Mythology and thriller when put together make for an interesting read. However, I have rarely seen Indian authors delving into this genre. Writing a thriller set agaist the backdrop of Indian mythology is no mean task. It takes a lot of research and understanding of the subject before finally writing the story. A big applause to Ashwin Sanghi for not being one of those authors who are only comfortable in the tried-and-tested genres, specially the very similar coming-of-the-age stories with sachharine sweet happy endings.

Ashwin Sanghi must have read Dan Brown’s ‘Angels and Demons’ and ‘The Da Vinci Code’ numerous times as his book ‘The Krishna Key’ resembles them to a great extent. Be it the plot or the writing style, one cannot miss the similarities of the book with those of Dan Brown’s bestsellers. The book deals with the tenth avatar of Vishnu, Kalki. The story recounts the gruesome serial killing done by a man who considers himself as the Kalki avatar. The first of his victims was Prof. Anil Varshney, a noted historian and it was his friend Ravi Mohan Saini, another historian of repute who was wrongly charged for the murder. Saini with the help of his student and her father, follows a thrilling journey in order to prove his innocence.

The fascinating part of the story is how the tale of Krishna and the story are interwoven. Each chapter starts with snippets from the Mahabharata or more specifically about the life of Krishna. Though the idea of creating a conspiracy theory story based on Krishna is extremely noble and enticing, however in some of the chapters the connection between the two are not explicit.

Murder mysteries are supposed to be gripping and The Krishna Key is no exception. The intertwining of mythology and historical facts and incidents accelerate the pace of the story. The book is riveting enough to hold on to your interest and attention. However, the ending of the story could have been more gripping and conclusive. A fine part of the story is the influx of a plethora of historical informations, particularly pertaining to the epic Mahabharata. The various Hindu sites and symbols mentioned in The Krishna Key portray the richness and heritage of our religion.

For most part of the story Ashwin Sanghi’s The Krishna Key will compel you to run through the pages in quick succession in order to know what will happen next. The characterization of the people involve in this thrilling murder mystery could have been done more meticulously. The story line is good as it progresses at a fine pace. However, a few typos and grammatical errors could have been avoided as they mar the experience of reading such a gripping tale.

The pros and cons notwithstanding, a special mention should be made of the great cover design. It is unique as far as Indian books are concerned and will definitely add on to your interest. The thorough research and the remarkable story line also deserve special mention. The Krihsna Key is the first book written by Ashwin Sanghi which I read and I would definitely love to read his earlier bestsellers as I found him to be a fantastic storyteller.

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