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Faith and the Beloved
Naithy Cherokil is a rich and successful business woman from Mumbai who marries the young and handsome model Tony D’Souza after the death of her husband. Little does she know that the ideal sex slave of her husband is the sleeper cell of a terror outfit. Events in her life take unforeseen turns as the male Mata Hari is activated.
Prem Rollands is a kalari exponent and brilliant student whose world revolves around his brother Arun. Things go awry when the police kills Arun under mysterious circumstances. Prem kills the inspector in retribution and is on the run. He is on the lookout for Alice to find out the dark secrets leading to the killing of his brother. Prem must avenge those who have plotted to kill his brother, even at the cost of his own life.
Eighteen year old Alice Cherokil knows more about computers and mystery games than a girl of her age. Alice’s life falls apart when her mother is hospitalised and in a coma. Alice is playing the ultimate mystery game of her life as the web of secrets surrounding two precious diamonds and her stepfather threaten to destroy her family. Alice overcomes moral dilemma to kill her stepfather and she is on the run. Alice must outwit the underworld and stay ahead of all to save her mother’s life or the guilt of her failure will haunt her forever.
As the lives of Naithy, Prem and Alice cross each other they must retain their faith and protect their beloved ones even at the cost of their own lives.
A saga of love, lust, betrayal, intrigue and revenge.
Prem Rollands is a kalari exponent and brilliant student whose world revolves around his brother Arun. Things go awry when the police kills Arun under mysterious circumstances. Prem kills the inspector in retribution and is on the run. He is on the lookout for Alice to find out the dark secrets leading to the killing of his brother. Prem must avenge those who have plotted to kill his brother, even at the cost of his own life.
Eighteen year old Alice Cherokil knows more about computers and mystery games than a girl of her age. Alice’s life falls apart when her mother is hospitalised and in a coma. Alice is playing the ultimate mystery game of her life as the web of secrets surrounding two precious diamonds and her stepfather threaten to destroy her family. Alice overcomes moral dilemma to kill her stepfather and she is on the run. Alice must outwit the underworld and stay ahead of all to save her mother’s life or the guilt of her failure will haunt her forever.
As the lives of Naithy, Prem and Alice cross each other they must retain their faith and protect their beloved ones even at the cost of their own lives.
A saga of love, lust, betrayal, intrigue and revenge.
254 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 2020
23 people are currently reading
214 people want to read
About the author
Kochery C. Shibu
2 books1,343 followersKochery C Shibu graduated from the prestigious National Defence Academy in 1981. He has served in the INdian Navy and commanded two warships.
Post his retirement he has executed hydroelectric projects in the Cauvery river basin in Karnataka, Beas river basin in Himachal and Teesta river basin in Sikkim.
He holds a postgraduate degree in Defence Studies from Chennai University, and MA in English literature from Pune University.
Men and Dreams in the Dhauladhar is his debut novel. The technical content of the novel, namely the setting up of a hydro-project is drawn from his experience in these projects since 2005, as are many of the characters inspired from those whom he encountered on site.
Kochery C Shibu was born in Kochi and now lives in Bangalore with his wife and daughter.
Post his retirement he has executed hydroelectric projects in the Cauvery river basin in Karnataka, Beas river basin in Himachal and Teesta river basin in Sikkim.
He holds a postgraduate degree in Defence Studies from Chennai University, and MA in English literature from Pune University.
Men and Dreams in the Dhauladhar is his debut novel. The technical content of the novel, namely the setting up of a hydro-project is drawn from his experience in these projects since 2005, as are many of the characters inspired from those whom he encountered on site.
Kochery C Shibu was born in Kochi and now lives in Bangalore with his wife and daughter.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,540 reviews
April 6, 2021
Faith and the Beloved is the second book written by Kochery C Shibu. The plot is based on criminal activities that intervene with a Syrian Christian family. It involves a series of murders, sexual fantasies, and deceptions.
What I like about this book; it is fast-paced and short. This one is focused on likable narratives instead of dull-moving fantasies, but still, once in a while, this story made me irritated and angry with the portrayal of rape in the form of sexual desire.
