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Ravi PI #1
Her Nightly Embrace
The first in a trilogy of whip-smart novels—currently in development as a TV series set to star Sendhil Ramamurthy (NBC’s Heroes and Heroes Reborn )—about a destructive private investigator and his eccentric coworkers, who handle cases so high-profile that they never make the headlines.
Ravi Chandra Singh is the last guy you’d expect to become a private detective. A failed religious scholar, he now works for Golden Sentinels, an upmarket London private investigations agency. His colleagues are a band of gleefully amoral and brilliant Ken and Clive, a pair of brutal ex-cops who are also a gay couple; Mark Chapman, a burned-out stoner hiding a great mind; Marcie Holder, a cheerful former publicist; Benjamin Lee, a techie prankster from South London; David Okri, an ambitious lawyer from a well-connected Nigerian immigrant family; and Olivia Wong, an upper-class Hong Kong financial analyst hiding her true skills as one of the most dangerous hackers in the world—all under the watchful eye of Roger Golden, wheeler-dealer extraordinaire, and his mysterious office manager, Cheryl Hughes.
Thrust into a world where the rich, famous, and powerful hire him to solve their problems and wash their dirty laundry, Ravi finds himself in over his head with increasingly gonzo and complex cases – and the recent visions that he’s been having of Hindu gods aren’t helping. As Ravi struggles to stay ahead of danger, he wonders if the things he’s seeing are a delusion – or if he might, in fact, be an unrecognized shaman of the modern world...
Ravi Chandra Singh is the last guy you’d expect to become a private detective. A failed religious scholar, he now works for Golden Sentinels, an upmarket London private investigations agency. His colleagues are a band of gleefully amoral and brilliant Ken and Clive, a pair of brutal ex-cops who are also a gay couple; Mark Chapman, a burned-out stoner hiding a great mind; Marcie Holder, a cheerful former publicist; Benjamin Lee, a techie prankster from South London; David Okri, an ambitious lawyer from a well-connected Nigerian immigrant family; and Olivia Wong, an upper-class Hong Kong financial analyst hiding her true skills as one of the most dangerous hackers in the world—all under the watchful eye of Roger Golden, wheeler-dealer extraordinaire, and his mysterious office manager, Cheryl Hughes.
Thrust into a world where the rich, famous, and powerful hire him to solve their problems and wash their dirty laundry, Ravi finds himself in over his head with increasingly gonzo and complex cases – and the recent visions that he’s been having of Hindu gods aren’t helping. As Ravi struggles to stay ahead of danger, he wonders if the things he’s seeing are a delusion – or if he might, in fact, be an unrecognized shaman of the modern world...
320 pages, Hardcover
First published November 1, 2016
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 98 reviews
February 7, 2017
Her Nightly Embrace by Adi Tantimedh is a 2016 Atria/ Leopaldo &Co. Publication.
I had no idea what to expect from this book, but the publishers were so enthusiastic about it and their plans for audio and television projects featuring “Heroes” star Sendhil Ramamurthy, I couldn’t resist taking a look at it.
When Ravi Chandra Singh gave up his religious studies after his reputation was impugned, he is hired by Golden Sentinels, a detective agency located in London. While Ravi may not seem like detective material, he’s a quick study. However, he does have a few, shall we say, abnormalities. Every time Ravi is stressed out, he sees a variety of Hindu Gods, and they seem to be tweeting about him. No matter how many pills he pops the visions persists, causing Ravi to continually question his sanity.
This is an introduction to Ravi, but we soon learn a great deal more about him and his family, as he gives us an up close and personal view to his highly unusual adventures as a private detective and the offbeat and occasionally dangerous cases he and the eclectic team at Golden Sentinels are hired to handle.
It’s no secret this book is being shopped for a television series and I do think the book was written in such a way that it would appeal to anyone who enjoys media tie-in material, perhaps with the hopes the book will enjoy cross-media attention and sales.
There are four complete short stories in one book, all individual cases worked on by Ravi and his team, but there is a common thread or continuance that binds the stories together.
I like Ravi’s voice and the stories are imaginative, fast paced, quirky and are even humorous on occasion. Over the course of the four installments, the cases become more serious, more dangerous, and more intriguing.
I always applaud creativity and imagination and I’m all for giving books a little boost by offering podcasts, movie or television tie-ins, or even some kind of interactive multi-media enhancements to keep readers engaged and to promote a love of reading. To that end, this book gets my seal of approval.
I thought the stories were stylish, if a bit outlandish, but the characters were terrific, each member having a unique skill to bring to the table. There are several well placed twists that propel the story along from one installment to another and the dynamic between the characters and the plot is ever evolving.
I can see how this book would easily translate to the small screen and I predict it will appeal to a certain demographic. It could pick up steam easily, but I’m not sure how long it would sustain the audience in that fickle environment. However, in the book world, if the author plays their cards right and doesn’t let the video appeal mar the integrity of the books, this is a series that could see a long and successful run.
Personally, I got a kick out of this book, for the most part, and would be interested in reading more about Ravi’s adventures in the future.
4 stars
I had no idea what to expect from this book, but the publishers were so enthusiastic about it and their plans for audio and television projects featuring “Heroes” star Sendhil Ramamurthy, I couldn’t resist taking a look at it.
When Ravi Chandra Singh gave up his religious studies after his reputation was impugned, he is hired by Golden Sentinels, a detective agency located in London. While Ravi may not seem like detective material, he’s a quick study. However, he does have a few, shall we say, abnormalities. Every time Ravi is stressed out, he sees a variety of Hindu Gods, and they seem to be tweeting about him. No matter how many pills he pops the visions persists, causing Ravi to continually question his sanity.
This is an introduction to Ravi, but we soon learn a great deal more about him and his family, as he gives us an up close and personal view to his highly unusual adventures as a private detective and the offbeat and occasionally dangerous cases he and the eclectic team at Golden Sentinels are hired to handle.
It’s no secret this book is being shopped for a television series and I do think the book was written in such a way that it would appeal to anyone who enjoys media tie-in material, perhaps with the hopes the book will enjoy cross-media attention and sales.
There are four complete short stories in one book, all individual cases worked on by Ravi and his team, but there is a common thread or continuance that binds the stories together.
I like Ravi’s voice and the stories are imaginative, fast paced, quirky and are even humorous on occasion. Over the course of the four installments, the cases become more serious, more dangerous, and more intriguing.
I always applaud creativity and imagination and I’m all for giving books a little boost by offering podcasts, movie or television tie-ins, or even some kind of interactive multi-media enhancements to keep readers engaged and to promote a love of reading. To that end, this book gets my seal of approval.
I thought the stories were stylish, if a bit outlandish, but the characters were terrific, each member having a unique skill to bring to the table. There are several well placed twists that propel the story along from one installment to another and the dynamic between the characters and the plot is ever evolving.
I can see how this book would easily translate to the small screen and I predict it will appeal to a certain demographic. It could pick up steam easily, but I’m not sure how long it would sustain the audience in that fickle environment. However, in the book world, if the author plays their cards right and doesn’t let the video appeal mar the integrity of the books, this is a series that could see a long and successful run.
Personally, I got a kick out of this book, for the most part, and would be interested in reading more about Ravi’s adventures in the future.
4 stars
Read
May 14, 2019Bought for two reasons: first the cover. Good *lord*. Second, the premise, which is fantastic: a London teacher turns PI for a discreet top-end outfit operating above and around the law. Also, he sees Hindu gods, who come and watch what he's up to and tweet to each other about him. With a hashtag.
I mean, that is *brilliant*. The book itself isn't quite up to the premise, but so little could be. It's fast moving and a lot of fun, but the writing is a bit thin, and could have used a stronger editor. There's some definite clunks with implausibilities (of the plot hole variety, not the tweeting gods kind). And while its heart is in the right place there's a few problematic bits that could definitely have been better handled (including a trans character). But there's also a lot of sordid rich people, internet trolls, Tories and bankers getting horrendous comeuppances, which is worth a lot to me, plus a super-diverse cast. And of course, the cover. Not flawless, but I was entertained.
I mean, that is *brilliant*. The book itself isn't quite up to the premise, but so little could be. It's fast moving and a lot of fun, but the writing is a bit thin, and could have used a stronger editor. There's some definite clunks with implausibilities (of the plot hole variety, not the tweeting gods kind). And while its heart is in the right place there's a few problematic bits that could definitely have been better handled (including a trans character). But there's also a lot of sordid rich people, internet trolls, Tories and bankers getting horrendous comeuppances, which is worth a lot to me, plus a super-diverse cast. And of course, the cover. Not flawless, but I was entertained.
July 6, 2017
3.5 Stars → I heard a lot of buzz about this book, so I decided to give it a listen on audio. HER NIGHTLY EMBRACE is the first in a series that follows the investigations of Ravi Chandra Singh, P.I.
I enjoyed Ravi's character. He's smart, witty, flawed, and conflicted. He can also see Hindu Gods; they even tweet about him to each other. Ravi was once a religious scholar, but left his studies to become a teacher, a career that didn't last long. Eventually he landed a job with an exclusive detective agency called Golden Sentinels.
This book is set up differently than I expected. Instead of having one central plot, the book is a collection of stories covering a different case Golden Sentinels is investigating. I think it worked pretty well. I do wish the secondary characters had been fleshed out a little more, which was probably harder to do jumping from story to story.
One note of caution: there is a lot of foul language in this book. A LOT! After a while it became jarring and distracting. Swearing is fine when it's called for, but this was over the top for me.
As the blurb says, this book is "currently in development as a TV series set to star Sendhil Ramamurthy," so it makes sense that he would narrate the audiobook! Loved his performance as Ravi, and he also did brilliantly with the other characters' accents and mannerisms. I will definitely keep an eye out for HER NIGHTLY EMBRACE to come to the small screen.
Disclosure: I received a copy of this audiobook from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
I enjoyed Ravi's character. He's smart, witty, flawed, and conflicted. He can also see Hindu Gods; they even tweet about him to each other. Ravi was once a religious scholar, but left his studies to become a teacher, a career that didn't last long. Eventually he landed a job with an exclusive detective agency called Golden Sentinels.
