers when Shanaya is mysteriously murdered and somehow remaining four are the primary suspects. Apart from these four another name that keeps on popping up is a name of International organization. Now it is upon these four to prove their innocence and find the culprit.

What I really liked about the book is its plot. It is very well written and it has various twists. The author has made a good attempt in gelling past and present together and you can actually feel the necessity of solving the mystery. Given the book is rather long (comparatively), you just can't wait to reach the end.

Additionally I also liked the entanglement of various characters and plot lines. Every thing seem so fragmented and all over the place initially but as we reach the climax it just makes sense - something like you see in so many movies.

Also the writing style of the author is mature. You can sense that a good quality book and writing is in your hands. Entire book is broken down in many small chapters. By looking at them it might feel too much but they actually make sense when you read.

What I didn't like about the book is editing. Yes, it always is the first point I make when I read the book. Initially it is less but as the book the progresses so does the mistakes. I would highly recommend a good proof read as it is pretty good book.

Another thing that I didn't like is various additional characters that were added randomly. I understand characters are needed but it is the duty of the author to introduce each one and not just bombard the reader with new names.

Also, certain aspects were dragged out which made me forget the original essence. I forgot certain characters as they popped up a few chapters later. Re-intro (one liner) in such cases could have been good. Especially the flashback of Rajat was a little to dragged... it could have been shortened.

Lastly the climax, honestly it didn't do justice. I felt that author devoted his everything to the entire story and then was left with nothing in the end - LOL! I felt the importance of the foreign organization that was (kind of) involved was ignored completely in the end, also the eventual coup was a little too much. I don't think that it is ever possible or say probable but I would still say kudos to author for a vivid attempt.

My overall rating to the book is 4/5. You should give it a try, it is tad on heavier side (not weight but content wise) but it is worth a read.


More reviews at: http://kritisharmacreations.blogspot.in

[Deepali Gupta · Rating 3 out of 5]

MY VIEWS ON THE BOOK -

TITLE - As the title says 'stranger with known faces' it depicts the truth of people, how we are two different personalities of what we show and what we are in reality. It matches the plot and the book.

COVER - The cover looks okay, could have been better, but nevertheless it suits the story and imagery the author wants to showcase.

NARRATION - Imagery and lucid language is used to reach out to more and more readers.

THEME - Thriller, Crime, Human psychology, Inner Turmoil.

CHARACTERIZATION - Each character has a defined and subtle role, which slowly reveals about each and every character slowly and steadily. Complexity increases of the story and more turn of events keep happening, which keeps the reader hooked.

ABOUT THE BOOK - Curiosity keeps the reader engaged. A different story.

END OF THE STORY - It could have been better.