The author tried to portray a strong and resourceful female character but requires more improvement in that aspect. The author worked on the suggestions that I gave in the first book, a plus point. I recommend this fast-paced book to newbies.
Read the detailed review here -https://www.bookscharming.com/2020/06...
What I like about this book; it is fast-paced and short. This one is focused on likable narratives instead of dull-moving fantasies, but still, once in a while, this story made me irritated and angry with the portrayal of rape in the form of sexual desire.
The author tried to portray a strong and resourceful female character but requires more improvement in that aspect. The author worked on the suggestions that I gave in the first book, a plus point. I recommend this fast-paced book to newbies.
Read the detailed review here -https://www.bookscharming.com/2020/06...
July 20, 2020
Alice's mom, Naithy, is in the coma, and Alice has run away after brutally murdering her stepfather, Tony. Prem's elder brother Arun gets killed under strange conditions, and he is determined to avenge his brother's death. Underworld plays a crucial role in how their lives get entwined into each other. Alice has to protect herself and her mother from Prem, who is on a hunt to kill them. But what is the reason behind Alice running away? Why is Prem out to kill them? How has Naithy ended up in the coma?
Anger, Fear, Joy, Sadness, Love - this book has all the emotions, occasionally to its extremities. The information on each character is very elaborate. The story has multiple viewpoints, which makes it very intriguing. The intertwining of characters is adroit. The author has done excellent research on the sites right from its geography to history; the same gets reflected throughout the book. The book builds the perfect amount of suspense and thrill as the story gets revealed.
There are grammatical and sentence formation errors, but these can be undoubtedly taken care of in the next edition. Also, too many details made me feel perplexed and too heavy after the read. The book cover was too simple for the complex story woven. Also, trigger warning for too many adult scenes, not for the faint-hearted. I was expecting the end to be a little better.
Faith and the Beloved, the story stands true to its title. It is my first book from the author, and I am thoroughly impressed with his work. I would recommend this book to adults (strictly 18+) who love crime mysteries and thrillers. The real-life incidents make you relate to the book, hence piquing up your curiosity.
Overall, the story is unique, with all its plot twists.
Anger, Fear, Joy, Sadness, Love - this book has all the emotions, occasionally to its extremities. The information on each character is very elaborate. The story has multiple viewpoints, which makes it very intriguing. The intertwining of characters is adroit. The author has done excellent research on the sites right from its geography to history; the same gets reflected throughout the book. The book builds the perfect amount of suspense and thrill as the story gets revealed.
There are grammatical and sentence formation errors, but these can be undoubtedly taken care of in the next edition. Also, too many details made me feel perplexed and too heavy after the read. The book cover was too simple for the complex story woven. Also, trigger warning for too many adult scenes, not for the faint-hearted. I was expecting the end to be a little better.
Faith and the Beloved, the story stands true to its title. It is my first book from the author, and I am thoroughly impressed with his work. I would recommend this book to adults (strictly 18+) who love crime mysteries and thrillers. The real-life incidents make you relate to the book, hence piquing up your curiosity.
Overall, the story is unique, with all its plot twists.
July 3, 2020
This book was PAINFULLY MONOTONOUS.
DNF-ed at 40%. I don't quite know how I managed to read up until that point. The book starts off with a murder being committed, and that mislead me into thinking this might actually be a decent thriller. But save for the first chapter, there's no sense of mystery or intrigue or thrill factor for a very long time.
Each chapter, which drags on for way longer than needed, introduces us to a different character. And in those chapters, instead of establishing how the character is relevant to the plot, we are made to read page after page about the character's family tree/ life events/ about their relative's life, and so on.
This not only destroyed the book's potential, but also made me reluctant to keep reading, as it was so crammed with needless information.
A couple of other reasons why I DNF-ed the book are:
1. Two of the MCs (Prem and Arun) are rapists who have internalised the notion that they are doing their victims "a favour" by raping them.
