Rich Man, Poor Man, Beggar Man, Thief

by Sarojesh Mukerjee

Dial C for Crime – Murder, a daring jewellery heist, a tax evasion scheme, hidden fortunes, the disappearance of a key witness, or accidents gone awry… each twist more treacherous than the last.
Dial D for Dozen – Twelve lifelong friends, bound by history, clashing over their shared past, their unspoken rivalries, and the secrets they’ve kept hidden for decades.
Dial E for Evil – The dark force that ties these crimes together, propelling this speeding inferno of a thriller you’ll never want to end.
Rich Man, Poor Man, Beggar Man, Thief will leave you breathless, gripped, and questioning whom you can trust.

155 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 30, 2025

Reviews

[Rimii Ghosh · Rating 5 out of 5]

I didn’t expect this book to hit as hard as it did. I opened "Rich Man, Poor Man, Beggar Man, Thief" simply out of curiosity, and within the first few pages, I was hooked. The storytelling format instantly stood out — instead of traditional narration, the plot unfolds through messages and emails exchanged between twelve longtime friends. At first, it feels casual and familiar, even nostalgic. But then a crime shakes their world, and everything shatters.

What impressed me most was how the author uses language to mirror emotion. The tone of every message reflects panic, anger, denial, and exhaustion. You can feel the fear pulsing beneath the surface. I found myself reading more slowly than usual, analyzing every shift in voice, wondering what each character wasn’t saying. It’s rare for a book to make me so actively involved in the storytelling process.

This isn’t just a thriller — it’s a brutally honest look at human psychology. The unraveling of friendship is far more horrifying than the murders themselves. By the time the last page came, I was emotionally drained. It’s brilliant and devastating.

[Dipa · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story kicks off when Anjan invites his eleven school friends to his farmhouse. Everything goes smoothly at first. The weekend is relaxing and fun for everyone, but when they all head home, Anjan drops the news that Leena has lost her valuable jewellery. He also mentions that the last time she put it in the cupboard, everyone was around.

What starts as a friend' s get-together turns into something else entirely. But that's not all—as the investigation digs deeper, buried events from the past come to light, and the story takes a whole new turn.

I loved how it's written as email conversations, with each character sharing their point of view and connecting through it all. It's a short read with to-the-point narratives that keep your interest building.

It's the kind of book that makes you nostalgic about friends' reunions, but at the same time, it hits you that things aren't always what they seem. Some wounds don't heal, some truths can't stay buried, and when they resurface, everything changes.

[Sameer Gudhate · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some books arrive with a whisper. Others crash through the door like an unexpected storm at 3 a.m., rattling the windows of your mind long after the thunder fades. Rich Man, Poor Man, Beggar Man, Thief did exactly that to me. I opened it expecting a clever crime thriller to quietly accompany my evening tea — and instead, I found myself gripping the edge of my chair at 2:47 a.m., heart thudding like a runaway train, mentally shouting at characters who felt far too real to be made of ink and pages.

Maybe it’s because the story begins the way many of our real nightmares do: with shocking news about someone we thought we knew. A friend. A familiar voice. A shared past suddenly stained with tragedy. But the way Sarojesh Mukerjee unleashes this chaos — piece by electrifying piece through emails, letters, and messages — is nothing short of masterful. It felt less like reading a novel and more like being secretly copied on a chain of urgent, panicked messages between people whose lives were collapsing in real time. It’s voyeurism and empathy tangled into one breathless experience.

Mukerjee is no stranger to thoughtful storytelling — his work spans historic biography (The Life and Times of David Hare) and sharp satire (The Ascent). But here, he steps into the fiercely competitive world of modern crime fiction, armed not just with plot but with intellectual precision, emotional tension, and a rare understanding of human psychology. He writes as someone who has studied the machinery of human relationships — the gears of loyalty, envy, ambition, resentment — and dares to test what happens when they grind against each other until sparks fly.

The premise seems deceptively simple: twelve old friends gather, a robbery shakes the foundations of trust, an apparent accident leaves everyone unsettled, and soon the body count begins to rise. But nothing is simple here. Every message exchanged between these friends — frightened, angry, defensive, confused — becomes a clue. Every silence becomes suspicious. Every detail suddenly matters. The epistolary structure transforms the reader into a detective, mining fragments, reading between lines, guessing who’s lying and who’s drowning.

