Out of Order by Charles Benoit

by Charles Benoit

At 27, Jason Talley of Corning, New York, leads an orderly life, precisely processing loans for a mortgage company. Its warmest spot is his friendship with Sriram Sundaram and his lively wife Vidya. One night Sriram secretly confides he's planning a trip home to India to visit his mother and asks Jason to hold her gift, a gorgeous red silk sari. The very next evening Jason arrives home to sirens and cops - Sriram and Vidya are dead. The cops call it a murder/suicide. Grieving, Jason decides to fulfill Sriram's quest and books himself an impulsive trip to India. It's a package deal, he learns, designed for retirees. But luckily there's a gorgeous young woman aboard, a train buff with an escape plan, and before he knows it, Jason has cast aside all semblance of order and embarked with Rachel on a perilous journey. How dangerous he doesn't guess since only now does he learn that Sriram, computer genius, was a defaulter from Bangalore World Systems, believed by his start-up gang to have sold them out to software CEO Ravi Murty in America. Jason has sent details of his trip to Sriram's e-mail list, hoping to meet up with his dead friend's past. And he does....

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, India

Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

When he's not traveling around the globe in the search of exotic, tax-deductible settings for his mysteries, Charles Benoit spends his days pumping out subliminal-laced advertising.
Nominated for an Edgar and a Barry, Relative Danger won the Franklin award and was the darling of fans and critics alike. Out of Order (2006) is set in modern India while Noble Lies (September 2007) takes place in Thailand.

Reviews

[Kurt Fox · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was rather put-off by the first few pages, especially with cliche's that are over-used. While I know Indians are a bit lax about spelling, I have personally never seen the words written as he has: 'keer' not 'kheer', 'nameste' not 'namaste', 'nan' not 'naan'. On page 30, he said that Indians are full of honor and revenge and hold grudges for centuries. I have known and worked with literally hundreds of Indians, and would never have described Any of them that way. I have never visited India, but... It may have been creative writing to maintain the story and the mystery, but I felt it to be Xenophobic.

The descriptions of India was an interesting setting, but some pretty common Indian themes and topics are covered (Taj Mahal, Bollywood, train, many religions, new tech, mile long slums, some food and dress customs, etc.). The love interest was bizarre and out of left field, and totally unbelievable.

Maybe 2.5 stars, but in my mind, I could not bump it to 3 stars.

[Janelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

about India, very lightweight

[LJ · Rating 1 out of 5]

OUT OF ORDER (Mystery/Adventure-India-Cont) – Poor
Benoit, Charles – 2nd book
Poisoned Pen Press, 2006- Hardcover
Jason Talley processing loans and is a neighbor to computer programmer Sriram Sundaram and his wife Vidya. After dinner together one evening, Jason is shown a red silk sari Sriram is planning to give his mother on his next trip to India. Jason comes home from work the next day to find his neighbors dead and the police calling it a murder/suicide, which Jason doesn’t believe. Once in India, people keep trying to kill Jason and steal his backpack.
*** I loved Benoit’s first book “Relative Danger.” Unfortunately, I can’t say the same for his second. Except for his descriptions of India, which were excellent, I never felt connected to the character, never understood the love interest, found the clues so blatant you’d have to be blind to miss them and the story completely predictable. It was completely devoid of the humor I found in the first book. In all, it was hugely disappointing and I’d be hard pressed to read another by this author.

[james · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked up this book at the library when I was looking for another book with the same title. This is a breezy novel with the main character, a mild-mannered mortgage loan officer in Corning, NY, who has befriended a couple from India. The day after a pleasant dinner with them, he notices the police at the home of the Indian couple, who are both dead. The gendarmes think it's a murder/suicide. The mortgage man goes to India and rides around on a lot of trains meeting his dead friends' former associates. Like the trains, the story moves along very rapidly.

[Gina · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mystery/suspense about who travels to India on a quest for his murdered Indian neighbors. It provides a glimpse of modern India with its rush to become a technologically advanced country versus the traditional culture with a large portion of the population living in great poverty.

[Erika · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sometimes hard to follow and I predicted the ending, but it painted an interesting picture of India.

[Miles · Rating 5 out of 5]

. . . I like books where blind travel to foreign countries leads to adventure and mortal danger ! ! !

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written page turner.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. It had some interesting twists and turns. It also had a couple places where you think 'where did you/that come from?' but overall it was a good read.

[Wendy Keyes-Turnbull · Rating 4 out of 5]

great book.

[Robin Wicker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Intriguing trip to India

Enjoyable mystery, caper story. Lots of twists in the tale with stunning visuals of India. I didn't guess the ending.