2. Tony (another prominent character) is made to ceremonially rape young women, so as to impregnate them, and raise a generation who will be inducted into his terrorist schemes. It's understandable that the author may have wanted to write such a character's story. But it's highly insensitive and disagreeable to keep describing the same kind of scenes over and over again.
3. The writing style felt very clinical and robotic. There was no fluidity or storytelling-like quality to it.
I would not recommend this book to anyone. It was mentally taxing to get through the 40% that I read.
Rating - 0.5 stars
DNF-ed at 40%. I don't quite know how I managed to read up until that point. The book starts off with a murder being committed, and that mislead me into thinking this might actually be a decent thriller. But save for the first chapter, there's no sense of mystery or intrigue or thrill factor for a very long time.
Each chapter, which drags on for way longer than needed, introduces us to a different character. And in those chapters, instead of establishing how the character is relevant to the plot, we are made to read page after page about the character's family tree/ life events/ about their relative's life, and so on.
This not only destroyed the book's potential, but also made me reluctant to keep reading, as it was so crammed with needless information.
A couple of other reasons why I DNF-ed the book are:
1. Two of the MCs (Prem and Arun) are rapists who have internalised the notion that they are doing their victims "a favour" by raping them.
2. Tony (another prominent character) is made to ceremonially rape young women, so as to impregnate them, and raise a generation who will be inducted into his terrorist schemes. It's understandable that the author may have wanted to write such a character's story. But it's highly insensitive and disagreeable to keep describing the same kind of scenes over and over again.
3. The writing style felt very clinical and robotic. There was no fluidity or storytelling-like quality to it.
I would not recommend this book to anyone. It was mentally taxing to get through the 40% that I read.
Rating - 0.5 stars
July 27, 2020
Faith and the Beloved by Kochery C. Shibu is a thriller that focuses on parallel plotlines loaded with violence, violation, rape, love, and betrayal. The story of greed and lust is at the heart of this book. A story of vengeance is at its core. A story of faith and a will to protect your loved ones screams from its heart.
The book essentially consists of two primary plotlines - one that of Naithy and Alice and the other of - Arun and Prem. Along with these characters, the book focuses on the individual lives of the many characters it includes in the story. Each chapter introduces a novel character and gives a thorough check of its background. It also sets the right tone for the character to contribute to the story. The plot is fast-paced and contains enough intrigue to hook the reader. There are utter violence and abrupt sexual violation that adds to the darker shade of the book. And with this being said, there is this air of crime resulting out of willingness for revenge that underlines the plot.
I have read the author's debut work sometime in 2018. It turned out to be one of my best reads of the year. However, the same cannot be applied to Faith and the Beloved. In both his works, a common factor is his narration which always provides plenty of details. In this book too, the author touches upon a lot of facts and minute details of the characters that do work slightly in favor of the story. It's just that too much of anything spoils the thing. Similarly, an over-emphatic approach towards the details might take the mind of a reader off the book.
The story is amazing, undoubtedly. The characters were realistic too and I admire the bold female voice in the book. I personally love quick-paced thrillers with violence. However, this book missed out on effective editing and plot treatment. There were too many characters for my link and each one's story overlapped with the other. Although it was important as all the faces of the book converge by the end, it still made me confused and uneasy. The plot could have been more refined and crisp to engage the readers. Moreover, the book demands a round of editing to get rid of unnecessary details and typographical errors too.
To put in a nutshell, the book has an intriguing story that deserves a better execution. Additionally, a highly descriptive narrative and the fairly smooth narration does favor the book. If you like thrillers, you may give this one a shot. You might end up liking the thrilling story and an honest portrayal of the subjects.
The book essentially consists of two primary plotlines - one that of Naithy and Alice and the other of - Arun and Prem. Along with these characters, the book focuses on the individual lives of the many characters it includes in the story. Each chapter introduces a novel character and gives a thorough check of its background. It also sets the right tone for the character to contribute to the story. The plot is fast-paced and contains enough intrigue to hook the reader. There are utter violence and abrupt sexual violation that adds to the darker shade of the book. And with this being said, there is this air of crime resulting out of willingness for revenge that underlines the plot.