This book is set up differently than I expected. Instead of having one central plot, the book is a collection of stories covering a different case Golden Sentinels is investigating. I think it worked pretty well. I do wish the secondary characters had been fleshed out a little more, which was probably harder to do jumping from story to story.
One note of caution: there is a lot of foul language in this book. A LOT! After a while it became jarring and distracting. Swearing is fine when it's called for, but this was over the top for me.
As the blurb says, this book is "currently in development as a TV series set to star Sendhil Ramamurthy," so it makes sense that he would narrate the audiobook! Loved his performance as Ravi, and he also did brilliantly with the other characters' accents and mannerisms. I will definitely keep an eye out for HER NIGHTLY EMBRACE to come to the small screen.
Disclosure: I received a copy of this audiobook from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
June 29, 2017
I received a copy of Her Nightly Embrace from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
3.5
Her Nightly Embrace is the first in a series featuring a somewhat reluctant PI named Ravi Chandra Singh. Formerly a religious studies professor, Ravi lost his job after trying to help a student who was having an affair with another professor. Out of desperation to not only pay his own bills but to pay off his mother’s gambling debts and to pay for his sister’s wedding, Ravi takes a job with the Golden Sentinels, a private investigation agency which caters to an elite clientele. The agency is populated by a group of outcasts from ex-cops to a disgraced PR agent to a hacker.
The book is broken into four parts, each covering a different case. The title refers to the first investigation during which Ravi is assigned a bizarre case. A rising star in the Tory party and possibly the next Prime Minister, has come to Golden Sentinels claiming that his dead girlfriend is visiting him at night and having sex with him. Admittedly, the man takes several medications to help him sleep but he claims he’s not hallucinating or dreaming this wild story up. Is it the meds or is someone trying to mess with his head? It’s Ravi’s job to find out.
I found the first story to be over the top and not very believable. The second story, War of the Sock Puppets, is more interesting. The agency is hired to find out who is harassing a writer and television host. She is under vicious attacks from internet trolls who not only attack her character but also threaten to kill her. Someone even leaked her home address online which led to her having to move. The client believes someone is egging the trolls on and pulling the strings and she hires Golden Sentinels to find the head troll.
In the Hideaway Bride, the third case, the owner of a timber company has hired the firm to locate his daughter who has run away, possibly due to the prospect of an arranged marriage. It’s during this case that my interest was truly piqued. It is revealed that there is some mystery about the origins of the agency and its ties to things much larger than itself. The case isn’t groundbreaking or exciting but it’s entertaining. It’s the behind the scenes of the agency that I wanted to know more about, however, not the runaway bride to be. Ravi is thrown when he learns the truth.
The Leaky Banker, the fourth and final case, is the most intriguing and exciting one. An investment banker comes to Golden Sentinels for help because her life is in danger and she needs their protection. It’s hard for the agency to protect her, however, because she is not telling them everything. They hide her in their safe house as they begin their investigation into the practices at her bank. Ravi is still uncomfortable with what he has learned about the Golden Sentinels but he motors on. During the case, he runs into an old acquaintance and lover who causes all sorts of trouble and leaves Ravi confused, shocked and a bit hurt.
Her Nightly Embrace has ups and downs. I really didn’t fully get into it until the third and fourth cases when the agency’s connections started to become clear and when some of the other characters really started to be fleshed out. The last case is really the best of the lot and, until I read that one, I wasn’t sure I’d be interested in reading more in the series.
My main issues with the book are the language and the forced quirkiness. I have no problem with bad language in the books I read. In this case, however, it is overused. It’s like a bunch of kids just learning swear words and using them at every single opportunity. I found it ridiculous, really. Ravi having visions of Hindu Gods when he is super stressed struck me as trying too hard to make the main character quirky. It’s not a “natural” quirk, it just feels forced. Luckily, Ravi is a very likeable character who is easy to root for so I tried to ignore his visions.
The book blurb mentions the book is in development to become a television series with the wonderful Sendhil Ramamurthy set to play Ravi. I think, once some things are cleaned up a bit and other things are ironed out, it would make an entertaining television show. I would definitely tune in. Though I had some issues with Her Nightly Embrace, I would probably read more in the series.
3.5
Her Nightly Embrace is the first in a series featuring a somewhat reluctant PI named Ravi Chandra Singh. Formerly a religious studies professor, Ravi lost his job after trying to help a student who was having an affair with another professor. Out of desperation to not only pay his own bills but to pay off his mother’s gambling debts and to pay for his sister’s wedding, Ravi takes a job with the Golden Sentinels, a private investigation agency which caters to an elite clientele. The agency is populated by a group of outcasts from ex-cops to a disgraced PR agent to a hacker.
The book is broken into four parts, each covering a different case. The title refers to the first investigation during which Ravi is assigned a bizarre case. A rising star in the Tory party and possibly the next Prime Minister, has come to Golden Sentinels claiming that his dead girlfriend is visiting him at night and having sex with him. Admittedly, the man takes several medications to help him sleep but he claims he’s not hallucinating or dreaming this wild story up. Is it the meds or is someone trying to mess with his head? It’s Ravi’s job to find out.
I found the first story to be over the top and not very believable. The second story, War of the Sock Puppets, is more interesting. The agency is hired to find out who is harassing a writer and television host. She is under vicious attacks from internet trolls who not only attack her character but also threaten to kill her. Someone even leaked her home address online which led to her having to move. The client believes someone is egging the trolls on and pulling the strings and she hires Golden Sentinels to find the head troll.
In the Hideaway Bride, the third case, the owner of a timber company has hired the firm to locate his daughter who has run away, possibly due to the prospect of an arranged marriage. It’s during this case that my interest was truly piqued. It is revealed that there is some mystery about the origins of the agency and its ties to things much larger than itself. The case isn’t groundbreaking or exciting but it’s entertaining. It’s the behind the scenes of the agency that I wanted to know more about, however, not the runaway bride to be. Ravi is thrown when he learns the truth.
The Leaky Banker, the fourth and final case, is the most intriguing and exciting one. An investment banker comes to Golden Sentinels for help because her life is in danger and she needs their protection. It’s hard for the agency to protect her, however, because she is not telling them everything. They hide her in their safe house as they begin their investigation into the practices at her bank. Ravi is still uncomfortable with what he has learned about the Golden Sentinels but he motors on. During the case, he runs into an old acquaintance and lover who causes all sorts of trouble and leaves Ravi confused, shocked and a bit hurt.
Her Nightly Embrace has ups and downs. I really didn’t fully get into it until the third and fourth cases when the agency’s connections started to become clear and when some of the other characters really started to be fleshed out. The last case is really the best of the lot and, until I read that one, I wasn’t sure I’d be interested in reading more in the series.
My main issues with the book are the language and the forced quirkiness. I have no problem with bad language in the books I read. In this case, however, it is overused. It’s like a bunch of kids just learning swear words and using them at every single opportunity. I found it ridiculous, really. Ravi having visions of Hindu Gods when he is super stressed struck me as trying too hard to make the main character quirky. It’s not a “natural” quirk, it just feels forced. Luckily, Ravi is a very likeable character who is easy to root for so I tried to ignore his visions.
The book blurb mentions the book is in development to become a television series with the wonderful Sendhil Ramamurthy set to play Ravi. I think, once some things are cleaned up a bit and other things are ironed out, it would make an entertaining television show. I would definitely tune in. Though I had some issues with Her Nightly Embrace, I would probably read more in the series.
February 7, 2017
This was a good but quirky read. It is the story of a private detective, Ravi Chandra Singh, who happens to see Hindu gods. Ravi is an entertaining character and there are a number of supporting characters who are also written well. I read somewhere that this will be adapted for a television series and I can see that being successful. I probably won't continue on with the book series but I'll checkout the tv series if I can.
March 6, 2018
You can find my review on my blog by clicking here.
There’s nothing like stumbling into a whole new life when things don’t go your way. Adi Tantimedh writes the story of Ravi Chandra Singh, a failed religious scholar and a former high school teacher who becomes a private investigator right out of the blue. This Indian P.I. isn’t like any other (who is, right?). People see something special in him. At least that’s what everyone at the Golden Sentinels, a London private investigations and security company, think of him. Even if Ravi doesn’t believe in his unique abilities, he does know one thing about himself. He can see Gods. They don’t seem to want to speak to him. No, no. But they do appear at random moments and seem to have been thoroughly modernized to our time and age. Don’t expect them to be represented as they usually are in Hinduism. Enrolled in a company that deals with highly placed members of society—they always seem to have really sketchy lives and the most messed up stories to tell—Ravi quickly finds out that his new job is about to drastically change his life. And the exit? Not really an option.
The book contains four stories about four different investigations. They can basically be seen as four distinct episodes of a TV show. In fact, readers will quickly catch on that the book was written like a screenplay. After all, Her Nightly Embrace is a soon-to-be TV adaptation and there’s nothing more perfect than having everything set for filming. If the style of writing, the various plot holes and the difficulty to emotionally attach to the characters weren’t direct indicators of what that the filming and actor performances were meant to make up for, this book would probably suffer a lot in story-telling and be a lot harder to pardon for its problems. Nonetheless, Adi Tantimedh delivers stories with increasing intensity and quickly shows readers that Ravi tumbled into a life filled with disasters. The character rapidly learns the ropes to being a great private investigators and doesn’t shy from reiterating the importance of social engineering. That very concept is held up as a trophy among the members of the Golden Sentinels, and Ravi makes sure to it whenever he goes into the real world. After all, he needs to make up for the lack of P.I. experience somehow!
Filled with a quirky cast of characters, Her Nightly Embrace uses them sparingly to draw out their unique stories. While it was easy to spot the different molds of personalities, a lot of their dialogues felt corny and could only be improved thanks to actors and their respective performances. The novel does contain a fairly numerous amount of characters, but as soon as you are acquainted with their stories, they quickly become easy to identify and remember. The book doesn’t dive deep into character development, but it is something to be expected when you’re only a couple episodes into a series. Ravi also has romantic relationships throughout the book to spice up his complicated life. Even if these love interests felt awkward, everything still ended up having a purpose for the stories that were being told. To mix things up a little more, readers are also presented with various Gods that appear in Ravi’s life. Each God was quickly mentioned and the author stayed concise in his explanation of their symbolism. This supernatural touch does make things quite interesting and funny.
