Pi Agency: A Private Investigator Thriller By Neelabh Pratap Singh | Book Review

We are always looking for good thrillers and while searching for them we don’t discriminate between the popular authors and not-so-popular ones.

And, due to that, we came to know about some fantastic talents.

Author Neelabh Pratap Singh is one of them.

If you see his book publishing calendar, you will realize that he is on the writing-spree.

And, in his journey he always write at least a follow-up book based on the previous one. It resulted into many book series by him.

It is wroth to note that he does a day job and writing is his passion. One thing is clear that he is a good writer and even better at time management.

I remember him admiring the way the government of India has released various videos about Ram-Janmabhoomi temple ceremony – for the fast release of the same. Actually, he suggested that one should learn how to transfer your ideas into reality faster. He draws inspiration to write books even faster from such happenings.

Today we are going to talk a little about his book Pi Agency: A Private Investigator Thriller (Rashmi Purohit Mystery 1) (which is the fist one in Rashmi Purohit Mystery Series).

Book Cover:

We have often mentioned that the cover page serves as a gateway to the fictional world explored within the book. And, it is responsible for making the first impression of the book. Thus, it can influence a large number of purchase and/or read decisions.

As you can see, the cover page of Pi Agency is moderately good. The old building shown in the background is trying to represent a place where a big search happens. Also, the mask, made of Rashmi’s silhouette, is used to show dangerous stuff in contrast colors, making it attractive. Also, the psychological stuff many characters of the book, including the protagonist is going through, are represented through this gesture.

A thoughtful cover page.

Book Plot:

Let us take a bird’s eye view of the book plot.

A youth named Rohan is addicted to drugs. Though, his wealthy father Brajesh Arya has got him admitted to five-star rehab centers many a times; he was unable to get rid of this habit completely.
Actually, he comes out strong willed and almost recorded from the rehab. But, somehow got dragged in the dark world of drugs and narcotically banned substances.

Brajesh Arya thought to give this case to not so famous, but functional detective agency; PI: Detective Agency.
Run by Rashmi Purohit in her home’s basement, this agency has two full-time employees; Akshay and Diksha.

Rashmi’s father wanted her to be a big name in CBI, however, she was unable to crack it. Her mother left her father and eventually her father also left the world. The home, she stays in, is his father’s memory for her.

Negligent about her outer appearance, Rashmi is good at analytical skills. She is daring and armature at the same time.

Akshay and Diksha are both good at their jobs. However, they have their own reasons to be part of this agency, as it is unusual choice for both of them, if you check their educational and family background.

Rashmi took the case wholeheartedly with a vision that it might be her chance to get the first high-profile case, which may lead to commercial success of the detective agency. Actually, she is determined to prove her worth and ability, especially to her estranged mother (who abandoned her father and her).

Is Rashmi making a wise decision by taking this case, or, is she opening a Pandora’s box where things can go wrong and fatal?!

Well, you need to read the book to know more about the fate of PI Detective Agency and its employees.
Over the course, you meet with: Rashmi Purohit, Akshay, Diksha, Brajesh Arya, Pooja Sharma, Bhupender Bhatia, Professor Vishwas Puri, Adi Luthra, Smriti Bansal, Chander Kala, Manoj Kalra, Ankit Malik, Purushottam Purohit, Dheeraj Purohit, Harshit Patel, Inspector Mohit Sherawat and others.

Views And Reviews:

f you are looking for a thriller, this book brings you an interesting story that is spread over in 88 chapters.
Saying that, if you are a seasoned reader who has explored a lot of strong detective fictions, thrillers, police procedural etc. you will find the female protagonist armature at places.

And, that is what works for me. Actually, everyone learns from the experience. And, the author might have thought to make the prime characters vulnerable to show their growth over the course of the book series.

If you remember, in the earlier James Bond stories, the protagonist was armature, but, he learnt the things with time. And, that is what happens with us all in real life.

In those terms, the book has realistic characters with a dose of imagination. They remains true to their persona and matures as the story progresses.

Both Akshay and Diksha have their own journeys and they are explored pretty well. The character that makes his presence felt throughout the story is Rashmi’s father. Though, he is not alive during the story, he influences the course of actions, Rashmi took.

At the same time, the author also had give space to generation-gap and while you find the father-daughter bond is explored pretty effectively, you also find that there are some expectations of the father which the daughter couldn’t fulfil. Rather than making the things more melodramatic both the characters behave maturely and it shaped their future.

Rashmi’s mother; is an interestingly developed character.

The author has given the female protagonist and her team some setbacks also. And, the antagonists got enough footage. It makes the story balanced.