I have read the author's debut work sometime in 2018. It turned out to be one of my best reads of the year. However, the same cannot be applied to Faith and the Beloved. In both his works, a common factor is his narration which always provides plenty of details. In this book too, the author touches upon a lot of facts and minute details of the characters that do work slightly in favor of the story. It's just that too much of anything spoils the thing. Similarly, an over-emphatic approach towards the details might take the mind of a reader off the book.
The story is amazing, undoubtedly. The characters were realistic too and I admire the bold female voice in the book. I personally love quick-paced thrillers with violence. However, this book missed out on effective editing and plot treatment. There were too many characters for my link and each one's story overlapped with the other. Although it was important as all the faces of the book converge by the end, it still made me confused and uneasy. The plot could have been more refined and crisp to engage the readers. Moreover, the book demands a round of editing to get rid of unnecessary details and typographical errors too.
To put in a nutshell, the book has an intriguing story that deserves a better execution. Additionally, a highly descriptive narrative and the fairly smooth narration does favor the book. If you like thrillers, you may give this one a shot. You might end up liking the thrilling story and an honest portrayal of the subjects.
June 27, 2020
Video Review Link - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHlti...
In 2016, I had read "Men and Dreams: In the Dhauladhar" by Shibu Kochery. Though the book was only 280 pages in length it was too deep in terms of technical information. I survived that book because of good character and story building. So when I came to know about "Faith and the Beloved", Shibu's latest book, I wanted to make sure that it should not cover lengthy technical information. I read the sample provided by Kindle and once I was certain that the author has given respect to the readers of the first book by avoiding unnecessary technicalities, I bought the book. And trust me 185 pages of "Faith and the Beloved" has more storylines and thrill then 280 pages of "Men and Dreams: In the Dhauladhar" taking twice.
To give you a brief of the story, a sleeper cell guy called Tony was killed in his apartment, while his wife Naithy was hospitalized due to head injuries. His body was found with two other guys who belonged to the underworld gang. Naithy's daughter Alice was on run from multiple organizations. Prem Rollands a Kalari expert, a hacker, and an intelligent strategist wanted to avenge his brother's encounter and people linked to the case. An underworld gangs were after rare diamonds that were missing from Tony's place. A CBI officer working on the case found a deep history of 10-15 years behind the crime. Are you thrilled to know these pointers? Don't worry I haven't given any spoilers. You will find way more than these points if you read the book.
Coming to the writing style
1) Pace - Fast
2) Language usage - Very easy. Even beginners can enjoy it.
3) Age group - preferably 15+
4) Plot Development - Complex style. Will discuss in the next paragraph
5) Character Building - Details to the core
6) Content Amount - 250% than normal thrillers
7) Cover - So so. Needs more attractive cover.
You might be thinking why I have given just pointers above, but why to waste more words when I can convert the same with just bullet points.
Now coming to what is changed from Dhaulandhar to this book. The author has reduced technicalities drastically. He focuses more on storytelling than engineering/technical discussion. The plot of this book is more interesting as we were unearthing new facts with each chapter. The reason I said the plot is complex is plot is divided between 6-7 major characters. You will get to know only the portion known to that character. You won't get a full picture without reading until the last chapter. The character building is still heavily information-driven, mostly dating back to the character's parents or grandparents' background. I enjoyed the information about the main characters but when too much information about someone meeting your characters just once (like a couple from the Gambia) was actually too much. I feel that could have been avoided.
Overall a wonderful read. One that can make a good visual content of converted in web series or movies. I may take a review on our BookTube channel as it fits our theme.
I will give 4.5 out of 5 to this book.
Detailed review link - https://chevusread.blogspot.com/2020/...
In 2016, I had read "Men and Dreams: In the Dhauladhar" by Shibu Kochery. Though the book was only 280 pages in length it was too deep in terms of technical information. I survived that book because of good character and story building. So when I came to know about "Faith and the Beloved", Shibu's latest book, I wanted to make sure that it should not cover lengthy technical information. I read the sample provided by Kindle and once I was certain that the author has given respect to the readers of the first book by avoiding unnecessary technicalities, I bought the book. And trust me 185 pages of "Faith and the Beloved" has more storylines and thrill then 280 pages of "Men and Dreams: In the Dhauladhar" taking twice.
