Is It Maya? - Book Review

Is It Maya?
By Saikat Baksi
Review By Ila Garg

Is It Maya?, a novel by Saikat Baksi, is published by Frog Books. The cover represents a crime scene with blood indicating a murder or something. A vengeful looking girl on the cover further adds to the mystery. The sub title: Death in the corridor of love and glory… confirms that the story involves bloodshed, a murder most probably or a suicide. It totally intrigued me to flip through the pages quickly.

Saikat Baksi is an author and an artist. His passions include theology, art and the sub-atomic world. He is a Mechanical Engineer by qualification and works in the Sales & Marketing department of an Engineering Multinational. He doesn't find any conflict among his roles as an executive and an author or an artist. He lives his life the way it comes and writes about it. He paints what he sees around himself and in his own mind. For him, the world is full of paintings and stories. He just lays them down on paper and canvas. Over the years, he lived in seven cities and towns spanning from far south of India to the far north. He felt the pulse of each part of the country he lived in. He shares an intense 'love and hate' relation with Kolkata, where he grew up. He does not believe in settling anywhere because in his view, settlement is death and motion is life. He currently stays at Anand, Gujarat and cherishes the idyllic charm of the countryside. He has written several novels before writing Is It Maya?

The blurb reads as, “Maya Mukhija is charming, intelligent and enigmatic. She has all the riches and power of the world. Maya loves to overpower men. She is the arm-candy wife of an ageing media mogul. Maya is not a loser. But one morning, Mumbai police knocks the door of her posh apartment and handcuffs her. ‘You killed Veena, your daughter,’ the Police Commissioner declares. ‘Veena was my sister, not daughter. And I wished her dead. But I never killed her,’" Maya Mukhija replies. The hunt begins through the shadowy yesterdays of Maya Mukhija. Love, treachery and a web of lies peel off the dark truth one by one. Who killed Veena? ls it Maya?”

When I read the blurb, I could see a strange and unavoidable connection of this plot with Sheena Bora Murder Case. Without further ado, I started off with the book.

And yes, as you go on reading it you will notice that how the entire plot is largely based on Sheena’s murder case. However, the author has introduced twists and turns of his own to give the incident his own touch. So, Maya is arrested as she is the main suspect for Veena’s murder. The police believes Veena is her daughter, though she claims that she is her sister. The whole story revolves around this murder mystery.

Maya’s character is the most gripping. She is a socialite who is a strong woman. She is unapologetic about her past and she is portrayed as someone who can do anything in order to ensure that things go her way. She is smart and calculative in her dealings. Men are mere pawns for her in the game of chess. She knows how to get them to dance on her fingers.

The descriptions in the book are quite realistic and therefore the readers will feel very much connected to the events. The language is simple and easy to comprehend. Nowhere will a reader feel any disconnect. It’s so well-written that once you pick up, you cannot keep it down without finishing it off. I found it quite engaging. The subject is tackled beautifully by the skillful author. Though, the fact that the plot is largely based on a real life case, takes away the element of mystery from it.
Who is Maya, what’s her relation with Veena, is Veena really murdered or is there anything else, who murdered Veena, will Maya admit that she murdered Veena when she is tortured in jail or will she stick to her version of the truth, is Maya the real murderer are some of the many reasons why you will keep turning the pages to find out what happens in Is It Maya?

Further, this 244-page book is a compelling book for all those murder mystery readers.

Ratings: 3.5/5

Buying Link: Amazon

This (Unbiased) book review is a part of "The Readers Cosmos Book Review Program". To get free books log on to thereaderscosmos.blogspot.com. Thanks Nimi Vashi for giving me the opportunity to read such a nice book!