Though, if you have read other books by the author, especially the “Scorpion Ops” series, the differences in the portrayal of the female protagonist will be visual. And, that shows the author’s versatility.

We can talk about many aspects of the book, but to avoid spoilers, we need to skip them.

Let me walk you through some interesting lines form the books, so you get firsthand idea about the quality of writing you can expect here.

The way, the drugs affect human brain and senses is mentioned in simple lines like:

At first, it was red, like the colour of blood. Psychedelic bokeh spots drenched in crimson danced in front of his eyes as Rohan flickered them open.

The author is good at exploring human psyche.

Memories are like leeches. If you allow them to stick to you, they will do nothing but suck your blood.
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
Manoj Kalra agreed to help without a hint of hesitation. And that made her feel guilty even more. She had cut herself off from family and friends, thinking that they would never be required. They had never existed for her until now. But when the need came, they treated her as if she was always with them.
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
Dheeraj didn’t say anything. His silence demonstrated his pain.
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
No matter how far or how long you stay away from your loved ones, when you need them, they are always there for you.

Obviously, there are lines elaborating actions:

Without putting her right leg on to the ground, she repeated the action, but this time, against Bhatia’s left thigh. His left leg buckled at his knee, and he collapsed on the floor like a demolished building.

The author is good at presenting scenes to the reader.

After an hour, birds began their cheerful carol, the first light of the morning cutting the darkness.
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
It seemed someone had spilled the buckets of yellow and orange paints on the canvas of the morning sky.
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
As Rashmi stepped in, a strong malodour of cigarette filled her nostrils. Wreaths of smoke hovered over the living room like mountain mist.
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
Her phone lit up, killing the darkness. The silence too was killed by the ringtone. She eyed the display– Brajesh Arya.
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
He pulled his white sedan into the parking space in front of his house. The four intertwined rings at the centre of the wheel gave away the brand of his car. An Audi seemed to be quite a luxury for a government college professor. But that couldn’t prove anything of its own. The door opened and two legs grounded on the gravelled ground. Then he held the car’s body and pulled himself out with great effort. He was in his mid to late fifties. He sauntered over to the other side to the passenger seat and took out his black leather laptop bag that seemed to be another branded product. He wore a sky blue, cotton, full- sleeve shirt– which had gone untucked from sides– and a charcoal grey formal trouser. His leather shoes were pointed and shining like graphite. His medium length, straight hair had turned grey and his fuzzy beard was completely white.

Looks like scenes are being explored in front of your eyes, right?

The author has included lines referring to phsyical fitness nicely in the stroy. And, in some cases, he even conveys wisdom lesson through some of them.

He wasn’t beefy like those oil- coated bodybuilders, but had a toned up figure. When he walked, his hands remained spread as if he’d stuck a block in his armpits. A thing, or rather disorder, Rashmi believed, common with all bodybuilders.
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
They had come back to the office after one more lap. Akshay had requested him to switch the AC on, but she refused.
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
It’s like running on a treadmill. You sweat, you pant, you burn calories, but you still remain where you’d started.

The author also infused lines talking about the technological advancements and their effect on the society.

It was quite prevalent in our times when there were no smartphones. Imagine how it would be now when WhatsApp messages propagate like a nuclear chain reaction.”

Some lines are simple yet impactful, like:

Caffeine could delay sleep, but couldn’t provide the rest the human body begged for.
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
A detective should never strike off any suspect.

The book includes characters from both the ends of the society. Some of them can afford five-star luxury as a rehab, and some had to deliver drugs in order to survive! In such books, which are a little heavy read, dark humor found its place.

“What about the professor that we’d found about?” “I found about,” Akshay snapped. “I approached that girl first.” Rashmi shushed them. “Is this an office or a kindergarten?” Akshay and Diksha sat straight, their mouths sealed, their eyes fixed on the white board, as if they’d just been chided by the teacher.

I suggest you to not to skip prologue, acknowledgement and other sections. The author has mentioned his source of information as well.

Narconomics: How to run a Drug Cartel by Tom Wainwright and American Kingpin by Nick Bilton, …

The book could have been better proofread. Some lines give you a feeling that it could have been written better.
Eg:

“My daughter will be a CBI office.”
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
No one then could every prove that they did the crime.
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
Professor Vishwas Puri had pleaded her not to reveal this side of her to anyone. “I’m …
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
…KD. “Coppers are quite vigilant these days.” “Cops aren’t a problem,” KD dismissed.

By now, you must have got a fair idea about the book and whether you like to go for such reads 🙂

Summary:

It is an interesting thriller where emotions are explored quite effectively. It is a complete entertainer with a scope of improvements.

ThinkerViews Rating:

Around 7 to 7.5 stars out of 10.

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Over To You:

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