Adi Tantimedh’s decision to put an Indian protagonist in a British context does open him up with various ways to embrace the Indian culture throughout the story. Ravi’s adventures are filled with a strong comedic value and a bunch of swearing. It sadly still remains a little distant from the never-before-seen when the plots are looked at for what they were. The stories are also filled with pop culture references and has a bunch of book title references to cultivate readers and spark a little smirk across the face of readers. However, Her Nightly Embrace honestly felt like a low-key crime drama that was meant to solely put in a laugh or two for its readers. Because the book felt a lot more like a screenplay, a lot of its potential for great storytelling were kept at a minimum. All the ideas were in place, but the driving force to keep everything together felt light and simple. It’s also in the interactions between the characters, which relies strongly on what the television adaptation will do with it, that threw away any chance to really capture my interest in the characters.
Her Nightly Embrace is a fun crime drama novel. It still has ways to go before it truly finds its identity, but its potential is there. Ravi’s ability to see Gods is probably the most noticeable element in the book and if the author continues to delve deeper into that angle, things can get quite thrilling. Trying to figure out how to deal with this problem, the protagonist finds himself wondering about his sanity more often than not. Although he doesn’t show signs of mental illness, the Gods continue to show up in the most unexpected moments throughout his adventures. In fact, they often foresight outcomes or represent emotional states of the character, and that was quite refreshing compared to the usual P.I. work. I personally thought it was a fascinating asset for the character since it was something pretty new for anyone who doesn’t often come across stories with Gods. While the first book in the Ravi PI series were simple and pretty predictable, the series has plenty of angles that it can explore to deliver compelling stories. It all lies in the hands of Adi Tantimedh and what he desires to show his fans.
Curious about the book? What about its TV show adaptation? As mentioned earlier, Adi Tantimedh’s book series will get an TV adaptation that is currently still in development. It will star NBC’s Heroes and Heroes Reborn star Sendhil Ramamurthy (the same man who’s on the cover of the first book; although all you see on the ARC is his shadow). Interestingly, the TV show will also be co-produced by Idris Elba. The same man behind the famous British TV show Luther—not too surprised by his presence when similarities between his show and Adi Tantimedh’s book can be observed! The Ravi PI series is fantastic for fans of Scandal, Luther or Castle (with a more comedic vibe) who are looking for something fun and entertaining.
Thank you to Simon & Schuster Canada for sending me an Advance Copy for review!
Yours truly,
Lashaan | Blogger and Book Reviewer
Official blog: http://bookidote.wordpress.com
____________________________
Adi Tantimedh writes the story of Ravi Chandra Singh, a failed religious scholar and high school teader who becomes a private investigator out of the blue. This Indian P.I. isn't like any other (who is, right?). People see something special in his way of thinking and acting.
He can also see various Gods that have been thoroughly modernized to our time and age.
The book contains four stories (they can basically be seen as episodes of a TV show). In fact, it doesn't hide the fact that the book was written as a screenplay. A lot of plot and character development were probably left out so that the soon-to-be TV adaptation fixes it thanks to cinematic editing and actor performances.
Her Nightly Embrace is an episodic action adventure crime-solving novel. It's identity doesn't go beyond the never-before-seen, but does bring some Indian culture into the spotlight. Ravi's adventures are a lot more comedic and filled with swearing than other Private Investigation based books shows, like Scandal.
On a side note, I also found it funny that Idris Elba is co-producing the currently in development TV show based on Adi Tantimedh's novel. The show Luther popped into my mind for several events that occur throughout the novel.
Thank you to Simon & Schuster Canada for sending me an Advance Copy for review!
P.S. Full review to come soon
Yours truly,
Lashaan | Blogger and Book Reviewer
Official blog: http://bookidote.wordpress.com
There’s nothing like stumbling into a whole new life when things don’t go your way. Adi Tantimedh writes the story of Ravi Chandra Singh, a failed religious scholar and a former high school teacher who becomes a private investigator right out of the blue. This Indian P.I. isn’t like any other (who is, right?). People see something special in him. At least that’s what everyone at the Golden Sentinels, a London private investigations and security company, think of him. Even if Ravi doesn’t believe in his unique abilities, he does know one thing about himself. He can see Gods. They don’t seem to want to speak to him. No, no. But they do appear at random moments and seem to have been thoroughly modernized to our time and age. Don’t expect them to be represented as they usually are in Hinduism. Enrolled in a company that deals with highly placed members of society—they always seem to have really sketchy lives and the most messed up stories to tell—Ravi quickly finds out that his new job is about to drastically change his life. And the exit? Not really an option.
The book contains four stories about four different investigations. They can basically be seen as four distinct episodes of a TV show. In fact, readers will quickly catch on that the book was written like a screenplay. After all, Her Nightly Embrace is a soon-to-be TV adaptation and there’s nothing more perfect than having everything set for filming. If the style of writing, the various plot holes and the difficulty to emotionally attach to the characters weren’t direct indicators of what that the filming and actor performances were meant to make up for, this book would probably suffer a lot in story-telling and be a lot harder to pardon for its problems. Nonetheless, Adi Tantimedh delivers stories with increasing intensity and quickly shows readers that Ravi tumbled into a life filled with disasters. The character rapidly learns the ropes to being a great private investigators and doesn’t shy from reiterating the importance of social engineering. That very concept is held up as a trophy among the members of the Golden Sentinels, and Ravi makes sure to it whenever he goes into the real world. After all, he needs to make up for the lack of P.I. experience somehow!
Filled with a quirky cast of characters, Her Nightly Embrace uses them sparingly to draw out their unique stories. While it was easy to spot the different molds of personalities, a lot of their dialogues felt corny and could only be improved thanks to actors and their respective performances. The novel does contain a fairly numerous amount of characters, but as soon as you are acquainted with their stories, they quickly become easy to identify and remember. The book doesn’t dive deep into character development, but it is something to be expected when you’re only a couple episodes into a series. Ravi also has romantic relationships throughout the book to spice up his complicated life. Even if these love interests felt awkward, everything still ended up having a purpose for the stories that were being told. To mix things up a little more, readers are also presented with various Gods that appear in Ravi’s life. Each God was quickly mentioned and the author stayed concise in his explanation of their symbolism. This supernatural touch does make things quite interesting and funny.
Adi Tantimedh’s decision to put an Indian protagonist in a British context does open him up with various ways to embrace the Indian culture throughout the story. Ravi’s adventures are filled with a strong comedic value and a bunch of swearing. It sadly still remains a little distant from the never-before-seen when the plots are looked at for what they were. The stories are also filled with pop culture references and has a bunch of book title references to cultivate readers and spark a little smirk across the face of readers. However, Her Nightly Embrace honestly felt like a low-key crime drama that was meant to solely put in a laugh or two for its readers. Because the book felt a lot more like a screenplay, a lot of its potential for great storytelling were kept at a minimum. All the ideas were in place, but the driving force to keep everything together felt light and simple. It’s also in the interactions between the characters, which relies strongly on what the television adaptation will do with it, that threw away any chance to really capture my interest in the characters.
Her Nightly Embrace is a fun crime drama novel. It still has ways to go before it truly finds its identity, but its potential is there. Ravi’s ability to see Gods is probably the most noticeable element in the book and if the author continues to delve deeper into that angle, things can get quite thrilling. Trying to figure out how to deal with this problem, the protagonist finds himself wondering about his sanity more often than not. Although he doesn’t show signs of mental illness, the Gods continue to show up in the most unexpected moments throughout his adventures. In fact, they often foresight outcomes or represent emotional states of the character, and that was quite refreshing compared to the usual P.I. work. I personally thought it was a fascinating asset for the character since it was something pretty new for anyone who doesn’t often come across stories with Gods. While the first book in the Ravi PI series were simple and pretty predictable, the series has plenty of angles that it can explore to deliver compelling stories. It all lies in the hands of Adi Tantimedh and what he desires to show his fans.
Curious about the book? What about its TV show adaptation? As mentioned earlier, Adi Tantimedh’s book series will get an TV adaptation that is currently still in development. It will star NBC’s Heroes and Heroes Reborn star Sendhil Ramamurthy (the same man who’s on the cover of the first book; although all you see on the ARC is his shadow). Interestingly, the TV show will also be co-produced by Idris Elba. The same man behind the famous British TV show Luther—not too surprised by his presence when similarities between his show and Adi Tantimedh’s book can be observed! The Ravi PI series is fantastic for fans of Scandal, Luther or Castle (with a more comedic vibe) who are looking for something fun and entertaining.
Thank you to Simon & Schuster Canada for sending me an Advance Copy for review!
Yours truly,
Lashaan | Blogger and Book Reviewer
Official blog: http://bookidote.wordpress.com
____________________________
Adi Tantimedh writes the story of Ravi Chandra Singh, a failed religious scholar and high school teader who becomes a private investigator out of the blue. This Indian P.I. isn't like any other (who is, right?). People see something special in his way of thinking and acting.
He can also see various Gods that have been thoroughly modernized to our time and age.
The book contains four stories (they can basically be seen as episodes of a TV show). In fact, it doesn't hide the fact that the book was written as a screenplay. A lot of plot and character development were probably left out so that the soon-to-be TV adaptation fixes it thanks to cinematic editing and actor performances.
Her Nightly Embrace is an episodic action adventure crime-solving novel. It's identity doesn't go beyond the never-before-seen, but does bring some Indian culture into the spotlight. Ravi's adventures are a lot more comedic and filled with swearing than other Private Investigation based books shows, like Scandal.
On a side note, I also found it funny that Idris Elba is co-producing the currently in development TV show based on Adi Tantimedh's novel. The show Luther popped into my mind for several events that occur throughout the novel.
Thank you to Simon & Schuster Canada for sending me an Advance Copy for review!
