5 STARS

I personally cannot stomach violent horror films, programs, or books. It’s not that I don’t want to love them, but much like falling off the high dive or taking that first massive plunge on the roller coaster, I don’t enjoy the feeling of watching through my fingers to see what will happen next. Depictions of violent demises are also just not for me, no matter how relevant or well-written they are.

I was pleasantly surprised by Bhattacharya’s psychological thriller, Dead To Them, because I got to enjoy the twists and turns without the bloodshed. This book was one non-stop trip through the interwoven lives of a woman who’s gone missing, and every single character could have had a reason for taking part in her disappearance, even as they had every reason to love her and worry about her.

But it begs the question: if so many people are this worried about Moira, WHO was the one who did her in?

This is a stellar example of a book that lets you think you know who did it, only to find out a chapter later that this character was the LAST person who would ever harm her. Or was he/she? What are we capable of when our comfortable, prosperous, solidly reputed lives are at stake?

The fact that this book happens to be set in India is incidental, although the author does a great job of bringing the readers into the culture and dynamics at play. Small references to “maybe she was raped and killed” as though this is a commonplace threat for women, as well as “I’ll call you a cab, it should be safe” serve as a poignant undercurrent of what life is really like for the very NON-fictional women in India, especially the ones who go missing.

Dead To Them is available now on Amazon.