Book: 8 Hours
Author: Upendra Namburi
Publisher: Westland Books
Genre: Fiction
Pages: 282
Blurb:
Aratrika Reddy, the charismatic CEO of ARYA Holdings Ltd.,
has just 8 Hours to save her company from certain bankruptcy.
The multi-billion dollar
hotels to steel conglomerate, founded by her mercurial father, liquor baron Madhusudhan
Reddy, has many suitors, all of them plotting a hostile takeover. Aratrika’s
estranged husband, Siddhartha is one of them. His inside knowledge is the real
ace up his sleeve. The Rathores, the Reddys’ arch-rivals are looking to buy
ARYA too and thereby settle old scores.
Aratrika has to weave her way
through a litany of lawyers, politicians, bankers, bureaucrats, investors,
power brokers and her dreaded family. Behind the scenes, Jagannath Rao, her
wily uncle, is playing a dangerous double game of manipulation. Her father
Madhusudan is furiously pulling the strings from behind the scenes. To add to
the confusion, overseeing the whole sale process is her old flame, Peter.
Over the course of a single
night, 8 Hours to be precise, Aratrika must fight the demons at the
gates of her company and those within. It’s a fight to the bitter end.
A fight that Aratrika does not
want to lose…
Review:
Often times you come across a book which you carry
everywhere. Because you need to know what happens next; 8 hours is one such
beauty.
The story is of posh people, staying at a posh place and
taking big; also doing big. It takes some time to get in the skin of the tale,
it takes time to understand where all this is heading to but when you are into it
there is no turning back.
If I talk in brief without giving any spoilers, the story is
about a firm which needs some repairs in the next 8 hours and by repairs I mean
some serious ones. How the tale twists and turns, who plot against whom and who
come clean is worth seeing, it’s a glamorous show of power.
Characters were in abundance ranging from mere pawns to the
real big showman’s. There were villains and villains, some bad for someone and some very bad for someone. I didn’t love any of them because not much was told about
them, it was there story not there real selves which was projected. I liked Siddhartha, Aratrika,
Aratrika’s father, Prince Said and some more people who come and go in jiffy.
Now I don’t like these characters for who they were but how
much potential they had. They were always growing, showing something more,
giving something extra to the book. It was a good parade of people
The plot was amazing. It was the one thing that held the
book together, there were so many minute details so many pickup points that a
great execution was must and the author was able to show the same. The placing
of events around the 8 hours through which the story moves is commendable. I never
missed a beat or felt off radar.
The environment of the book could have been better, the
background setting too. I felt the story just started and ended, there could
have been some bridging gaps. The little flashbacks were good but weren’t enough.
Externally too the book is appealing, the blurb, title,
cover, font, quality, editing; everything was taken care off with precision.
There was no flaw in the writing but there was also no extra
punch. There was a lack of something quirky, something edgy which could have
helped the book to become unforgettable.
Summing up- The book was a great surprise, an extremely
quick read and a page turner in true sense. It can be a great weekend escapade.
There was but something off beat. The story started and finished. There was no
spark. But all in all a good read. I can recommend it to those who are into suspense and thriller novels.
About the author:
A digital & marketing professional by day, an engineer
& MBA by accident. Upendra is married and has a son. Upendra was first
bitten by the writing bug when he was invited to write for one of India’s
leading finance dailies. It soon turned into a love affair that turned him into
an avid blogger and finally made him take the plunge into the unchartered
waters of the Novel. Upendra now takes complex subjects like banking, consumer
goods, mergers and acquisitions and turns them into nail-biting thrillers,
making those dull and dreary numbers come alive. But he really hasn’t shifted
his focus as such, for he still thinks of his books as numbers: 31, 60 and 8. 8
Hours is the third book in the Numbers series.
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