P.S. Full review to come soon
Yours truly,
Lashaan | Blogger and Book Reviewer
Official blog: http://bookidote.wordpress.com
December 22, 2017
3.5 stars.... Interesting idea, that a former religious studies student then secondary school teacher who is now a detective suffers from hallucinations of hindu gods. Ravi takes medication to deal with these, and works at an agency that appears to be staffed with a variety of oddballs, but who are all very effective at their jobs. Ravi is funny, caring, profane, and actually pretty enjoyable, and it's pretty funny seeing various gods in contemporary garb tut-tutting Ravi.
November 17, 2016
** 4.5 stars **
Review to come!
Review to come!
November 29, 2016
I was invited to read and review this title by Net Galley and Atria Books. I thank them for the opportunity. The first two chapters showed signs of promise, but in the end, this book is poorly written and for most, it will also be offensive. I can’t recommend this title. That said, it’s about to become a television program, so perhaps you will enjoy it more than I do. But I have to call them as I see them, and if they give this writer a host of awards, I will still say this book is worth one star and nothing else.
Ravi Singh is our protagonist. He has dropped out of a program of religious studies, to his father’s profound disappointment, and become a detective. He had something of a breakdown, and under stress he sees Hindu Gods that no one else can see. An added pressure is financial; he has bills to pay, and his mother has racked up some gambling debts for which she may be harmed if not paid soon. I warmed to the unlikely loan shark, and I thought this was going to be a fun read. And if it had been well written, it would have been.
In other reviews, I have occasionally noted the way in which a tired, overused plot device may become brand new and almost magical in the hands of a capable writer. This one works the other way around. It’s a unique, if somewhat gimmicky idea, but the author will have to develop a vocabulary before I can enjoy his work.
Profanity has never been a hot button for me. I’ve been known to toss the “f” word into my own reviews when feeling particularly warmly. Unfortunately, Tantimedh uses the word the way I’ve heard teenagers do it; when someone is too lazy to consider what word might be interesting and hasn’t been overused yet, the “f” word can become noun, verb, adjective, and interjection. Everything, everything, everything in this book is said, by either narrator or in dialogue, to be “fucked up”. By the 40% mark I was so distracted, and it was so obvious that I wasn’t going to engage with the text as I had hoped, that I started keeping track to see whether my perception was accurate. Was I being snarky, or was that word—and a few other similar ones, especially the mother-f word—all over the place? And as I started highlighting, I was amazed to find it on almost every page. Some pages were miraculously free of it, but then there’d be another page where I found it twice, or thrice. At this point I gave myself permission to skip to 80% and see whether something wonderful would happen at the end to redeem this thing. It’s been known to happen; just not here.
I’ve only panned a title I was invited to review once before, and that was because of ugly racist references throughout the text. I’m generally a generous reviewer. But suddenly I felt as if I were before a class of eighth graders once more, explaining that not only will profanity offend some readers, but when it’s overused, it’s often because the writer doesn’t want to do the work to find a more specific or eloquent term.
Whether the issue is due to a translation issue—I didn’t check to see if this was published in something other than English originally—or laziness, or a lack of facility as a writer is moot. The end result is the same. This is bilge. Save your money.
Note: I posted this widely, knowing full well that I had never panned an Atria title before and had no idea what this might do to my ability to get galleys from them or for that matter, from Simon and Schuster and their other imprints, in the future. Humble blogger versus great big publishing house; daunting. But I figured the one perk of unpaid reviewing is independence and its uncompromising integrity. I want you to know I got a wry note from a S&S rep in my email a couple of hours after I posted, and that same evening, I was approved for another Atria DRC. Great folks!
Ravi Singh is our protagonist. He has dropped out of a program of religious studies, to his father’s profound disappointment, and become a detective. He had something of a breakdown, and under stress he sees Hindu Gods that no one else can see. An added pressure is financial; he has bills to pay, and his mother has racked up some gambling debts for which she may be harmed if not paid soon. I warmed to the unlikely loan shark, and I thought this was going to be a fun read. And if it had been well written, it would have been.
In other reviews, I have occasionally noted the way in which a tired, overused plot device may become brand new and almost magical in the hands of a capable writer. This one works the other way around. It’s a unique, if somewhat gimmicky idea, but the author will have to develop a vocabulary before I can enjoy his work.
Profanity has never been a hot button for me. I’ve been known to toss the “f” word into my own reviews when feeling particularly warmly. Unfortunately, Tantimedh uses the word the way I’ve heard teenagers do it; when someone is too lazy to consider what word might be interesting and hasn’t been overused yet, the “f” word can become noun, verb, adjective, and interjection. Everything, everything, everything in this book is said, by either narrator or in dialogue, to be “fucked up”. By the 40% mark I was so distracted, and it was so obvious that I wasn’t going to engage with the text as I had hoped, that I started keeping track to see whether my perception was accurate. Was I being snarky, or was that word—and a few other similar ones, especially the mother-f word—all over the place? And as I started highlighting, I was amazed to find it on almost every page. Some pages were miraculously free of it, but then there’d be another page where I found it twice, or thrice. At this point I gave myself permission to skip to 80% and see whether something wonderful would happen at the end to redeem this thing. It’s been known to happen; just not here.
I’ve only panned a title I was invited to review once before, and that was because of ugly racist references throughout the text. I’m generally a generous reviewer. But suddenly I felt as if I were before a class of eighth graders once more, explaining that not only will profanity offend some readers, but when it’s overused, it’s often because the writer doesn’t want to do the work to find a more specific or eloquent term.
Whether the issue is due to a translation issue—I didn’t check to see if this was published in something other than English originally—or laziness, or a lack of facility as a writer is moot. The end result is the same. This is bilge. Save your money.
Note: I posted this widely, knowing full well that I had never panned an Atria title before and had no idea what this might do to my ability to get galleys from them or for that matter, from Simon and Schuster and their other imprints, in the future. Humble blogger versus great big publishing house; daunting. But I figured the one perk of unpaid reviewing is independence and its uncompromising integrity. I want you to know I got a wry note from a S&S rep in my email a couple of hours after I posted, and that same evening, I was approved for another Atria DRC. Great folks!
May 4, 2017
I loved this story of a private eye handling high profile cases while the Hindu gods watch him and text on their phones. There are several cases discussed here and they were well done. I want to read more in this series to see what happens with the gods.
BUT....
The first case in the book is super problematic. It only covers maybe the first 1/3 of the book so discussing it isn't going to going spoil the whole thing but here's your warning.
A politician comes to the agency because he says that his dead girlfriend is having sex with him at night. It turns out that the politician takes a lot of sleeping pills at night so he isn't fully aware of what is going on. His former girlfriend was a transwoman and he didn't know. She was mid-transition when she got sick and then met him. Instead of talking to him about, you know, her life or anything, she would have her twin sister switch places with her at night. Her sister had sex with him. Then the girlfriend died of her illness and the sister kept sneaking into the house and having sex with the drugged guy because she was a sex addict.
(Go ahead and pick all the nonsense out of that paragraph at your leisure.)
Ok, so no matter how you dress that up, that's a rape case. But, the word rape is never uttered. I think the closest they get is saying assault. I believe you are meant to feel bad for the woman who might get prosecuted if the politician decides to go public. I didn't.
But then ..... wait for it.....
The woman who should be in jail for rape not only starts dating the main character but she gets a job in the agency.
via GIPHY
I kept listening in hope that something was going to happen to get them to all see that this was wrong. They don't. The rest of the book is so much better than this. This story could easily have been gotten rid of and not affect the rest of the book. I would love to think that when they adapt this for TV that they will live this case out but these things never work out the way I'd like.This review was originally posted on Based On A True Story
Read
March 2, 2017Her Nightly Embrace could just as accurately have been called Golden Sentinels: The Ravi Case Files. It's a grab bag of diverse characters with an assortment of neuroses and methods of not/coping and self-medicating. Some Equalizer, Punisher, amoral versions of Judy Smith-like fixers, and otherworldly acid trippiness (which may or may not be real) make HNE a fun read as a satirical scrutiny of modern society in general, and for the privileged in particular. Shadowy elements in institutions and psyches abound.
March 28, 2017
Thank you NetGalley!
Her Nightly Embrace is a hoot!
I really liked this book! It moves along at a good pace (can't stand it when it takes forever to find the plot) and the cast of quirky characters was great. I also appreciated their compassion and humanity.
I'm not going to rehash the book's blurb and future media presentations (if you're reading this far, I know you've already read all that). But I will tell you that I will be pre-ordering future books in the series.
Her Nightly Embrace is a hoot!
I really liked this book! It moves along at a good pace (can't stand it when it takes forever to find the plot) and the cast of quirky characters was great. I also appreciated their compassion and humanity.
I'm not going to rehash the book's blurb and future media presentations (if you're reading this far, I know you've already read all that). But I will tell you that I will be pre-ordering future books in the series.
July 17, 2017
Received in a Goodreads Giveaway.
What a slog this was! Seemed an interesting premise, a private detective who really doesn't seem the type, muddling through cases and family crises all whilst seeing judgemental Hindu gods.
Alas, really basic writing and paper thin characters really let the intriguing premise down. Almost seems slapdash writing, as one case lurches into another. The poor characterisation renders this mystical effort truly unconvincing. Probably more depth in a LinkedIn bio.
As you can tell by the cover this new book series will also be a tv show ( with Dr. Suresh!!!!!) and it really feels like they just ripped the dialogue from the teleplay and cobbled it into an episodic novel.
Found it pretty tough to get through, and nearly gave up where an avid reader of yuri manga is described as a fujoshi......
What a slog this was! Seemed an interesting premise, a private detective who really doesn't seem the type, muddling through cases and family crises all whilst seeing judgemental Hindu gods.
Alas, really basic writing and paper thin characters really let the intriguing premise down. Almost seems slapdash writing, as one case lurches into another. The poor characterisation renders this mystical effort truly unconvincing. Probably more depth in a LinkedIn bio.
As you can tell by the cover this new book series will also be a tv show ( with Dr. Suresh!!!!!) and it really feels like they just ripped the dialogue from the teleplay and cobbled it into an episodic novel.
Found it pretty tough to get through, and nearly gave up where an avid reader of yuri manga is described as a fujoshi......