And oh, the writing. Crisp without losing warmth. Atmospheric without drowning in adjectives. The pacing feels like being pulled step by step into a dark room where the lightbulb keeps flickering — just enough brightness to see shape and shadow, never enough to feel safe. I could hear the tense shiver in every WhatsApp notification; I could feel the sticky Calcutta humidity clinging to grief and fear; I could see friendships cracking like old paint under the weight of secrets too heavy to carry.

The characters are the kind that live beyond the page — flawed, emotional, impulsive, tender, and terrifyingly human. These aren’t puzzle pieces built to serve plot mechanics. They bleed. They sweat. They panic. They judge. They betray. There’s a moment — a short, raw email exchanged right after the first murder — that lodged itself in my chest like a thorn. The shock. The disbelief. The way everyone tries to sound rational when they are breaking inside. I’ve been there. We all have, in our own small, quieter tragedies. That’s what makes this book powerful — the crime is loud, but the emotional damage hums like background electricity.

Themes of greed, power, jealousy, and ambition are not presented as neat moral lessons but as uncomfortable mirrors. It forces uncomfortable questions: How well do we know the people we love? What are we capable of when cornered? Where is the line between loyalty and survival? Reading this felt like being caught in a rip current — the deeper you go, the darker it gets, and yet you cannot stop moving forward.

If there is a weakness, it’s simply that the complexity demands attention. This is not a book to skim while half-watching Netflix or scrolling Instagram. The clues hide in punctuation. A missed message matters. But that is exactly why it’s delicious.

When I finally closed the last page, I sat still for a long time, staring at nothing, replaying everything. Because this isn’t just a thriller about murder — it’s an autopsy of friendship. It’s about the masks we wear and the truths we fear. It’s about how nostalgia can blind us, how money can corrupt us, and how betrayal is rarely born overnight.

Would I recommend this book? Absolutely. Especially to readers who crave grit and elegance in the same sentence, who love Janice Hallett and Gillian Flynn, who enjoy stories that demand participation, not passive reading.

Rich Man, Poor Man, Beggar Man, Thief is a high-voltage, spine-tightening, heart-squeezing modern thriller — and a reminder that the scariest mysteries aren’t always the ones that involve dead bodies, but the ones that reveal what people hide while they’re still alive.

Pick it up. Absorb it. Debate it. Lose sleep over it.

Because trust me — you will.

And when you turn the final page, ask yourself the only question that really matters:

Whom would you trust if everything were at stake?

[Gaurav Jaiswal · Rating 5 out of 5]

A tense and well-crafted crime thriller, "Rich Man, Poor Man, Beggar Man, Thief" takes a well-worn reunion-gone-wrong cliché and twists it into something unique with its twists and turns via epistolary storytelling. It starts with what appears to be a classic reunion; twelve old friends are united by a quiet farmhouse to relax, drink and reminisce. But this peaceful arrangement is soon shaken by author Sarojesh Mukherjee when some foul play and repressed resentments lurking behind the well-known faces start to surface. What appeared to be a mere weekend outing turns into a nightmare in no time, and it turns out that all those decades of secrets, envy, and competition have been sitting right beneath the carpet.

The structure of the story is one of its most unique aspects. Mukherjee uses an epistolary format, which means that the whole story develops in the form of emails, messages and written letters among the characters. This method makes the reading process nearly investigative - the readers themselves become detectives, and assemble the truth bit by bit, gathering bits of conversations, traces of secrets, and conflicting versions. Instead of a classic third-person narration, this compilation of messages introduces the elements of suspense and maintains a tight pace of the narrative.

The novel contains more profound themes of trust, betrayal, loyalty and revenge beneath the twists of the plot, which involves jewel robbery, a near fatal incident, brutal murders and the loss of a crucial witness. The letters exchanged between each character provide not only plot progress, but also their character and the inner-workings of their minds, showing that friendship and trust can be mere veneers of jealousy, avarice, and unresolved conflicts. The title itself becomes symbolic: not only about material wealth but about the various moral and emotional conditions of the characters: who is really wealthy or poor in integrity and compassion.

The most interesting part about the novel is that it breaks down the friendship facade, revealing that alliances based on shared histories can simply dissolve because of greed, betrayal, and ambition. The excellent pacing and the gradual unveiling of revelations offer Mukherjee a masterful control of the reader. Every message or note can be a clue, a red herring, or a vital bit of truth, and is a way to keep the suspense to the end. This form of writing further intensifies the feeling of mistrust in the characters - and, by by implication, in the reader, since in an epistolary thriller what is said is not always what is meant.