OVERALL - 3/5

[Subhajit Das · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Strangers With Known Faces” is a book by Gautam Dutta that I finished reading today.
The cover of the book is good yet too simple to look at. It could have been designed a little uniquely I can say, but as it is complimenting the title of the book to be specific, hence I consider this appropriate. This is the 5th time I have read any book that is published by Invincible Publishers.
The title is unique and tempting that one can start to wonder about the content of the book. After finishing the book, I can say that the title depicts the substance of the story well, so it is apt for the book.
The language is lucid, but at the same time enriched with some classy words at places that not every reader will come across randomly or on a frequent basis. I appreciate whenever I notice any new words to add to my stock of words list, and this book has offered some of such words precisely. The narration of the book is well, but it could have been much gripping than as it is now. It was evident that some parts of the story are ‘stretched’ unnecessarily (I should say that the ‘over description’ in some places are the main reason that it may get lack of concentration of the reader at a point while finding the twist eagerly). But as the narrating style is transparent, so it’s helpful for the reader to connect with the plot easily.
The theme of the book is- Mystery thriller, suspense, crime thriller.
The characterization of the book is well portrayed but here I want to point out one thing that the presentation of the details of the character is not equal among the main 5 characters (to be specific, the broad emphasized description here can be seen about ‘Rajat’, the other four are not portrayed with that much detail information). There are quite a lot of (97 names to be specific all total) characters mentioned in the story actually (readers should be attentive to avoid confusion among minor characters), and they are justified well to their respective roles. Let’s get familiar with the names of the characters that are mentioned in the book- (Rajat Sahay, Shanaya Mishra, Meenakshi Rawal, Sadaaf Siddiqui, Amol More – these 5 are the major characters); now I’ll pick up some names who are equally important as per the need of the story, they are- Ashok Gupta, Nishant Ranawat, Shweta Natarajan, Neelam Motwani, Jason Haykin, Vishal Murthy, Venkatesh Ramamurthy, Siddhant Roy Chowdhury, Arjun & Jyoti, Razzaq Akhtar, Federov, Debolina Bannerjee, Brigadier Amritlal Khurana, Colonel Samar Chaudhury, Peeyush Parmar, Viraj Kaushal, Poorvi, Neha, Ruhi, Anjali, Vinayak Kohli, Harikrishna Trivedi, Ramadeva Jain, Vanraah Prasad, Mr. Vivek Patnaik, Bholaram Jha, Mr. Harshal Shah, Babban Shastri, Harish Lohia, Justice Khaparde, Pratap Singh, Vihaan Alva, James Bongani, Gurpreet Kaur, Ashish Gogia, Shivani Kakkar, Captain Sardaar Singh.
The story covers different era at different times. (Actually mention of the year 2030 is what caught my attention at first) & it revolves around 5 youngsters who actually represented the same University in their college life (Bainbridge Technological University). Though all of them shared different background of study field & had nothing in common as interest, still out of 20 thousand students, only this 5 crossed paths with each other and that too because of being a ‘Lucky Draw Winner’. In a game named ‘The Amazing Escape’, these 5 were locked in a room and the task of the game was to escape from the room by solving puzzles through the given clues one by one accordingly stage by stage. That day though they were unable to decode the puzzles and escape from the room till the end, but this made them closer and they became friends of each other and soon their bonding became stronger. In this while, at a time, Rajat met a much elderly Woman Neelam Motwani and eventually he had fallen for her; this did cost a lot to Rajat actually. Following some unpleasant incidents, some misunderstandings happened between these 5 friends in their college and they ended up by parting their ways and got separated from each other, even Rajat’s career & future was at stake at a point!
After 2 decades of breaking up, when they were well settled in their lives following their respective careers, an unfortunate incident happened and in this way, fate brought them under one roof once again. Their friend Shanaya died in a gas cylinder burst accident, but later it was realized by CBI Officers while investigating that the death of Shanaya Mishra was not that simple as it seemed and that was a random accident at all, it was a pre planned murder, and the most shocking news was that the other four friends of her were the prime suspect in this case. Yes, Rajat, Meenakshi, Sadaaf & Amol were being accused and suspected of Shanaya’s murder along with involvement with a scandal named Lehockzy defense deal. Shanaya was the big broker in the Lehockzy deal and it was the main reason of the murder of her. CBI started to enquire about them and their past that how they related with each other and their probable motives behind killing Shanaya. It was very soon that the 4 ‘friends’ realized the fact that once again they are locked in a single room by fate and this time destiny tricked them such a way that they had no option left to escape the game of life now, to get rid of this, to get back into their normal lives, they need to prove themselves innocent and to reach the root of the murder of their friend, they decided to co operate fully with Law & CBI and along with this they started to investigate about the connection between Lehockzy scandal & the death of Shanaya. This time, the game is bigger & they realized that everyone was hiding their real face behind a mask and somewhere, all of them are interconnected by an unknown force to unmask those hidden faces and to give justice to Shanaya’s soul. Their journey of hunt behind the truth finally started, together…
What happened after that? What was the Lehockzy deal all about & what role did Shanaya play there? What was the actual reason behind her death? What incident happened to the 5 friends that made their way parted back then & who was responsible for that? Who is responsible for Shanaya’s death & how? Will these 4 friends be succeeded to find the truth and reveal the faces hidden behind the masks? To find the truth is not gonna any cakewalk for them; what does destiny has in store for them? Will they stay together this time or once again they will become strangers with known faces? To know these answers, all you have to do is grab your hold on to this book & go through the journey by yourselves.
Author Gautam Dutta has crafted the plot with keeping all the possibilities open, thus made it unable to guess the culprit even till the end; the way the truth has been revealed is catching. Thrills are there at places & presence of sarcastic humor is also I noticed quite frequently. The details of Army life & the court room prosecution event have been highlighted with maximum possible details. Beside of that, the mental struggles of the friends and the ups and downs of their lives, the twists and turns and the relationship thoughts and different views and opinions also presented clearly. The bond of friendship and the difference between eras are portrayed well. To play the game of life, we all wear masks to hide our real self; that is only reason that sometimes, even after the game is over, we remain strangers with known faces.
I would like to recommend this book to mystery lovers. All the best to the author for his future endeavors. Thank you.
My Rating (overall)- 4/5.