Written by Kulpreet Yadav, this crime thriller is an interesting read. Misrepresentation of the power and collaboration of authorities takes away the impact of a seemingly well-conceived plot. What this story mainly lacks is a presence of a strong character of the protagonist. Vicks Menon is an investigative reporter at a famous newspaper. Dealing with a lot of disturbing personal issues, he is pursuing a high security murder case and is extremely lucky in obtaining information as well as escaping murder. He gets sucked into “the vortex” while fishing for a new story after being fired from his job. 

The plot unravels from more than one point of view. The Iran-Iraq conflict is a subplot while the murder of an Israeli citizen, Sherry Bing, takes the spotlight. The story is well told but lacks action and is too spread out all over the country as well as extends to Bangkok, Thailand. It shows the blindness of Islam extremists and their utter devotion to rid the world of infidels. Clever plot twists and an abrupt ending makes the book an overall average read.

The chapters are brief and the author doesnt drift far from the story. The agent of the evil forces, Jaime, is a highly trained drunk Muslim who has been practicing Christianity as a part of his cover. The drunk villain is very sharp and extremely well equiped who suddenly lets off his guard and is killed my his team mates. The confusion in hierarchy of authorities does exceptional work in letting the killer get away while an investigative reporter is hot on the trail of the killer at all times. This reporter is extremely smart for an alcoholic and dodges the police numerous times. He faces no consequences and answers to no one, has a bad boss and a lovely girlfriend,Tonya who is beauty with brains. Tonya’s role in assessing the situation plays a big role and she is shown to be an important part of the whole story. While other women throughout the course of the plot were shown in domestic understanding positions, she is the only one who stands out. 

Through 274 pages, the author isn’t really able to convey his message and that makes this book a light read. The conflicts of nations and clever half truths were uncovered throughout the course of the plot but a reader can see the twists coming from miles away. The beginning was gripping but is slowly lost the essence of thrill and mystery. The ending was a let down since neither the police, the intellegence agents of Israel nor our protagonist could apprehend the killer and he died drunk, sedated and in the hands of an unknown man from his own jihad. The sole purpose seems to be clearing the protagonist’s name while he, himself dived in and did everything to become a suspect in the case. The story telling didn’t quite achieve its goal either as it went flat after a while. 

Rapid moving storyline and constantly changing locations keep the reader glued till the end, only to end in an underwhelming conclusion. Indian police shown so dumb that they could not even apprehend a rougue journalist, a skilled murderer was tough luck. I would rate Murder in Paharganj by Kulpreet Yadav a 2(for the captivating beginning) out of 5.