In summary it is an intelligent, captivating thriller that incorporates crime, psychology and interpersonal drama into a compelling story. At its core, the book is not a whodunit but a psychological masterpiece of examining human vices, with affluence, rank, and historic grudges controlling decisions with scathing outcomes. Its creative narration requires the reader to actively follow the story and rewards the person who likes to puzzle out mysteries using broken but insightful visions. This novel is a thought-provoking read to those who love character-driven suspense that leaves you guessing and unsure of your presumptions about every character in the book.

[Komal Kumari · Rating 5 out of 5]

📖 Book Review 📖

Book Review – Rich Man, Poor Man, Beggar Man, Thief by Sarojesh Mukerjee

I just finished reading this book, and it felt like I was inside a storm of mystery and emotion.
I loved how the story begins with a shocking murder and then slowly pulls me into a world of secrets.
The author uses emails between friends to tell the story, and that made it feel very real to me.
I could sense their fear, shock and confusion as they try to understand why Gour was killed.
The characters are not just names — I felt their pain and friendship with every message.
I liked how the suspense built up with every piece of information that came from the police.
The mystery around the jewellery store visits made me think hard about what Gour was hiding.
I enjoyed how each friend had a different theory, and I felt like I was also investigating with them.
The writing is simple but powerful, and I could imagine every scene clearly in my head.
I felt a strong mix of sadness and curiosity as the story went ahead.
The book shows how even close friends don’t always know everything about each other. There are moments when I wondered who to trust and who was telling the full truth.
I liked how the author kept adding twists—money, revenge, secrets, even jealousy.
By the end, I realised this is not just about a murder—it is about human nature.
This book left me thinking long after I finished it.

Why one must read this book:
• It keeps you guessing till the last page.
• It shows how friendship and truth can clash in unexpected ways.

Rating: 5/5
Happy Reading 📚

[Rajendra Kumar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sarojesh Mukerjee’s "Rich Man, Poor Man, Beggar Man, Thief" is a gripping thriller that masterfully intertwines friendship, betrayal, and crime into a high-stakes narrative. Centered around twelve lifelong friends — the ‘Terrific Twelve’ — the novel unfolds almost entirely through a series of emails📩 exchanged among them during December 2007.

            Having maintained close bonds since their school🏫 days, their reunion at Anjan’s farmhouse in Singur sets the stage for a chilling unraveling of mystery and betrayal. The story is a kaleidoscope of treachery and suspense: a daring jewellery heist involving Leena’s missing jewels, the brutal murder of Gour, a tax evasion scandal, hidden fortunes, and an accident involving Manas gone terribly wrong.

          Sarojesh Mukerjee expertly uses the twelve characters — Leena, Amal, Arati, Manas, Subhash, Debi, Ashish, Gour, Prithwish, Sutapa, Malati, and Anjan — to showcase how shared history and unspoken rivalries can poison lifelong friendships. The interplay of ‘dozen’ friends each carrying their own shadows👥, and the ‘evil’ force entangling their fates, creates a whirlwind of tension and drama that propels the story at breakneck speed.

  ��      Ultimately, "Rich Man, Poor Man, Beggar Man, Thief" is a masterclass in suspense and characterization, blending a psychological edge with compelling action. A must-read for fans of intricate thrillers and tightly woven mysteries💖🌟

[Thasni Rahim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rich Man, Poor Man, Beggar Man, Thief by Sarojesh Mukerjee is a fast-paced epistolary crime thriller set in Kolkata that turns a seemingly harmless reunion of old friends into something dark and dangerous. What starts as a weekend get-together quickly spirals after a jewellery heist sets off a chain reaction an “accident” that feels anything but, a sudden disappearance, and a series of brutal murders.

The story is told entirely through emails, letters, and messages, which keeps the tension high and makes you feel like you’re piecing together the mystery in real time. As the truth slowly unravels, you’re pulled into a web of hidden wealth, tax evasion, long-held grudges, and revenge, where no one feels entirely innocent.

The Kolkata setting adds a strong local flavour, with familiar roads, suburbs, and crime references grounding the story in a very real place. The closed circle farmhouse setup gives it a classic whodunit vibe, but the modern format and pace keep it sharp and contemporary.