March 27, 2023
This was so fun! It was unexpected and totally surprised me! I don't know if it was magical realism or not. Seeing the gods doesn't necessarily make them real. Is it mental illness or a shamanistic ability? In the end it doesn't really matter; Ravi believes he sees the gods and that is all that is important. The cases he works on in this book are quite seedy for the most part but hilarious too. I listened to the audiobook and I think it is the best way to get into the story. The actor who narrates the audio is also going to play Ravi in the forthcoming television series, and after hearing him I can't imagine anyone else in the role.
December 1, 2017
DNF. slogged through 100 pages but just could not get into it,maybe it will translate better onto screen.
i apologise if anyone reads my reviews for overuse of the word 'flat' to describe many a book i've read lately, but it's the most accurate description i can find both of the story and how it left me feeling - this book being added to a growing list.
i apologise if anyone reads my reviews for overuse of the word 'flat' to describe many a book i've read lately, but it's the most accurate description i can find both of the story and how it left me feeling - this book being added to a growing list.
February 24, 2019
I laughed out loud enough that my roommate decided to try the book.
December 1, 2017
Appalled. Whether its a man or woman, rape is rape
July 5, 2017
A schoolteacher joins a strange private investigations firm, and things get steadily weirder as one case leads to another. Bizarre and entertaining but not nearly as supernatural as the book blurb leads one to believe.
December 2, 2016
Originally published at Reading Reality
As I read Her Nightly Embrace, it felt a lot like I was reading a media tie-in book for a TV series. While there is somewhat of an overarching story, the book is divided into sections that read an awful lot like separate episodes.
Which is completely fitting, as the series is in the process of being adapted for TV, and seems to have been written with that adaptation in mind. Which does not keep the book from being a fun and interesting read.
The cast of characters inhabiting the Golden Sentinels Private Investigations Agency is one of the quirkiest bunch of misfits ever to become private investigators. And Ravi Chandra Singh fits right in – even if he doesn’t believe that he does.
Everyone at the agency, from the owner on down, is on the run from something or other. Not literally on the run, but metaphorically. Ravi is as down on his luck, at least for certain definitions of luck, as the rest of them.
He’s a failed religious scholar, and a recently fired schoolteacher. Neither of which makes him terribly employable in most circles. But he is in debt up to his eyeballs to pay for his sister’s fancy wedding and his mother’s gambling debts, so he tells himself he’s just working at the extremely well-paying and equally morally questionable Golden Sentinels to pay off his overdraft.
It takes a long time, and more than a few cases that head towards Crazytown, before he’s able to admit to himself that he’s as addicted to the chaos as the rest of the shop of misfit toys.
But he is in over his head. Golden Sentinels is the agency that very, very rich people, and occasionally governments, hire when they want to make sure that their problems go so far away that no one ever knows they existed in the first place.
Ravi finds himself learning how the world really works, and it is not a comfortable lesson. He is a moral man who finds himself in the midst of work where the ends always justify the means. He finds himself in the awkward position of keeping the people around him from letting those means get too dirty, and not always succeeding. And never feeling completely comfortable with either the means or sometimes even the ends.
They say that God laughs at our plans. For Ravi, that is literally true. He sees the Hindu gods in the midst of his chaotic life, and they are all laughing at him. And seemingly texting each other about him and what they perceive as his foolishness.
Is Ravi crazy, or are the gods really watching him? He doesn’t know, and neither do we. But if they are, he is giving them a very entertaining show.
Escape Rating B: This is a fun book. There’s not a lot of there, there, but it makes for a very entertaining read.
Her Nightly Embrace reads like a caper story, or actually a collection of them. It reminds me a bit of the TV show Leverage, in that you are never quite sure whether the Golden Sentinels are black hats or white hats, and often neither are they. But they solve their cases with a lot of expensive toys, a bit of sleight of hand, and a willingness to do just about anything to take care of their well-paying clients.
Including the CIA. When Ravi finds out exactly who the Golden Sentinels are in bed with, it sends him on a long, dark night of the soul. He’s still a bit out there through the rest of the book.
Her Nightly Embrace is a story of the loss of innocence. It’s one of those stories about someone not wanting to see how the sausage is made, only to find out in the end that he is the sausage – and so is everyone else.
Ravi’s work is so crazy that he needs his family to ground him. Which they do, and at the same time his parents and his sister are also part of the crazy that drives him. When the agency recruits his on-again/off-again girlfriend, the reader isn’t sure whether it’s because her talents are useful or because it gives them another way of tying Ravi to the agency. And after meeting all the characters, it’s probably a bit of both.
Although their methods can be fairly dark, like Leverage the book does come off as entertaining fluff. Maybe dark velvet fluff, but fluff nevertheless. I am curious to see where the series, both the books and the TV series, take Ravi and the Golden Sentinels next.
As I read Her Nightly Embrace, it felt a lot like I was reading a media tie-in book for a TV series. While there is somewhat of an overarching story, the book is divided into sections that read an awful lot like separate episodes.
Which is completely fitting, as the series is in the process of being adapted for TV, and seems to have been written with that adaptation in mind. Which does not keep the book from being a fun and interesting read.
The cast of characters inhabiting the Golden Sentinels Private Investigations Agency is one of the quirkiest bunch of misfits ever to become private investigators. And Ravi Chandra Singh fits right in – even if he doesn’t believe that he does.
Everyone at the agency, from the owner on down, is on the run from something or other. Not literally on the run, but metaphorically. Ravi is as down on his luck, at least for certain definitions of luck, as the rest of them.
He’s a failed religious scholar, and a recently fired schoolteacher. Neither of which makes him terribly employable in most circles. But he is in debt up to his eyeballs to pay for his sister’s fancy wedding and his mother’s gambling debts, so he tells himself he’s just working at the extremely well-paying and equally morally questionable Golden Sentinels to pay off his overdraft.
It takes a long time, and more than a few cases that head towards Crazytown, before he’s able to admit to himself that he’s as addicted to the chaos as the rest of the shop of misfit toys.
But he is in over his head. Golden Sentinels is the agency that very, very rich people, and occasionally governments, hire when they want to make sure that their problems go so far away that no one ever knows they existed in the first place.
Ravi finds himself learning how the world really works, and it is not a comfortable lesson. He is a moral man who finds himself in the midst of work where the ends always justify the means. He finds himself in the awkward position of keeping the people around him from letting those means get too dirty, and not always succeeding. And never feeling completely comfortable with either the means or sometimes even the ends.
They say that God laughs at our plans. For Ravi, that is literally true. He sees the Hindu gods in the midst of his chaotic life, and they are all laughing at him. And seemingly texting each other about him and what they perceive as his foolishness.
Is Ravi crazy, or are the gods really watching him? He doesn’t know, and neither do we. But if they are, he is giving them a very entertaining show.
Escape Rating B: This is a fun book. There’s not a lot of there, there, but it makes for a very entertaining read.
Her Nightly Embrace reads like a caper story, or actually a collection of them. It reminds me a bit of the TV show Leverage, in that you are never quite sure whether the Golden Sentinels are black hats or white hats, and often neither are they. But they solve their cases with a lot of expensive toys, a bit of sleight of hand, and a willingness to do just about anything to take care of their well-paying clients.
Including the CIA. When Ravi finds out exactly who the Golden Sentinels are in bed with, it sends him on a long, dark night of the soul. He’s still a bit out there through the rest of the book.
Her Nightly Embrace is a story of the loss of innocence. It’s one of those stories about someone not wanting to see how the sausage is made, only to find out in the end that he is the sausage – and so is everyone else.
Ravi’s work is so crazy that he needs his family to ground him. Which they do, and at the same time his parents and his sister are also part of the crazy that drives him. When the agency recruits his on-again/off-again girlfriend, the reader isn’t sure whether it’s because her talents are useful or because it gives them another way of tying Ravi to the agency. And after meeting all the characters, it’s probably a bit of both.
Although their methods can be fairly dark, like Leverage the book does come off as entertaining fluff. Maybe dark velvet fluff, but fluff nevertheless. I am curious to see where the series, both the books and the TV series, take Ravi and the Golden Sentinels next.
June 1, 2017
This book definitely reads like something written for tv. Very short chapters whip by as Ravi solves a few different cases - all the while debating some of the moral quandaries private investigation work puts him in. The motley crew of colleagues and the way they play off each other is amusing and almost makes up for the relatively predictable jokes and resolutions to each mystery.
A few portions of the story rubbed me the wrong way. I was initially happy to see the inclusion of a trans character and the main character even criticizing someone for being transphobic till it became apparent their inclusion inadvertently served to reinforce the stereotype of the deceptive trans person who "tricks" someone into sleeping with them. To be fair the book is very sympathetic to this character but the circumstances reinforce this belief nonetheless. . These problematic elements detracted from my enjoyment of an otherwise promising start to a mystery series with a nuanced POC as the main character
A few portions of the story rubbed me the wrong way. I was initially happy to see the inclusion of a trans character and the main character even criticizing someone for being transphobic till it became apparent their inclusion inadvertently served to reinforce the stereotype of the deceptive trans person who "tricks" someone into sleeping with them. To be fair the book is very sympathetic to this character but the circumstances reinforce this belief nonetheless. . These problematic elements detracted from my enjoyment of an otherwise promising start to a mystery series with a nuanced POC as the main character
August 26, 2017
This book isn't worth the beautiful man on the cover.
Once you get past the immediate boring hook up it seems promising. I was trying to keep an open mind, I loved the illustrations at the beginning of each case, and I was happy with the effort though Mr. Tantimedh the word you're looking for is transgender not the one that you used, but sub par writing won out over my desire to love a book written with Sendhil Ramamurthy in mind for the main character.
The main cast is forgettable, especially because there are so many of them, one of the big bads has the worst little spiel about their mental state which is just ugh bad, the women in the book are poorly written, and the last chapter is just gross fetishization fodder. I sped through the epilogue because after that I just wanted to be done.
It will do well as a TV show the way the cases are set up and all of the painful exposition and blunt dialogue just trying to move the story along (which wouldn't be bad if it wasn't so obvious).
