Numbers Don't Add Up : Book 1: The Revelation

by Shweta

Two policemen. One a cautious old warhorse. One a young enthusiastic daredevil. They must ditch their personal animosity and come together to solve a series of crimes – broad daylight murder and bomb explosions – that threatens to expose the highest echelons of power. A sequence of events that began more than 50 years ago in the tribal heartland of India.

114 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 6, 2023

Reviews

[Abhijeet Kumar · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Timing was essential for impact and he did not want to jeopardize that.”

Numbers Don’t Add Up by Shweta is a gripping crime thriller that begins with a series of daylight murders and bomb blasts. I received a review copy from the author, and here goes my review.

The story revolves around police superintendent Ajay and bomb squad leader Satyarthi as they work together on a high-stakes investigation involving the state's CM. Their investigation leads them digging into 50 years of old wounds and political secrets.

The premise is intriguing, and it’s quite a page-turner. Short chapters and quick twists keep the thrill alive throughout. Shweta’s writing is also simple and accessible. However, I wish the book were more conversational.

The third-person narrative felt more like a voiceover for some reason than a story unfolding on its own. It was almost like a courtroom drama, as though someone were recounting the events to a judge. Made the story difficult to visualise.

Dialogues shifted between being narrated as past events and being quoted in the present. And it was occasionally hard to tell whether they were actual conversations or internal monologues.

Over-explaining and dumbing down details, but leaving dangling references on other occasions, irked me the most. It also slowed down the pace.

Even with these minor inconveniences, Numbers Don’t Add Up felt like a perfect brainteasing read.

Ideal for people who like short, fast-paced thrillers. It has crime, it has mystery, and it has a spy-like narrative. There might even be a potential romance subplot in the future books. Waiting!