Outsourced by Maya Kavita | Book Review

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If you are familiar with Information Technology Industry, the chances are high that you have heard the term outsourcing. In simple words, when you send some work to be done from within your firm to another firm (usually in different country), it is known as outsourcing.

It is mainly associated with Information Technology industry because majority of their data, coding or other business aspects are in the digital format and hence it is easy to transfer anywhere in the globe using the Internet. Usually countries like USA, UK (and others) send such work to countries like India, China and others. One of the reason is the currency rate of USD/GBP against local currency (eg. INR). In other words, outsourcing is getting things done where they are more affordable, without compromising the quality.

The entire “outsourcing” stuff is often made a major debatable point during elections by claiming that, outsourcing the work results into major layoffs in terms of local employees.

As the author herself have worked in the IT industry, she knows a lot of inside things. Her authoritative knowledge about the industry is evidently visible in the writing.

The book starts with comparatively slow pace. You need to have passions and read a few pages even if you found less interesting to explore the better part. Once the book took off properly, it is a delight to read the story as events are unfolded. There are some of the adult stuff in terms of comments about female employees from their male colleagues; author seems to have put it in order to explore the incidents in realistic manner. Also the book price is little high (INR299 for Indian edition) as per our point of view.

Also the mystery is weaved nicely. The suspense builds up properly. You will keep looking for the killer along with the detectives and female protagonist and last few pages are having the answer.

The story has emotional quotient as well, which is another positive part of the book. For example, the duel of thoughts inside Ella’s mind when she need to fire the employees which she have a kind of mentored and/or like friends to her. Also how her assistance turns to be her new friend is explored pretty well. The ideological differences between various departments and department heads is also written in realistic manner.

Some of the interesting pieces of writing (from the book):

• When you’ve killed once, it’s easier to kill the second time.
• We became collateral damage so the executives could get their yearly bonuses.
• The rich get richer and the poor get religion. It’s the same everywhere.
• One minute a trusted employee, and the next a security risk, as though the victims were the ones with no morals.
• Ask no secrets I’ll tell you no lies.
• It’s a terrible thing to be the ones left behind.
• You’re going to need a backbone where your wishbone is.
• (As) Someone else controls your destiny. So it’s rational to be afraid of getting fired.
• I restrict my beliefs to things that are believable.
• If your ears aren’t ringing afterward, it ain’t rock and roll.

Some of the motivational quotes (found in the book):

• No one on earth has the skill and experience that you have to lead our industry into the future. Business strategies come and go, jobs come and go, technologies come and go, but you will outcast them all.
• Other people can never hurt you. In life, you alone determine your failure or success.
• You don’t have to be a victim unless you choose to be.

There are various places where different scenes/incidents started without any literary mark. For example page 77 needs to have a visual break after first two paragraphs. Such visual indicators make reader’s experience to read the book better and more joyful. The book also lacks the glossary. It would have been nice addition to the overall nice book to have some jargons and technical terms explained. The writer’s style of writing is smooth and simple at most of the places.

It is worth to note that the book is the first instalment of a trilogy and the following two more books are to be published in the same regards:

• Make Believe (To be published in: Spring 2015)
• The Shortlist (To be published in: Fall 2015)

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

Trans-Geo Technology or TGT is an IT firm. Their area of expertise is not specifically mentioned but programmers are mentioned so we can assume that the company deals in desktop and web based software application. The firm was started at small scale but over the period of time it was fortunate to have some very dedicated and smart employees who took it to greater level. The company has it’s headquarters in Toronto.

Every business needs to find the way to earn more and be more profitable. The company found a way in outsourcing its work in the countries of developing work where they find skilled labours at very economic rate. The mass layoff is unavoidable to fulfil this plan. Ella was the person-in-charge (or scapegoat) for this task. She have performed this operation in effective manner (or it seems so).

The thing started going on the wrong path when she got a call from his colleague cum friend Jim seeking her assistance in accompany a detective in identifying a dead body. Jim was unable to do it because the body was supposed to be his son Jamie’s! Ella confirms that it was Jamie who met with unfortunate death which was actually a suicide! Ella started considering it as her fault (at least hypothetically) as Jamie is one of the employees who was relieved as part of the mass layoff she just undertook.

And if it is not over she got to know that the lady who motivated her and make a perfect plan for this entire operation, was found dead in a plane cargo. She was tagged as “Outsource this”! It clearly indicate the reason behind her murder, right? So Ella is next on the list!!? Well, the immediate worry for her is to answer and assist the detectives who are working on this murder first.

The behind the scene tasks associated with company politics, mass layoff operation, interpersonal relationships at people in TGT and other related stuff is explored from this point forward in terms of past and future events.

Final Verdict: Overall a nice thriller, it took off slowly but then it is gripping.

Quick Purchase Links:

• Outsourced: TGT Murders (Book1): Buy From Amazon India
• Outsourced (TGT Murders Book 1): Buy from Amazon.com

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