At its core, the novel is about friendship gone sour how ego, jealousy, class differences, and buried resentments can twist long-standing bonds. The writing is simple and direct, focused on momentum rather than style. If you enjoy puzzle like mysteries with group dynamics and an Indian setting, this one is a gripping, entertaining read.

[Sagar Naskar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rich Man, Poor Man, Beggar Man, Thief by Sarojesh Mukerjee is a fast-paced, masterfully written thriller that demonstrates that suspense doesn't require gunfights to be deadly. The story, which is primarily told through emails written in December 2007, immerses the reader in the personal lives of twelve lifelong friends whose reunion in Anjan's Singur farmhouse sets off a series of crimes, including financial fraud, a bold theft, murder, and the disappearance of a key witness.

This book stands out due to its intense emotional content. The crimes are compelling, but the true brutality is found in friendships that fall apart due to ambition, envy, and long-kept secrets. Every email seems like a hint, and every quiet is a danger. Mukerjee strikes a remarkable mix between being sluggish enough to create psychological strain and crisp enough to keep the pages turning nonstop.

Because he represents the story's emotional and narrative focal point, Anjan is my favorite character. The novel's main question—how well do we truly know the people we grew up with?is aptly captured by his composed façade, moral uncertainty, and hidden depths.


This book is unique, well-written, and has a memorable conclusion, which is why I suggest it. You'll be thinking about it long after you've finished reading the last email.

[Sudeshna Banerjee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have rarely read a thriller that made me feel so personally involved. Rich Man, Poor Man, Beggar Man, Thief doesn’t rely on dramatic car chases or gunfights. Its power lies in the emotional violence of friendship tearing itself apart. The story unfolds through emails and messages, and that immediacy makes everything feel achingly real like reading a private conversation during a crisis you weren’t meant to witness.

The pace is extraordinary. Slow enough to build unbearable tension, but sharp enough to keep your heart racing. Every message feels like a clue. Every silence feels like a warning. As the situation escalates, you can feel the characters unraveling their sentences shorten, their emotions crack, their fear seeps through the language. It’s storytelling with surgical precision.

The themes are uncomfortable but important: the fragile nature of trust, the corrosive effect of ambition, the darkness we hide even from friends. When the truth finally emerged, I literally gasped. I sat staring at the last page, processing the emotional wreckage. This book is not just suspenseful it’s unforgettable.

[Arpita · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wasn’t expecting a crime thriller to be so emotionally heavy. Rich Man, Poor Man, Beggar Man, Thief begins with a reunion among old friends, and for a moment, it feels like a warm celebration of memories. But the tone shifts violently after the shocking news breaks, and from that point on, every interaction becomes loaded with tension. I was stunned by how quickly trust disintegrated and suspicion took control.

The digital correspondence format makes everything feel immediate and raw. Reading it felt like watching a live crisis unfold rather than reading fiction. Every short message carries weight, and the lack of traditional narration forces you to piece together the truth yourself. I kept switching opinions about who might be guilty — the book manipulated my assumptions brilliantly.

But what stayed with me long after finishing wasn’t the mystery itself — it was the emotional fallout. How easily we misjudge those we think we know. How dangerous silence can be. How betrayal doesn’t always announce itself — sometimes it whispers. This book left me shaken, and still thinking about it the next morning.

[Pushkar Chaudhary · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have rarely read a thriller that made me feel so personally involved. Rich Man, Poor Man, Beggar Man, Thief doesn’t rely on dramatic car chases or gunfights. Its power lies in the emotional violence of friendship tearing itself apart. The story unfolds through emails and messages, and that immediacy makes everything feel achingly real — like reading a private conversation during a crisis you weren’t meant to witness.

The pace is extraordinary. Slow enough to build unbearable tension, but sharp enough to keep your heart racing. Every message feels like a clue. Every silence feels like a warning. As the situation escalates, you can feel the characters unraveling — their sentences shorten, their emotions crack, their fear seeps through the language. It’s storytelling with surgical precision.

The themes are uncomfortable but important: the fragile nature of trust, the corrosive effect of ambition, the darkness we hide even from friends. When the truth finally emerged, I literally gasped. I sat staring at the last page, processing the emotional wreckage. This book is not just suspenseful — it’s unforgettable.

[Tanustudies · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are books that entertain, and then there are books that haunt you long after you finish them. Rich Man, Poor Man, Beggar Man, Thief belongs firmly in the second category. I started reading it casually during a train journey and by the second chapter, I realized I had stopped noticing the world outside the window. Every page felt like peeling back a layer of skin, exposing the raw nerves underneath.

