It is a masterpiece considering this novella falling under sub-genre of murder mystery. How else to describe something so immersive that you can’t look away; when your engagement with character is so intense it’s almost painful when they turn out different and out of their league.

The writing style initially felt challenging; almost stream of consciousness, with choppy sweeps and odd romantic equations, but gradually improved as the multi-fate story chugs ahead. You don’t need to find your way to the rhythm of it, just keep reading and the storyline becomes receptive for you.

Anica and Vihaan are the lead characters from cover to cover. However, both are different yet live together. Their sweeps hit hard when the duo is transported to Kasauni, in Khatri’s mansion. As I discovered later on that outwardly Vihaan is successful but dubiously involved with three ladies, and two from the same house: Manya and Sheela.

Father of Manya – Lalit – is quietly falling apart. He wills his property to Vihaan, his son-in-law. Nothing for Manya? However, both don’t want to live and proceed ahead as sweet partners. Why?

There’s a different writing style, engaging and free flowing, though not introspective at all. Vihaan leaves no trail of his secretive affairs but he didn’t mean that…he’s in the shadow of someone other, unsure of himself, desperate for love, and finding it with Sheela, an older woman from the Khatri house. So treacherous that it cannot be rendered beautifully.

Betrayal is the over-riding theme, but it’s also a book about the bonds of family allegiance, personal aspirations, and love. It questions whether you can be in love with two people at once, whether age gaps matter, and do we really care so much about what other people think. Unlike a romance thriller, though it is a full-fledged mystery, I would say it is neither full of tenderness, and intimacy.  Voyeuristic at times!!

Nisha’s authorial voice is mesmerising. She’s letting you into a world that feels too private to witness. I found it compelling, but also unsettling. Read it, but sit outside on a sunny day and do it in an hour’s burst.  Don’t, as I did, spent intense hours with it, or you may find yourself feeling, as I did, just a bit dysfunctional.