The Last Day of My Life,
Jim Moret, Jaico,
Rs 195

Reputed broadcast journalist Jim Moret grapples with the basic
question, ‘What would you do if you had just 24 hours left to live?’ Taking the reader on an intimate journey, he moves beyond depression and self-doubt and makes the greatest
decision - not simply to live but to live it well, as if it were the last day of his life. It’s a journey of self-discovery for the author as well as the reader. The 24-hour checklist helps one
realize and recognize what exactly is it that would matter in the end!

The Last Child,
John Hart, Hachette India,
Rs 295

It is the story of a boy, Johnny Merrimon, who would go to any length to find his sister. Since the kidnapping of his twin sister, Johnny’s life has truly fallen apart. The search for his sister leads Johnny to face world-weary grown-ups, sex offenders and murderers.
The plot is set in the harsh setting of North Carolina, with Hart describing the locales in graphic detail. The main characters are well fleshed out, with everyone having some shades of grey. Not a spine-chiller; you might want to read it on a dull Sunday noon.

Nothing Can Be As Crazy…
Ajay Mohan Jain, Rupa Publications, Rs 95

One more IITian makes his writing debut. Ajay Mohan Jain sets his debut novel in the banking world, one which he’s familiar with. The main protagonist,
Suresh, exhibits typical middle class values, be it being scandalised when his female colleagues Monalika and Aparna express themselves without any inhibitions or being self-righteous to the extent of putting his job in peril. The language is conversational. All in all, an easy read.

Following Fish: Travels around the Indian Coast,
Samanth Subramaniam, Penguin, Rs 250

For the armchair traveller here is a book on fish - food, history, culture, et al. Of
the nine essays, the two that stand out are on Bengal’s ilish mach and Kerala’s toddy shops that serve highly spiced karimeen curry. The search for the fastest fish takes him to Goa, while in Hyderabad he meets the Goud family who offer a medicine stuffed in murrel fish to asthma patients In Samanth’s engaging prose, eating becomes an unforgettable experience.

A surgeon by day and an author
by night, Kalpana Swaminathan
examines what’s ailing the society.
In a chat with Srirekha Pillai …

This is your third Lalli mystery. What triggers a new mystery?
An unexplained observation is the
trigger – what Lalli calls a ‘curiosity.’ In
The Monochrome Madonna, it’s the picture that has been deprived of its true colours…

Being a surgeon is all about being
clinical and factual, while writing is about creativity and imagination.
How hard is it balancing these
extremes?
Surgery and writing aren’t two extremes of expression - they’re both extreme forms of expression. A surgeon and a writer must both erase themselves in the exercise of their art, which demands total concentration. When you train for one, you train for the other too - some of us like to put it to use!

If Lalli were to be given a shot at
resolving one of the high-profile
cases of our times, what would it be?
I’ve often wondered what she’d choose.
What she often does is read press
reports over my shoulder - we’re both
dismayed by the language of reportage
which is ignorant and insensitive,
especially with regard to crimes against children, and sex offences.
    Lalli, like me, is angry that India
has not yet done away with the death
penalty, and that we do not even
question it. Like me, she wishes all
children could study the Constitution
so that they understand their rights.
    Detective fiction comes out of a need for justice, out of the optimism that logic and rational behavior might yet rescue us from chaos.

The Monochrome Madonna
Penguin Books, Rs 250