The author takes an enormous risk by constructing the whole narrative out of fragmented communication — WhatsApp messages, emails, personal notes. But that risk pays off brilliantly. It felt less like fiction and more like stumbling across a private group chat during a crisis. The emotional realism is staggering: fear disguised as anger, grief expressed as sarcasm, loyalty turning into suspicion with the slightest shift in tone.

The characters felt real enough to touch — real enough to worry about. I kept trying to decide who I trusted, and the answer changed every few pages. When the truth finally surfaced, it hit like a gut punch. I genuinely had to close the book and breathe. Rarely does a thriller carry this much soul.

[Tanu Singh · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve read many thrillers, but Rich Man, Poor Man, Beggar Man, Thief hit me differently. It didn’t shock me with gore or dramatic chase scenes — it unsettled me in the quietest and most invasive way possible. The story begins with something painfully familiar: old friends catching up after years apart, exchanging polite warmth that slowly begins to crack under pressure. But the moment tragedy strikes, the tone shifts sharply, and suddenly you’re not reading a reunion anymore — you’re watching a psychological breakdown unfold in real time.

What I loved most was the structure. The entire narrative told through emails, letters, and messages felt intimate, almost too intimate at times. Every short reply, every delayed response, felt like a clue. I found myself analyzing commas and pauses like a detective trying to solve a puzzle before anyone else could. The tension builds like a tightening rope, and you can’t look away.

The book isn’t just about crime; it’s about the terrifying fragility of trust. It made me think about my own friendships — what we say openly and what we bury under silence. By the end, my hands were ice cold. I wasn’t prepared for the final blow.

[Sonu · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked up Rich Man, Poor Man, Beggar Man, Thief expecting a predictable weekend thriller, something quick and entertaining. But within the first few pages, I realized I was holding something very different—something unsettling and intimate. The unique structure, told entirely through emails, letters, and chat messages, makes the reading experience feel shockingly real. It’s like accidentally stumbling into someone’s private conversations and being unable to look away. I was hooked, uneasy, and deeply curious all at once.

What surprised me most was how quickly the emotional weight of the story took over. Instead of focusing solely on the crime, the book digs into the fragile threads that hold friendships together. These twelve friends feel like people we’ve all known—flawed, hopeful, scared, and fiercely protective of their truths. As suspicions rise and loyalties fracture, I found myself torn between empathy and suspicion.

By the time I reached the final twist, I was breathless and shaken. This isn’t just a thriller—it’s a confrontation with the uncomfortable question: How well do we ever truly know the people we love?

[Anjana Singh · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I first heard about Rich Man, Poor Man, Beggar Man, Thief, I assumed it would be another formula-driven thriller—suspense, a few sharp twists, and a tidy ending. But I was wrong, completely wrong. This book doesn’t ease you in; it throws you straight into chaos, right from the opening tragedy. The storytelling format, built entirely through digital conversations and written exchanges, makes everything terrifyingly immediate. It doesn’t feel like fiction—it feels like eavesdropping on real people in crisis.

What struck me hardest was how quickly paranoia takes over the group. These are friends with decades of shared memories, yet they turn on each other with an intensity that feels painfully believable. The emotional unraveling felt more gripping than the crimes themselves. The author understands human behavior so precisely that I often found myself whispering, “Yes, people really do this.” It was unsettling and strangely validating.

By the end, I wasn’t just reading a story—I was questioning my friendships, my assumptions, my ability to judge character. If a book can shake you long after you finish it, that’s powerful. This one did.

[Riya · Rating 4 out of 5]

I rarely read crime fiction, mostly because it usually focuses more on plot gymnastics than on real emotional depth. But Rich Man, Poor Man, Beggar Man, Thief is something different. It isn’t just a story about solving a mystery; it’s a story about watching people unravel, layer by layer, until the truth becomes a brutal exposure. The format alone—letters, WhatsApp messages, emails—completely changed the reading experience for me. I felt like I was inside the group chat, watching trust crumble in real time.

More than anything, the characters stayed with me. They’re imperfect in all the ways real people are: jealous, insecure, loving, selfish, broken, hopeful. They make terrible decisions. They try to justify them. And the author gives each voice such authenticity that I had no favorite, because I trusted and doubted every one of them at different points. That’s masterful writing.

