Title: The Missing
Connection
Written By: Ketaki
Patwardhan Nirkhi
 |
| source: Goodreads.com |
About Ketaki Patwardhan Nirkhi (From the book) –
Dr. Ketaki
Patwardhan Nirkhi is a doctor by profession and writer by passion. Her debut
novel ‘Those Enchanted four and a half years’ was a love story in the back drop
of events occurring in a medical college, loosely based on her own life
experiences while in medical college. Her short stories and poems have been published
on various ezines like Indus woman writing, Short story book, Bloggers Park,
Creative writing, Poetry craze, Litizen, Muse India, Your story club, Fountain
pen guild, Wishbo, Spoken stories and Writers Café.
Apart from
writing, she loves reading suspense thrillers, travelling and playing casio.
She works as an anesthetist in J.J Hospital and stays in Mumbai with husband
Dr, Aniruddha and little daughter Isha.
ISBN:
978-81-926926-0-9
Cover Price: Rs. 150.00
Rating: 4/5
Something about the book (from the book’s cover):
Dr.Neha Dixit, an
anaesthetist lives in Mumbai with her loving husband Dr.Ashutosh. Her life is
almost perfect, except for two problems. First problem is the nightmares she
has had since childhood, the same ones where she hears screams, where she sees
blood. Everyone assumes that these nightmares have something to do with her
past, but she cannot recollect any such incidence. The other problem is they
are childless, despite all efforts, and she’s craving for one. And one fine
day, her life takes an unexpected twist…
While working at
the hospital, Neha sees a patient, Susan. Neha has the feeling that she has
seen this woman somewhere, a sense of Déjà vu. And Susan too keeps staring at
her, as if she too reciprocates the same feeling. From that day, suddenly the
frequency of her nightmares increases. The hazel brown eyes of Susan start
haunting her. Neha goes to the hospital to find out who Susan is…only to find
her absconding. And thus begins Neha’s cross country hunt to find Susan and to
find out who she really is. And during this hunt, she realizes that Susan too
is following her. Who is Susan? Why does she seem familiar? What is her
connection to Neha’s nightmares? Why is she following her? Will hypnotic age
regression, as suggested by psychiatrist Dr.Ram, help her? As Neha comes closer
to finding who Susan really is, she thinks the problem of her nightmares is
going to end. What she doesn't know is that she is close to unraveling a
horrific secret buried in the past.
Now for my View:
I had read Ketaki’s
first book last year and just finished her second today. And I must tell you,
she has grown so much as a writer since then. I am not an authority in writing
abilities definitely but as a reader, I must admit I loved her second book much
more than her first. I might be wrong but I think this is the genre she always
wanted to write in and I love the fact that she has done just that.
As mentioned in
the ‘Something about the book’ section,
the story revolves around Dr. Neha and a secret from her past. The dreams
rather the nightmares, the feeling of déjà vu, the cross country chase for the
truth, this book has it all; all the right ingredients for a perfect book!
I’m so glad that
Ketaki chose this genre to write on. It truly was like a breath of fresh air
after book after book on romance.
What I loved most
about the book was Ketaki’s hold on the tale. Of course, there were a few
moments during the chase that the grip seemed to have slackened a bit. But
overall, I was amazed by the pace. The
Missing Connection is a thriller that has been very well written indeed.
Ketaki has also
used the knowledge of her profession background in her story exceptionally
well. I loved the way she described the Hypnotic age regression for tracing one’s
past in the book.
The character of the
protagonist was very well sketched. I also liked the mystery around Susan and
the way her character was woven around that. Of course, more could have been
done, there’s always that room for improvement. But overall, it was a well-rounded
story.
Leaving aside some
editing errors and a slight lack of detailing in some areas, this is a great
book. Read it for the story and the chase. Read it for the thrill and the fact
that an Indian author has broken away from the mundane college bound romance setting
for a tale of substance.