Stellar Signs

by Manjiri Prabhu

India's first Astro-Detective with her cat Nidhi and her enthusiastic assistant Jatin. . .

Unknown Binding

First published July 1, 2006

About the author

#18 The DOGtrine of Peace
When two magical beings, decide on a spiritual goal,
One with a wagging tail, but both with a unique soul…
The way to inner peace lies in our heart…and in the company of dogs. With this belief, Dr. Manjiri Prabhu has poured a lifetime of her work with dogs and her learnings, into a spiritual adventure, The DOGtrine of Peace, a novel blueprint for spiritual awakening and enlightenment.
Rich with anecdotes, interviews, and experiences, of dog-lovers, scientists, animal communicators & therapists, activists, spiritual thinkers & yoga gurus, and environmentalists from across the globe, the DOGtrine of Peace is a powerful book of love and compassion for those who seek a unique spiritual path.
This intuitive philosophy provides profound and life-changing Sutras to those with a yearning in their hearts, for those who love humanity, who pursue peace, harmony and truth, and of course for dog lovers and compassionate souls!


VOICE OF THE RUNES
(When Souls Connect, But Vengeance Speaks)
A Haunting love story and a destination thriller.

Dr. Tharoor's endorsement on the book :
"Evocatively written, Voice of the Runes delves into the mystical nature of the Scandinavian runes, with a layered and thrilling storyline that makes for a compelling read." Dr. Shashi Tharoor

'The Trail of Four' an international mystery thriller published by Bloomsbury.
"The Trail of Four - Clever plotting, evocative writing and a compelling mystery. Dan Brown has met his match." ~ Dr. Shashi Tharoor
"Swirling across Europe, The Trail of Four is an intricately woven mystery that emanates from a human heart buried under a Salzburg castle in 1744. A compelling and fascinating read." ~Ashwin Sanghi
"A superb mystery which blends the thrill with the ethereal, 'The Trail of Four' will leave an indelible print/mark on your mind. I highly recommend this book!! "~~ Anita Moorjani



https://kitaab.org/2017/04/11/book-re...

http://www.new-asian-writing.com/book...

http://www.deccanchronicle.com/lifest...

http://www.dailypioneer.com/sunday-ed...

https://incrediblewomenofindia.wordpr...

http://www.thehansindia.com/posts/ind...

http://swatisrai.blogspot.in/2017/04/...


http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/li...

http://www.thehindu.com/books/books-a...

https://pune365.com/trail-four-manjir...

http://www.sakaaltimes.com/NewsDetail...

https://www.harmonyindia.org/leisure_...


'Stellar Signs' the Indian version of 'The Astral Alibi'


'In the Shadow of Inheritance' (A Haunting Love Story) from Penguin India

http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/...


The Gypsies at Noelle's Retreat
(A Riva Parkar Mystery) - The first in a YA mystery series.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Gypsies-Noe...


'The Cavansite Conspiracy' has been awarded the Best Mystery 2012 by BTB Indian Literary Awards.

Tête-à-Tête with Manjiri Prabhu
http://suprose.blogspot.com/2012/12/t...


Dr. Manjiri Prabhu holds a Doctorate in Communication Science and is a short-film-maker, an award-winning international author and also the Founder/ Director of two Festivals. She has directed over 200 children’s TV

Reviews

[Vikas Singh · Rating 5 out of 5]

India's first Astro-detective series, the mysteries are unraveled using horoscopes. It is for the first time that any author has attempted anything in this genre. There are several murder mysteries which Sonia Samarth solves reading horoscopes of the key people involved . Unique attempt which make the novel interesting read

[Arvind Passey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tabla and Dagga. Review of ‘Stellar Signs’

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It isn’t just Jatin, the astro-investigator’s assistant in ‘Stellar Signs’ written by Manjiri Prabhu, who dreams to hit it off like table and dagga, we see examples of twosome awesomeness all around. Readers and writers need to hit it off like table and dagga if you want to get away from the clichéd husband and wife or buyer and seller or crime solving and methodology. This last one here however, that has elements to surprise a reader. The book has Sonia Samarth as a detective who uses horoscopes and astro readings to solve crime… and they hit it off like table and dagga.

Before we talk about the book and the way an investigator uses astro charts and kundlis to catch murderers, I wanted to know if even writers had stellar configurations… and a short sojourn on the internet told me that ‘when the initiatives of a person are influenced by planets denoting intelligence, emotions and mind – the chances of becoming an author or writer are strong.’ One online astrology site informs me that even Shobha De has a horoscope where ‘the relationship between third lord Saturn and Venus, influence of fifth lord Mars over third house and the union of ninth lord Sun with tenth lord Mercury in her ascendant has blessed her with success in the field of creative writing.’ Salman Rushdie’s chart too talks about ‘the relationship between third and fifth houses; and positive involvement of Mercury, Moon, Jupiter and fifth lord Sun.’ Even Stephen King has a near perfect chart for writing. According to another astrologer, ‘he has his Sun in Virgo in the third house of communication, giving him a natural tendency to literary interests (Virgo) and strength in communication (planets in the third house of the chart). He also has Venus and Neptune in his third house in the airy mental sign Libra, indicating a love of writing (Venus) and the imagination to tell a good story (Neptune.)’