When I turned the final page, I sat completely still. Not because of the twist—though it’s brilliant—but because of the emotional residue it left behind. It reminded me that the most dangerous secrets are the ones we carry silently.

[Mridul · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked up this novel purely because the title intrigued me, and I’m so glad I did. Rich Man, Poor Man, Beggar Man, Thief is one of the most immersive reading experiences I’ve had recently. The epistolary approach—telling the story through personal communications—creates a sense of immediacy I wasn’t prepared for. It felt less like reading and more like witnessing something I shouldn’t be seeing, like holding someone’s unlocked phone in my hands and scrolling through their deepest fears.

The tension builds with quiet precision. Every new message seems harmless at first, but slowly, the ground shifts beneath your feet. The friendships feel genuine, layered with history and affection, which makes the growing mistrust absolutely gutting. The author does a brilliant job showing how fear turns ordinary people into strangers to themselves.

What I appreciated most is that the book respects the reader’s intelligence. It doesn’t spoon-feed. You have to notice details, infer motives, ask uncomfortable questions. When everything finally comes together, the emotional impact is massive. This is a thriller with a heartbeat, and it lingers long after the last page.

[Surya · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading Rich Man, Poor Man, Beggar Man, Thief felt like being trapped inside a storm with no safe direction to run. From the very first pages, there’s a sense of unease, a feeling that something terrible is about to happen and no one has control over it. The author’s decision to shape the narrative through emails and messages is genius—it adds rawness, urgency, and a strangely addictive momentum. I kept telling myself “just one more page,” and suddenly hours had disappeared.

What hit hard for me was the emotional realism between the characters. These aren’t cardboard cutouts orchestrated to move the plot. They’re messy, complicated, painfully human. Their reactions to tragedy feel authentic—the panic, the confusion, the denial. I found myself torn between sympathy and suspicion constantly, and that’s what made reading this so thrilling.

The themes—greed, betrayal, fear, loyalty—are threaded through the story with such subtlety that you barely notice until everything explodes. And when it does, it leaves a bruise. The final twist is devastating, not because it’s shocking, but because it feels so tragically inevitable.

[Aditya Kumar · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wasn’t prepared for how addictive this book would be. I started reading Rich Man, Poor Man, Beggar Man, Thief on a flight, thinking it would be a distraction. Instead, I spent the entire journey glued to my seat, oblivious to everything around me. The storytelling format—through emails and messages—is brilliant. It feels intimate and invasive, like being allowed into someone’s private world and realizing you’re seeing things you shouldn’t.

The characters are what elevate this novel above most thrillers. They’re flawed, but they’re real. They remind you of people in your own life—the friend who hides pain behind humour, the one who needs to be admired, the one who avoids confrontation. When tragedy strikes and distrust spreads, it’s painful because it feels familiar. The emotional layering is phenomenal.

The suspense is relentless. Each chapter tightens the knot, and even moments of silence feel threatening. I actually caught myself holding my breath at points. And that ending—wow. It left me chilled and thoughtful simultaneously. This book doesn’t just entertain; it shakes you.

[Yadav G · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book stunned me. I wasn’t expecting the emotional force behind Rich Man, Poor Man, Beggar Man, Thief. I went in assuming it would be a typical crime narrative—plot twists, hidden motives, and a final reveal. Instead, I found a story built from raw human emotion and psychological tension that never once felt manufactured. The epistolary style makes everything feel painfully real. Reading those messages felt almost intrusive, like witnessing something private and irreversible.

The author masterfully portrays group dynamics—the shifting alliances, the sudden fractures, the quiet resentments that erupt under pressure. It’s the kind of relationship study that lingers. I could feel the weight of unspoken history in every exchange, and it made the growing suspicion between the characters absolutely gripping. I kept changing my mind about who to trust.

What stayed with me most was the ending. It lands with a quiet, devastating power—not a cheap twist, but something deeply human and achingly sad. I closed the book feeling wrung out, in the best possible way. Rarely does a thriller move me emotionally. This one did.

[Jenny Writes · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of those books that starts like a whisper and ends like an explosion. I thought I was settling in for a relaxing weekend read, but Rich Man, Poor Man, Beggar Man, Thief consumed me completely. The premise is deceptively simple — a reunion of old friends, an unexpected robbery, and a tragic death — but the real story is the emotional carnage that follows. It’s like watching a dam crack from the inside.