I shouldn't have spent the money on the hardcover and I hate myself because I know I'll read the next one and watch the show. I just really love Sendhil Ramamurthy and I'm glad he gets to be a main character for once, even if it's Ravi.
Once you get past the immediate boring hook up it seems promising. I was trying to keep an open mind, I loved the illustrations at the beginning of each case, and I was happy with the effort though Mr. Tantimedh the word you're looking for is transgender not the one that you used, but sub par writing won out over my desire to love a book written with Sendhil Ramamurthy in mind for the main character.
The main cast is forgettable, especially because there are so many of them, one of the big bads has the worst little spiel about their mental state which is just ugh bad, the women in the book are poorly written, and the last chapter is just gross fetishization fodder. I sped through the epilogue because after that I just wanted to be done.
It will do well as a TV show the way the cases are set up and all of the painful exposition and blunt dialogue just trying to move the story along (which wouldn't be bad if it wasn't so obvious).
I shouldn't have spent the money on the hardcover and I hate myself because I know I'll read the next one and watch the show. I just really love Sendhil Ramamurthy and I'm glad he gets to be a main character for once, even if it's Ravi.
January 26, 2017
Ravi Chandra Singh was a religious scholar, a high school teacher and is now a private detective. He works for Golden Sentinels a high end detective agency in London, where the clients have large bank accounts to throw at their problems.
Why I started this book: Mentioned in publishing literature that I follow about audio books as a great new series that has already been optioned for British telly.
Why I finished it: The book strings together several cases and I can see how entertaining this will be as a TV show. Plenty of interesting side characters with plenty of back stories to explore. Not to mention Ravi, who sees the gods that watch our world. There is plenty of cursing in the book, but with the British accent it wasn't as noticeable. If you liked The Cuckoo's Calling, give this one a try.
Why I started this book: Mentioned in publishing literature that I follow about audio books as a great new series that has already been optioned for British telly.
Why I finished it: The book strings together several cases and I can see how entertaining this will be as a TV show. Plenty of interesting side characters with plenty of back stories to explore. Not to mention Ravi, who sees the gods that watch our world. There is plenty of cursing in the book, but with the British accent it wasn't as noticeable. If you liked The Cuckoo's Calling, give this one a try.
Did Not Finish
June 12, 2018DNF. I read about 100 pages and stopped. The writing is capable but the story is flat in tone. I felt it was "light" and uninteresting and too gimicky. I did like the diverse mix of characters who are multi-racial (though a few boring tropes are present).
November 1, 2016
3.5 Her Nightly Embrace by Adi Tantimedh is the first in a planned trilogy - The Ravi PI books.
"Before we start, there's something you should know.
I see gods.
Usually in the corner of my eye. They just pop up from time to time, deities from the Hindu pantheon.
I never talk to them. I don't want to.
They never talk to me, just watch in silent judgement. Occasionally they tut-tut and tweet about me to one another on their phones.
I'm not mentally ill. Honest
Back when this started, I was switching from anti-psychotics, to mood stabilizers to anti-anxiety to anti-depressant medications before I finally got it under control.
I haven't been seeing many gods lately. That must be a good sign."
Ravi Singh is a failed religious scholar and secondary school teacher. There was that breakdown with the god thing. But the meds seemed to have helped and he's embarked on a new career as a private investigator at the prestigious Golden Sentinel Investigations. (His friend David got him in) Golden Sentinel takes on cases for the rich, celebrities and those who need their cases handled with the utmost discretion.
Now, you might be questioning Ravi being asked to join such a prestigious firm. But the rest of the employees are all a little, well, quirky also. Each is very talented in their own way. I love ensemble casts. It might takes a few chapters to keep everyone straight, but they all have strong personalities and talents, so it really won't take you long. And let's not forget the gods. They start by showing up, but as the cases progress, they start interacting.....
"My coworkers are a bunch of brilliant f***ups with nowhere else to go. They're ex-coppers, lawyers, hackers, tech geeks. I feel under-qualified next to them. I'm not sure I belong, but I have nowhere else to go, either."
Ravi is still the newbie on the team, but is given a case involving a high profile politician as a bit of a test. You see, the politician insists that his girlfriend is showing up in the middle of the night and having sex with him. He has body fluids for proof. The problem you ask? Well, his girlfriend is dead. Seems like this is the perfect case for Ravi as those Hindu gods are showing up again.
There are four cases in Her Nightly Embrace. Each reads like a short story on their own, but there are threads joining them together in the form of supporting characters as well as Ravi's personal life. I adored his family - especially his parents. That little gambling problem his mother has only goes to prove that addiction does run in families.
Ravi is suave, quick thinking and a smooth talker. Half the fun in this book were the somewhat (okay a bit more than somewhat) outlandish cases. The other half is the way Ravi handles things - again, not how you would expect.
As the book progresses, we learn a bit more about the founders of the agency. And the plot thickens a bit here, setting up lots of fodder for the next two books.
Ravi is the narrator, so the reader only sees events through his eyes. I found this a bit one sided - I think I would like to see the other character's viewpoints once in awhile. Tantimedh's writing is definitely plot driven. The details of Ravi's personal life and some of his observations came across as somewhat dispassionate.
All in all, Her Nightly Embrace was a completely fun and different look at the PI genre. Read an excerpt of Her Nightly Embrace. (For gentle readers - be advised that her Nightly Embrace does contain some sex and violence.)
Tantimedh says that "I originally thought I’d write some short stories about Ravi and his cases and perhaps pitch them as a TV series later on. I just wanted to update private detective fiction and tell stories that hadn’t been seen before in the genre." Well, Ravi PI is currently in development as a TV series set to star Sendhil Ramamurthy (NBC’s Heroes and Heroes Reborn) He's a great choice for this character! Sendhil will also be voicing the audiobook.
"Before we start, there's something you should know.
I see gods.
Usually in the corner of my eye. They just pop up from time to time, deities from the Hindu pantheon.
I never talk to them. I don't want to.
They never talk to me, just watch in silent judgement. Occasionally they tut-tut and tweet about me to one another on their phones.
I'm not mentally ill. Honest
Back when this started, I was switching from anti-psychotics, to mood stabilizers to anti-anxiety to anti-depressant medications before I finally got it under control.
I haven't been seeing many gods lately. That must be a good sign."
Ravi Singh is a failed religious scholar and secondary school teacher. There was that breakdown with the god thing. But the meds seemed to have helped and he's embarked on a new career as a private investigator at the prestigious Golden Sentinel Investigations. (His friend David got him in) Golden Sentinel takes on cases for the rich, celebrities and those who need their cases handled with the utmost discretion.
Now, you might be questioning Ravi being asked to join such a prestigious firm. But the rest of the employees are all a little, well, quirky also. Each is very talented in their own way. I love ensemble casts. It might takes a few chapters to keep everyone straight, but they all have strong personalities and talents, so it really won't take you long. And let's not forget the gods. They start by showing up, but as the cases progress, they start interacting.....
"My coworkers are a bunch of brilliant f***ups with nowhere else to go. They're ex-coppers, lawyers, hackers, tech geeks. I feel under-qualified next to them. I'm not sure I belong, but I have nowhere else to go, either."
Ravi is still the newbie on the team, but is given a case involving a high profile politician as a bit of a test. You see, the politician insists that his girlfriend is showing up in the middle of the night and having sex with him. He has body fluids for proof. The problem you ask? Well, his girlfriend is dead. Seems like this is the perfect case for Ravi as those Hindu gods are showing up again.
There are four cases in Her Nightly Embrace. Each reads like a short story on their own, but there are threads joining them together in the form of supporting characters as well as Ravi's personal life. I adored his family - especially his parents. That little gambling problem his mother has only goes to prove that addiction does run in families.
Ravi is suave, quick thinking and a smooth talker. Half the fun in this book were the somewhat (okay a bit more than somewhat) outlandish cases. The other half is the way Ravi handles things - again, not how you would expect.
As the book progresses, we learn a bit more about the founders of the agency. And the plot thickens a bit here, setting up lots of fodder for the next two books.
Ravi is the narrator, so the reader only sees events through his eyes. I found this a bit one sided - I think I would like to see the other character's viewpoints once in awhile. Tantimedh's writing is definitely plot driven. The details of Ravi's personal life and some of his observations came across as somewhat dispassionate.
All in all, Her Nightly Embrace was a completely fun and different look at the PI genre. Read an excerpt of Her Nightly Embrace. (For gentle readers - be advised that her Nightly Embrace does contain some sex and violence.)
Tantimedh says that "I originally thought I’d write some short stories about Ravi and his cases and perhaps pitch them as a TV series later on. I just wanted to update private detective fiction and tell stories that hadn’t been seen before in the genre." Well, Ravi PI is currently in development as a TV series set to star Sendhil Ramamurthy (NBC’s Heroes and Heroes Reborn) He's a great choice for this character! Sendhil will also be voicing the audiobook.
October 14, 2017
Okay, I love the idea of this book. And when I started reading it, it was just as charming as advertised (and who doesn't need more Sendhil Ramamurthy in their lives?) The twists and turns are entertaining (with one very large exception that I'll get to in a minute) and Adi Tantimedh's inclusion of a diverse cast of characters lent for some great humor and set pieces. But towards the end of the book, it started to feel less like a novel and more like a screenplay. I kept having to envision actors adding nuance to the words with expressions, gesture and inflection. As a former actress myself, I found this very distracting because it felt less like reading for pleasure and more like reading for my former work, ironic considering the work I do now. I wanted to start scribbling in the margins as if this were a script, with questions for the writer a/o director as to motivation, interpretation etc. It all felt very thin of everything but dialog and action. Tho perhaps Her Nightly Embrace might have benefited from being a graphic novel instead, with an artist to draw panels? It certainly did not work well as just prose.
Anyway, that's all well and good, and HNE might have just been a promising first installment of a series that definitely needs work, but then something happens in the book about a third of the way through that left me acutely uncomfortable with the rest of the novel.