Well, if the stars can tell us if we have the writing bug in us, they can also tell us if we have the right temperament to plan and execute a cold blooded murder… or take recourse to inaction just to make sure that an attempt to commit suicide is successful. Yes, Manjiri Prabhu will have us believe through Sonia, the protagonist in her book, that a reading of the star influences can help decipher the truth behind a crime. The book talks about the three M’s of investigation… motive, manner in which killing has taken place, and the material used to kill… and then uses horoscopic alignments of stars to analyse the people involved and see if they have the right configuration that may make them ‘unforgiving and passionate. Even vindictive’ and so we have an investigator in not just surveying a crime scene, searching for clues, meeting and interviewing witnesses and suspects, but also poring over astro-charts for that special stars-inspired clue for the verdict. Thus we find the Sonia, the sleuth being “curious about what Vidya’s horoscope had to say about all this. It told me that Vidya had not been murdered, but that she had committed suicide!” This book ambles along in a an easy language to transform perspectives that are obvious into those that are true...

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Please read the complete review on my blog (www.passey.info)
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Tabla and Dagga. Review of ‘Stellar Signs’
http://passey.info/2015/01/tabla-and-...
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[Pratibha Pandey · Rating 4 out of 5]

The cosmic clues . first book by Manjiri was the first book that I "reviewed" on a site about 7 years back. 3 years later I was into book blogging on a regular basis and yet I fondly remember the book. It was more nistalgic than rational thinking that as soon as I saw this book i knew i had to read it. And i loved it. Simple sweet yet mysterious and different enough to amuse anyone.

Awaiting the story to reach a final end as well as read more astrological stories !

[Kunal Shekhar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just Wowsome 🔥

[Krishnali Kondekar · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Astrodetective (Part 2)

The book Stellar Signs by Manjiri Prabhu is the second book of the series Stellar Investigations (first being The Cosmic Clues). This book as well is a collection of various cases that Sonia, along with her assistant Jatin, solves. In this book, similar to the first book of the series, the cases are based in Pune.
This book is even more interesting and keeps your curiosity to know more, on the edge. Full of suspense and thrill each chapter is carved very beautifully and the characterization is very peculiar. The character of Varun Thakur is one of the main yet intriguing character of this book along with Jatin,the assistant; Monish, the TV news reporter; Uncle Jeevan, the Inspector and of course Nidhi, the pet cat . Several developments in the romance of Sonia and Monish are also seen.
The story begins with the chapter “New Neighbour” where in the block beside Sonia’s office is been taken by Devika Bhagat, a fashion designer who owns the boutique. She visits Sonia to confirm all that she has heard about Sonia making use of Astrological Science (horoscopes of the suspects and victims of her cases) as a guideline to solve the cases. The book progresses with one of Devika’s customers who is Renuka visits Sonia seeking her help.
My favourite chapter is “Anything For Love” in which Sonia decides to watch a Marathi play where Anup and Jaya are the lead actors and a beautiful, romantic and passionate love drama converts into a horrific tragedy.
Several questions like Why does Sonia keep receiving threat calls? Who are they from? Why does The Owl always follow Sonia? Are still unanswered. Which I guess will be answered in third book of this series. Eagerly waiting for these questions to be answered. I would highly recommend to give this series a read. I give this a big fat five stars.

[Madhura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Second book of Stellar Investigations, a detective agency of Sonia Samartha. The important characters in Sonia's life are Jatin Singh her assistant, Mohnish Rai her journalist friend and Nidhi her golden cat.

The story begins with the entry of Devika Bhagat, a fashion designer and Sonia's new neighbor. When Sonia is waiting for a new case Devika's customer meets Sonia requesting for her help. What's is the help Renuka is seeking? One evening, on her parent's request, Sonia with her friend plan to enjoy a Marathi play. How does a romantic play of passionate love turn scary? After some days Sonia receives a case info in a coastal village, through a call. Will Sonia take the call? Should Sonia follow this case? In between her various cases Sonia receives threat calls through a white ghost. Who is this ghost? Why does The Owl keep fellowing Sonia? 

This second book is more interesting than the first. My favourite case in this book is 'Hindustani Classical Singer's Case'. In the first book author explains the connection between astrology and investigation, and in this book she narrates a connection between music and crime. I just loving this Indian touch in the author's scripts. Again Varun character is interesting, and Mohnish is again intriguing. Waiting for the next book (a bit desperately)...


Rating : 4.5/5

[Silverwing · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't usually read mystery-thrillers but I stumbled upon this book when I interviewed the author for a college event this February, the idea of crime being solved with the help of Indian astrology was intriguing and thus I ended up buying it. The book felt like a filler for the next part i.e Cosmic Clues. Sonia Samarth (the detective and protagonist) and her unique way of solving cases using astrology is definitely amusing but it soon looses it's charm as it gets repitative. The characters of Jatin, Mohnish and Naina are equally interesting though they lack depth.

I would have personally liked it more if one of the cases that Sonia solved was dropped out of the final draft and a few more chapters that delved upon the larger plot of Vikram Thakur (the infamous diamond thief who is known as the Owl), the mysterious-astrology-hating figure and lastly Sonia herself were added to the book.