The message-and-email format sucked me in instantly. It felt like being inside a private diary or a secret investigator’s file. The characters don’t speak in long speeches or dramatic revelations — they speak like real people do when they’re scared and confused. Short sentences. Broken logic. The kind of language that reveals desperation even when trying to sound calm.

What shook me most was how quickly long-lasting friendship becomes a battlefield. The masks come off one by one, and by the end, I didn’t know whom to believe. The plot twist left me speechless. This book is intelligent, emotional, and brutally honest. A must-read for people who crave psychological depth in thrillers.

[Pratik · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rich Man, Poor Man, Beggar Man, Thief feels like being pulled into a whirlpool. At first, everything seems calm and familiar — a group of old friends catching up, warm conversations dripping with nostalgia. And then suddenly, without warning, something goes terribly wrong. A robbery, an accident, and the world tilts on its axis. That’s when the real story begins — the slow, terrifying breakdown of trust.

The book’s epistolary style is incredibly effective. Reading the messages felt like sneaking into forbidden territory, like spying on private chaos. Every typo felt intentional, every pause like a secret. I found myself flipping pages faster and faster, not because I wanted to finish, but because I needed to understand what was really happening behind the words. It’s addictive and uncomfortable in the best possible way.

What really struck me is how real the characters feel. They’re flawed, emotional, confused — and painfully human. Their reactions reminded me of real crisis behavior: messy, irrational, heartbreaking. This isn’t just a thriller — it’s a mirror. And sometimes what we see terrifies us.

[Read_with_rimi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finishing "Rich Man, Poor Man, Beggar Man, Thief" felt like coming up for air after being underwater too long. The story begins quietly, almost gently, and then spirals into something dark, heavy, and suffocating. A group of old friends reconnects, and at first, the warmth feels genuine. But as soon as tragedy strikes, the tone fractures — and so do the relationships. The shift is so gradual and so expertly written that you don’t even realize you’re holding your breath.

The structure is genius. The entire story unfolds through personal digital communication — the same way modern relationships function. Short messages, emotional bursts, long silences that say more than words. It’s impossible not to become emotionally involved. I felt like I was intruding on something intensely private and heartbreakingly real.

What stays with you is the psychological decay. Fear twists into suspicion. Nostalgia becomes resentment. Loyalty turns toxic. The atmosphere grows heavier with every exchange, until you can practically feel the tension vibrating through the pages. The final reveal left my stomach in knots. This book is not just read — it is experienced.

[Bookish Corner · Rating 5 out of 5]

I rarely write reviews, but this book demanded one. Rich Man, Poor Man, Beggar Man, Thief is a slow-burning emotional grenade. It begins innocently enough: old friends exchanging warm messages full of nostalgia and old jokes. But within a matter of pages, everything shifts. Something terrible happens, and suddenly every message feels like a cry for help disguised as conversation.

The writing style — built around correspondence — adds a raw authenticity you rarely see. You feel the panic rising through every typed sentence. You sense the weight of every unanswered question. The characters unravel right in front of your eyes, and it’s painful and mesmerizing at the same time. I kept whispering, “Oh no…” as relationships fractured and secrets spilled.

This isn’t just a thriller — it’s a psychological study of trust and betrayal. The suspense is intense, but the emotional impact is even stronger. It made me wonder how well I know the people closest to me, and how easily everything can change with a single event. The ending left me shaken. Brilliant, chilling, unforgettable.

[Bittu · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book in one sitting, something I honestly haven’t done in years. I started casually after dinner, thinking I’d read a chapter or two before bed. Instead, at 4 a.m., I was still awake, eyes wide, pulse racing, unable to stop. Rich Man, Poor Man, Beggar Man, Thief is that kind of book—relentless, absorbing, and disturbingly intimate. The author doesn’t waste a single word; every message, every pause, every unanswered text feels like a clue.

What stood out to me most was the psychological insight. This isn’t just a thriller—it’s an autopsy of friendship. The tensions between the characters feel so real that I often found myself uncomfortably reflecting on my own friendships—on the cracks we pretend not to see, the assumptions we never question, the secrets we hope stay buried. The emotions hit hard because they’re familiar.

The pacing is breathtaking. Just when I thought I understood what was happening, the story twisted again, forcing me to rethink everything. By the end, I was exhausted—in the best way. If you want a thriller that consumes you, read this.