Anyway, I'm still going to read the sequel because I have to, for work, and will likely pretend that all that ^^ never happened so I can be objective about Her Beautiful Monster but oh, man, HNE was not a great book, with some really bad messaging. Plus, the Hindu gods Ravi sees are never used in an interesting manner, another thing I'm hoping improves in the sequel. I just... ugh. This should have been so much better than it was and I'm just so appalled that it wasn't.
Anyway, that's all well and good, and HNE might have just been a promising first installment of a series that definitely needs work, but then something happens in the book about a third of the way through that left me acutely uncomfortable with the rest of the novel.
Anyway, I'm still going to read the sequel because I have to, for work, and will likely pretend that all that ^^ never happened so I can be objective about Her Beautiful Monster but oh, man, HNE was not a great book, with some really bad messaging. Plus, the Hindu gods Ravi sees are never used in an interesting manner, another thing I'm hoping improves in the sequel. I just... ugh. This should have been so much better than it was and I'm just so appalled that it wasn't.
October 9, 2020
I was pretty excited by the premise of this book. A PI in England who sees Gods. But while I think the author hit on a great idea, I was a little disappointed with the execution.
Ravi Singh is new in the PI world. He had been a teacher but ended up losing his job after he helped a student who had been taken advantage of by another teacher. Before that he was studying Religion but dropped out. He started seeing Gods and wanted to stop seeing them anymore. He was in debt. His mother has a tendency of gambling and he had her debts. Then his sister is getting married and a ton of family from India is coming, making for an expensive wedding his parents can't afford so he's paying for it. And his father has cancer.
His lawyer friend David from college got him a job at a PI firm where he works called Golden Sentinels. Roger runs it with Cheryl as the office manager. Marcie handles the high profile cases, Mark is brilliant but relys on weed to get by, Ken and Clive are two former cops who are the muscle in this group and teach the newbies on the tricks of the trade (and they are not only work partners but life partners), Olivia is an IT wiz and hacker, Benjamin handles the IT hardware side of things.
Ravi works on cases, starts seeing the Gods again more and more. For the most part they just watch and tweet on their phones. Ravi is pretty sure they are hi lighting his failures. He meets Ariel on a flight back to the UK. They hookup for the weekend before she continues on to India to get in touch with her spiritual side. Then on another case he meets Julia, she's the sister of a woman who has died. Their firm is hired because her fiance is hallucinating that she is showing up in the night to have sex with him. Turns out that it was her sister Julia. Julia had been having sex with him (unbeknownst to him and at her sister's request). Julia's sister was really a man and had been going through the process of changing. She didn't react well to the drugs and they were killing her. Her finance had no idea. Julia slept with him to keep him happy, to keep her sister happy, and because she's a sex addict and needed to get it somewhere.
After this case Ravi and Julia start dating. She also starts working at the firm. There are a couple of different cases. Ravi breaks up with Julia for some reason. He reconnects with Ariel when he's working a new case. Turns out she's part of a bigger organization backed by the CIA and she had been using him. (It was pretty obvious, BTW. I had that pegged from the start). Also turns out his own organization is backed by the CIA.
So there's more going on than Ravi knows. He can't decide what he wants to do with his life and stays with PI work cause the money is good. The Gods are watching. His sister gets married. He and Julia get back together (after she also sleeps with Ariel).
I liked the story but I think it needs a bit of cleaning up. Ravi was all over the place. I really didn't get a good read on him. I like the Gods watching, but I don't quite get how that plays into the story. It just came off a little choppy and disconnected. I will keep reading to see how the story progresses.
Ravi Singh is new in the PI world. He had been a teacher but ended up losing his job after he helped a student who had been taken advantage of by another teacher. Before that he was studying Religion but dropped out. He started seeing Gods and wanted to stop seeing them anymore. He was in debt. His mother has a tendency of gambling and he had her debts. Then his sister is getting married and a ton of family from India is coming, making for an expensive wedding his parents can't afford so he's paying for it. And his father has cancer.
His lawyer friend David from college got him a job at a PI firm where he works called Golden Sentinels. Roger runs it with Cheryl as the office manager. Marcie handles the high profile cases, Mark is brilliant but relys on weed to get by, Ken and Clive are two former cops who are the muscle in this group and teach the newbies on the tricks of the trade (and they are not only work partners but life partners), Olivia is an IT wiz and hacker, Benjamin handles the IT hardware side of things.
Ravi works on cases, starts seeing the Gods again more and more. For the most part they just watch and tweet on their phones. Ravi is pretty sure they are hi lighting his failures. He meets Ariel on a flight back to the UK. They hookup for the weekend before she continues on to India to get in touch with her spiritual side. Then on another case he meets Julia, she's the sister of a woman who has died. Their firm is hired because her fiance is hallucinating that she is showing up in the night to have sex with him. Turns out that it was her sister Julia. Julia had been having sex with him (unbeknownst to him and at her sister's request). Julia's sister was really a man and had been going through the process of changing. She didn't react well to the drugs and they were killing her. Her finance had no idea. Julia slept with him to keep him happy, to keep her sister happy, and because she's a sex addict and needed to get it somewhere.
After this case Ravi and Julia start dating. She also starts working at the firm. There are a couple of different cases. Ravi breaks up with Julia for some reason. He reconnects with Ariel when he's working a new case. Turns out she's part of a bigger organization backed by the CIA and she had been using him. (It was pretty obvious, BTW. I had that pegged from the start). Also turns out his own organization is backed by the CIA.
So there's more going on than Ravi knows. He can't decide what he wants to do with his life and stays with PI work cause the money is good. The Gods are watching. His sister gets married. He and Julia get back together (after she also sleeps with Ariel).
I liked the story but I think it needs a bit of cleaning up. Ravi was all over the place. I really didn't get a good read on him. I like the Gods watching, but I don't quite get how that plays into the story. It just came off a little choppy and disconnected. I will keep reading to see how the story progresses.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 17, 2019
Well. That was a huge, huge disappointment.
Okay. Let's recap.
The premise of this book is simple and engaging: London-based PI sees gods, solves crimes. A quirky team of professionals and serious themes of social justice provide an entertaining backdrop.
That's the premise. The execution ... falls so short of that it just falls off.
The team of detectives surrounding Ravi is pleasantly diverse. That's its only appeal. Beyond that, they all become sorry clichés—the Asian genius, the stoner ex-cop, the scary CIA girlboss. Not a shred of humanity to any of them: they exist for the sole purpose of Being Quirky. I normally love teams of misfit assholes—when they're well-written—and this feels like a poor attempt at imitating them.
That's the second issue—the writing is very, very flat. It makes valiant attempts at humour, and there are a few scenes where I found myself smiling. But the stakes—which ought to feel high, considering the subject matter—are uninteresting and unappealing. The writing style itself is basic as hell. Super-short chapters string along bland dialogue (that tries to be, again, super quirky, and only manages to fall on the side of unrealistic and irritating) and unexciting action scenes.
Third issue: the gods. I may be biased as a lover of fantasy, but when the storyline involves gods interacting with humanity, I expect to have at least some content to sink my teeth into. As it is, the gods a) are visible to Ravi, and b) text each other about him. It's like the author took that original (admittedly fun) idea and then utterly failed to do anything with it.
Fourth, and greatest problem: the social justice aspect of the novel. Look. There are a few ways in which this novel manages to treat those issues acceptably—the plotline about a woman being harassed by trolls (being doxxed, sent death threats, and so on) and then enacting revenge, for instance, is topical and cathartic. But even that cannot redeem a huge number of problems with
- female characters in general
- the unrealistic and downright disgusting way a trans character is portrayed
- the total disregard in the CIA plotline for the fact that the CIA is REALLY BAD NEWS, Y'ALL, HOW IS THIS A LAUGHING MATTER HOLY S—
- the fact that Ravi's girlfriend is a rapist.
She rapes a man! She rapes him repeatedly! While he is knocked out on painkillers! And this gets excused because she is, wait ... a sex addict.
As if sex addiction wasn't, y'know, a very real and troubling condition that people genuinely struggle with, sometimes for their entire lives, but instead a quirky personal flaw that means people can RAPE OTHER PEOPLE AND BE UTTERLY, COMPLETELY, ABSOLUTELY ABSOLVED.
I thought—this is quite early in the novel, so I hadn't lost my shit yet—I thought for sure the story would address the problem. It does not. Julia then proceeds to date Ravi, join his PI agency, and have that entire part of her history waved off as ~her being a misfit like everyone else here~.
What the hell?
Frankly, this doesn't deserve one star. Or any stars. It deserves negative stars.
Okay. Let's recap.
The premise of this book is simple and engaging: London-based PI sees gods, solves crimes. A quirky team of professionals and serious themes of social justice provide an entertaining backdrop.
That's the premise. The execution ... falls so short of that it just falls off.
The team of detectives surrounding Ravi is pleasantly diverse. That's its only appeal. Beyond that, they all become sorry clichés—the Asian genius, the stoner ex-cop, the scary CIA girlboss. Not a shred of humanity to any of them: they exist for the sole purpose of Being Quirky. I normally love teams of misfit assholes—when they're well-written—and this feels like a poor attempt at imitating them.
That's the second issue—the writing is very, very flat. It makes valiant attempts at humour, and there are a few scenes where I found myself smiling. But the stakes—which ought to feel high, considering the subject matter—are uninteresting and unappealing. The writing style itself is basic as hell. Super-short chapters string along bland dialogue (that tries to be, again, super quirky, and only manages to fall on the side of unrealistic and irritating) and unexciting action scenes.
Third issue: the gods. I may be biased as a lover of fantasy, but when the storyline involves gods interacting with humanity, I expect to have at least some content to sink my teeth into. As it is, the gods a) are visible to Ravi, and b) text each other about him. It's like the author took that original (admittedly fun) idea and then utterly failed to do anything with it.
Fourth, and greatest problem: the social justice aspect of the novel. Look. There are a few ways in which this novel manages to treat those issues acceptably—the plotline about a woman being harassed by trolls (being doxxed, sent death threats, and so on) and then enacting revenge, for instance, is topical and cathartic. But even that cannot redeem a huge number of problems with
- female characters in general
- the unrealistic and downright disgusting way a trans character is portrayed
- the total disregard in the CIA plotline for the fact that the CIA is REALLY BAD NEWS, Y'ALL, HOW IS THIS A LAUGHING MATTER HOLY S—
- the fact that Ravi's girlfriend is a rapist.
