धोखा

Vivek Agashe #4

by सुरेन्द्र मोहन पाठक

हर कोई उससे यही सवाल करता था। कोई उसे नशे में समझता था, तो कोई उसके दिमाग में नुक्स बताता था। किसी को उस खून खराबे पर यकीन नहीं आता था जो वह अपनी आँखों से देखा बताता था। आखिरकार ये हाल हुआ कि खुद उसे हकीकत सपना जान पड़ने लगी।

फिर भी एक शख्स था जिसको उसकी हर बात पर एतबार था। एक नौजवान की भंवर में फंसी जिन्दगी की लोमहर्षक दास्तान.

352 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 1981

About the author

Surender Mohan Pathak, is an author of Hindi-language crime fiction with 314 books to his credit. His major characters are Crime reporter Sunil (unprecedented 123 Titles), Vimal (46 Titles) and Philosopher Detective Sudhir (23 titles). Apart from series, he has written 60+ Novels in thriller category.

Reviews

[New Dawn Reader]

absolute pageturner

[Ashok Sridharan · Rating 3 out of 5]

The charming Vikas Gupta, a professional conman arrives in the provincial (fictional) town of Vishalgadh with the intention of pulling off an unconventional plan: he intends to initiate a transaction to purchase a sports car in a dubious manner, so that the dealer has him arrested on suspicion of fraud and he in turn can not only prove his innocence, but extort money from the dealer under threat of a libel suit.

Everything goes to plan until the dealer Mahajan is shot to death just before he plans to call the police. Vikas' presence at the premises and the suspicious transaction, both point to his being the assassin. Further complicating the situation is the fact that crime lord Bhaktavar, whom Mahajan had sworn to bring down, is equally keen to see Vikas executed if only to get the press off his back.

With the police as well as the underworld after his skin, Vikas Gupta has to unmask the real killer and prove his innocence before his opponents get him.

In true S.M. Pathak style, there are twists and turns as the plot unwinds. However, the identity of the killer scarcely comes across as a revelation- you are most likely to figure it out around the mid way stage. While the novel is fast-paced, giving no time to think, it is not as suspenseful as most Pathak novels. In addition, there's a totally superfluous romantic triangle involving Vikas, his fellow thug Shabnam and Yogita Mahajan, the daughter of the victim, which slackens the pace at times (mercifully, in very short passages).

Written in 1981, Dhokha Dhadi makes for fairly entertaining reading, but is just another thriller novel. It is at best a decent work but nowhere close to Pathak's best. Keep your expectations low and you won't be disappointed.

[विकास 'अंजान' · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5/5
धोखाधड़ी विकास गुप्ता श्रृंखला का पहला उपन्यास है। विकास गुप्ता का यह कारनामा मुझे बहुत पसंद आया। उपन्यास एक थ्रिलर है जिसमें थ्रिल शुरुआत से अंत तक बरकरार रहता है।
मेरे विस्तृत विचार आप निम्न लिंक पर जाकर पढ़ सकते हैं:
धोखाधड़ी

[Satyajeet · Rating 4 out of 5]

The more times I read this the more awed I am.

[Niloy Chattaraj · Rating 5 out of 5]

Extraordinary story

Fantastic! Mind-blowing! Extremely thrilling! It is the best thriller category novel from one and only one, the greatest Indian mystery writer Pathak Sir 🙏🙏🙏

[Shobhit Shobhit · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dhokha khana or dena insani fitrat hai