[Archana · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have a rule that I never read thrillers late at night because my imagination tends to take control and I end up unable to sleep. I broke that rule with Rich Man, Poor Man, Beggar Man, Thief—and yes, I regretted it, but only because the story haunted me afterward. I was completely hooked by the structure. The idea of piecing together a crime through fragmented conversations is bold, and the execution is flawless. It created a level of tension that felt almost physical.

What surprised me most was how emotionally invested I became. These twelve friends reminded me so much of my own college circle—the inside jokes, the memories, the unspoken hierarchies. Watching everything fall apart between them felt personal. The way the author captures fear and suspicion is brutally accurate. People break differently under pressure, and this book shows that beautifully.

By the time I reached the end, I felt as though I had lived alongside these characters, not simply read about them. It’s rare for a thriller to feel so human. This one absolutely does.

[Misha Kumari · Rating 4 out of 5]

I finished this book yesterday, and I still can’t stop thinking about it. Very few stories manage to dig under your skin the way Rich Man, Poor Man, Beggar Man, Thief does. The structure alone sets it apart—it’s fast, fragmented, and incredibly immersive. The author has created a world where every message could be a clue, and every reaction feels like a test of loyalty.

What I found most compelling is how deeply psychological the book is. It isn’t just about solving a crime—it’s about understanding what people are capable of when they are afraid, cornered, or betrayed. The friendships at the center of the story feel beautifully authentic, which makes their collapse genuinely heartbreaking. The tension builds slowly, almost invisibly, and before you realize it, you’re completely consumed.

The writing itself is sharp, unpretentious, and emotionally resonant. There’s a rhythm to it that keeps you locked in. The ending took my breath away—unexpected, but entirely earned. I love when a thriller challenges me rather than just entertains me. This one absolutely did.

[Gaurav G Pandey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I started reading this book during my lunch break at work, planning to read maybe twenty pages. Instead, I found myself hiding in the pantry, completely absorbed and unwilling to stop. Rich Man, Poor Man, Beggar Man, Thief has that rare quality where every chapter pulls you deeper without ever overwhelming you. The narrative told through personal messages is genius—it forces the reader to participate, to interpret, to feel the urgency.

What really impressed me was how vividly the author captures fear. Not loud panic, but the quiet kind—the tension that sits in your stomach and refuses to move. As the story unfolds, you can feel the emotional temperature rising among the characters. Their reactions are so human, so recognizably flawed, that it’s impossible not to empathize. Even when I disliked a character, I understood them.

The pacing is phenomenal. I never felt lost, never bored, never distracted. The conclusion stunned me—unexpected, yet inevitable. I closed the book feeling shaken and strangely reflective. This is a story that refuses to leave your bones.

[Shweta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rich Man, Poor Man, Beggar Man, Thief pulls you straight into a world of crime, cracked friendships and everything appears to be like an illusion.

At its core, the book is full of of crimes like a murder that refuses to stay simple, a daring jewellery heist, shady tax evasion, vanished witnesses, and “accidents” that feel far too convenient. Each chapter adds a new twist, tightening the grip and raising the excitement level.

The story revolves around twelve lifelong friends, once inseparable, now bound together by shared history and buried resentments. Old rivalries resurface, egos clash, and long-kept secrets begin to leak.

As the plot progresses the novel turns into a fast-burning and the writing becomes sharp and cinematic.

Rich Man, Poor Man, Beggar Man, Thief is a gripping, full of twists thriller that is brimming with secrets, betrayal, and moral ambiguity. If you enjoy intelligent crime fiction that keeps you guessing until the very end this one deserves a spot on your shelf.

[Sumit RK · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Rich Man, Poor Man, Beggar Man, Thief" is gripping thriller that will keep you hooked till the end. Weaving an engrossing web of deceit, revenge and justice, the story is an absolute page turner.

The story begins as a get together of friends at a farmhouse. As the party advances, things begin to unravel and masks begin to fall apart and secrets and deceits begin to come to surface..who will survive the long night?

The story uses the unique epistolary format, where the story unfolds in emails, letters and messages. It makes the readers, join the dots and figure out the mystery like a jigsaw Puzzle. The story starts slowly but gathers momentum as the characters are established. The book blends betrayal, revenge, murder, robberies in a mind twisting plot. But sets the story apart are the characters and the study of human nature, as the situations around them start changing.

Overall, "Rich Man, Poor Man, Beggar Man, Thief" is one mystery thriller that should not be missed and is a great read for thriller lovers.