She rapes a man! She rapes him repeatedly! While he is knocked out on painkillers! And this gets excused because she is, wait ... a sex addict.
As if sex addiction wasn't, y'know, a very real and troubling condition that people genuinely struggle with, sometimes for their entire lives, but instead a quirky personal flaw that means people can RAPE OTHER PEOPLE AND BE UTTERLY, COMPLETELY, ABSOLUTELY ABSOLVED.
I thought—this is quite early in the novel, so I hadn't lost my shit yet—I thought for sure the story would address the problem. It does not. Julia then proceeds to date Ravi, join his PI agency, and have that entire part of her history waved off as ~her being a misfit like everyone else here~.
What the hell?
Frankly, this doesn't deserve one star. Or any stars. It deserves negative stars.
April 23, 2024
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this eARC.
Adi Tantimedh's "Her Nightly Embrace" is the first installment in the Ravi PI series, and it introduces us to a world where the line between the mundane and the mystical blurs with delightful ease. The protagonist, Ravi Chandra Singh, is an unlikely detective—a failed religious scholar turned private investigator. He works for Golden Sentinels, a high-end London detective agency that deals with cases too scandalous for the public eye.
The narrative is a whirlwind of eccentric characters, from Ravi's colleagues—a pair of ex-cops who are also a couple, a stoner with a hidden intellect, a cheerful former publicist, a techie prankster, an ambitious lawyer, and a dangerously skilled hacker—to the clients who are as diverse and complex as the city they inhabit.
Tantimedh's writing is sharp and witty, with a narrative style that is both engaging and immersive. The book is structured as a cycle of interlinked stories, each one building on the last to create a tapestry of intrigue and supernatural occurrences. Ravi's visions of Hindu gods add a layer of depth to the character and the plot, suggesting that he might be more than just a detective—he could be a modern-day shaman.
The series is set against the backdrop of London's rich and famous, but Tantimedh ensures that the city's multicultural vibrancy shines through. The author's portrayal of London is not just as a setting but as a character in itself, with its own moods and secrets.
"Her Nightly Embrace" is a genre-bending novel that combines elements of mystery, thriller, fantasy, and crime. It's a story that doesn't shy away from exploring the darker aspects of society, yet it does so with humor and a sense of hope. The book is a testament to the idea that even in the face of overwhelming odds, one can find meaning and purpose.
"Her Nightly Embrace" is a compelling start to what promises to be an exciting series. It's a book that will appeal to those who enjoy their mysteries served with a side of the supernatural and a dash of humor.
Adi Tantimedh's "Her Nightly Embrace" is the first installment in the Ravi PI series, and it introduces us to a world where the line between the mundane and the mystical blurs with delightful ease. The protagonist, Ravi Chandra Singh, is an unlikely detective—a failed religious scholar turned private investigator. He works for Golden Sentinels, a high-end London detective agency that deals with cases too scandalous for the public eye.
The narrative is a whirlwind of eccentric characters, from Ravi's colleagues—a pair of ex-cops who are also a couple, a stoner with a hidden intellect, a cheerful former publicist, a techie prankster, an ambitious lawyer, and a dangerously skilled hacker—to the clients who are as diverse and complex as the city they inhabit.
Tantimedh's writing is sharp and witty, with a narrative style that is both engaging and immersive. The book is structured as a cycle of interlinked stories, each one building on the last to create a tapestry of intrigue and supernatural occurrences. Ravi's visions of Hindu gods add a layer of depth to the character and the plot, suggesting that he might be more than just a detective—he could be a modern-day shaman.
The series is set against the backdrop of London's rich and famous, but Tantimedh ensures that the city's multicultural vibrancy shines through. The author's portrayal of London is not just as a setting but as a character in itself, with its own moods and secrets.
"Her Nightly Embrace" is a genre-bending novel that combines elements of mystery, thriller, fantasy, and crime. It's a story that doesn't shy away from exploring the darker aspects of society, yet it does so with humor and a sense of hope. The book is a testament to the idea that even in the face of overwhelming odds, one can find meaning and purpose.
"Her Nightly Embrace" is a compelling start to what promises to be an exciting series. It's a book that will appeal to those who enjoy their mysteries served with a side of the supernatural and a dash of humor.
December 31, 2017
CW: Sexual assault.
How does this book have so many positive reviews? I’m honestly flabbergasted. So let’s break it down, for the the author and folks in the back row:
1. This book was published in 2016. Playing a trans character for laughs, mystery, deceit, and clutching your pearls as you ask how a trans person could possibly have sex is not just passé, it’s ignorant and transphobic.
2. Women can rape men and when someone does it knowingly and repeatedly, they’re a rapist and a reprehensible person. Selling that character as a primary character’s love interest is insulting.
3. Bisexual people are not slutty sluts who will slut around with anyone, up to and including the person who tried to kill their romantic partner. FOH with that nonsense.
4. Bipolar disorder ≠ schizophrenia, mood stabilizers ≠ antipsychotics, and borderline personality disorder isn’t an adjective you can toss around instead of actually writing an interesting female character.
The author got so. much. wrong. here, and the way he was writes about sex in general is really creepy and off-putting. Of all the mentions of sex in this book (which included rape, videotaping unconsenting people, sex addiction, slutty bisexuals, pearl clutching and an oddly titillating voyeurism about different sexual practices, and a hapless man getting caught up in a false sexual assault accusation) I think there was one single mention that didn’t make me cringe. I don’t know if the TV show is still in the works, but I hope it gets a better writing staff because the core idea here has great potential, and we certainly need more diversity in media representation.
How does this book have so many positive reviews? I’m honestly flabbergasted. So let’s break it down, for the the author and folks in the back row:
1. This book was published in 2016. Playing a trans character for laughs, mystery, deceit, and clutching your pearls as you ask how a trans person could possibly have sex is not just passé, it’s ignorant and transphobic.
2. Women can rape men and when someone does it knowingly and repeatedly, they’re a rapist and a reprehensible person. Selling that character as a primary character’s love interest is insulting.
3. Bisexual people are not slutty sluts who will slut around with anyone, up to and including the person who tried to kill their romantic partner. FOH with that nonsense.
4. Bipolar disorder ≠ schizophrenia, mood stabilizers ≠ antipsychotics, and borderline personality disorder isn’t an adjective you can toss around instead of actually writing an interesting female character.
The author got so. much. wrong. here, and the way he was writes about sex in general is really creepy and off-putting. Of all the mentions of sex in this book (which included rape, videotaping unconsenting people, sex addiction, slutty bisexuals, pearl clutching and an oddly titillating voyeurism about different sexual practices, and a hapless man getting caught up in a false sexual assault accusation) I think there was one single mention that didn’t make me cringe. I don’t know if the TV show is still in the works, but I hope it gets a better writing staff because the core idea here has great potential, and we certainly need more diversity in media representation.
January 6, 2019
At first glance, this first in a projected trilogy hit a lot of buttons for me: a series set in London featuring a nontraditional detective Ravi (a former schoolteacher) who sometimes sees Hindu gods hanging around him, rat-a-tat pacing, etc... Sounded fun! And indeed, it delivers fun from the get-go, introducing Ravi as a newbie at a high-end investigations firm that handles the most delicate cases with the ultimate discretion.
The book opens with a locked-room mystery about a Tory politician being groomed for a run at PM who insists his dead wife is visiting him at night and having sex with him. The evidence is, um, graphic, and Ravi's firm is hired to find out what's going on. I was a little taken aback by the frantic pacing of the story, and I'm not sure whether I was more surprised by the outlandish solution or the fact that it wrapped up inside of the first third of the book. But then a new case sprung to life, involving the missing daughter of a rich and conservative Pakistani family, and in this case, the solution leads Ravi to a real moral and karmic dilemma. The final case involves protecting an investment banker with a big secret to hide from powerful people, including a rival investigations firm.
By the end, I really felt like I had been reading fleshed out scripts for a fun but trashy TV show. Chapters are typically two or three pages, and really feel like scenes, and each story felt very much like a self-contained episode. The colorful cast of colleagues is thinly and broadly sketched -- again, like a bunch of supporting TV characters. Ditto for the obligatory domestic subplots involving Ravi's family (mother's debt, sister's wedding, father's illness). There is an overall arc that links the stories together, but again, it felt more contrived than organic.
It wasn't until I finished the book that I noticed the promo text announcing that the character and series were in development as a TV series -- and then it all made so much sense. The book really is a fleshed out script, and presumably the rest of the trilogy will be the rest of the episodes in season one! So -- it's not bad, but it's really probably best for readers who also enjoy a good dose of trashy TV along with their books.
The book opens with a locked-room mystery about a Tory politician being groomed for a run at PM who insists his dead wife is visiting him at night and having sex with him. The evidence is, um, graphic, and Ravi's firm is hired to find out what's going on. I was a little taken aback by the frantic pacing of the story, and I'm not sure whether I was more surprised by the outlandish solution or the fact that it wrapped up inside of the first third of the book. But then a new case sprung to life, involving the missing daughter of a rich and conservative Pakistani family, and in this case, the solution leads Ravi to a real moral and karmic dilemma. The final case involves protecting an investment banker with a big secret to hide from powerful people, including a rival investigations firm.
By the end, I really felt like I had been reading fleshed out scripts for a fun but trashy TV show. Chapters are typically two or three pages, and really feel like scenes, and each story felt very much like a self-contained episode. The colorful cast of colleagues is thinly and broadly sketched -- again, like a bunch of supporting TV characters. Ditto for the obligatory domestic subplots involving Ravi's family (mother's debt, sister's wedding, father's illness). There is an overall arc that links the stories together, but again, it felt more contrived than organic.
It wasn't until I finished the book that I noticed the promo text announcing that the character and series were in development as a TV series -- and then it all made so much sense. The book really is a fleshed out script, and presumably the rest of the trilogy will be the rest of the episodes in season one! So -- it's not bad, but it's really probably best for readers who also enjoy a good dose of trashy TV along with their books.
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