To give you a brief of the story, a sleeper cell guy called Tony was killed in his apartment, while his wife Naithy was hospitalized due to head injuries. His body was found with two other guys who belonged to the underworld gang. Naithy's daughter Alice was on run from multiple organizations. Prem Rollands a Kalari expert, a hacker, and an intelligent strategist wanted to avenge his brother's encounter and people linked to the case. An underworld gangs were after rare diamonds that were missing from Tony's place. A CBI officer working on the case found a deep history of 10-15 years behind the crime. Are you thrilled to know these pointers? Don't worry I haven't given any spoilers. You will find way more than these points if you read the book.
Coming to the writing style
1) Pace - Fast
2) Language usage - Very easy. Even beginners can enjoy it.
3) Age group - preferably 15+
4) Plot Development - Complex style. Will discuss in the next paragraph
5) Character Building - Details to the core
6) Content Amount - 250% than normal thrillers
7) Cover - So so. Needs more attractive cover.
You might be thinking why I have given just pointers above, but why to waste more words when I can convert the same with just bullet points.
Now coming to what is changed from Dhaulandhar to this book. The author has reduced technicalities drastically. He focuses more on storytelling than engineering/technical discussion. The plot of this book is more interesting as we were unearthing new facts with each chapter. The reason I said the plot is complex is plot is divided between 6-7 major characters. You will get to know only the portion known to that character. You won't get a full picture without reading until the last chapter. The character building is still heavily information-driven, mostly dating back to the character's parents or grandparents' background. I enjoyed the information about the main characters but when too much information about someone meeting your characters just once (like a couple from the Gambia) was actually too much. I feel that could have been avoided.
Overall a wonderful read. One that can make a good visual content of converted in web series or movies. I may take a review on our BookTube channel as it fits our theme.
I will give 4.5 out of 5 to this book.
Detailed review link - https://chevusread.blogspot.com/2020/...
November 2, 2020
This book deals with some sensitive topics like sexual abuse, rape, smuggling, underworld. This is the worst book I've read so far in this year. The major problem with this book is 'Rape' is portrayed as 'Love Making'. There is a clear difference between Rape and Love Making but I think this book knows no difference at all. There are insensitive rather careless use of the term Rape.
Every character in this book is so disturbing. Except the detective everyone in this book is criminal. There are two characters Arun & Prem who have a notion of Rape as 'Fantasy Sex'. This is clearly giving wrong message to the society. Naithy is probably the most disgusting character in this book. She is enjoying her rape and secretly admiring her rapist. This makes no sense and it also defamed other women. And then there is Tony who is used to impregnate women numerous time. There are also some stereotypes in this book.
More than 3 plots are running parallaly in this book. The pages are filled with too much unnecessary informations which made the reading more boring. There's no fluidity in the writing style.
🖤MY EXPERIENCE: The entire book is filled with crap and I gave the 1 star only for the cover design. My brain was screaming "DNF it" but I finished the book.
Every character in this book is so disturbing. Except the detective everyone in this book is criminal. There are two characters Arun & Prem who have a notion of Rape as 'Fantasy Sex'. This is clearly giving wrong message to the society. Naithy is probably the most disgusting character in this book. She is enjoying her rape and secretly admiring her rapist. This makes no sense and it also defamed other women. And then there is Tony who is used to impregnate women numerous time. There are also some stereotypes in this book.
More than 3 plots are running parallaly in this book. The pages are filled with too much unnecessary informations which made the reading more boring. There's no fluidity in the writing style.
🖤MY EXPERIENCE: The entire book is filled with crap and I gave the 1 star only for the cover design. My brain was screaming "DNF it" but I finished the book.
June 29, 2020
This is the second novel of the author Kochery C. Shibu. It is a precisely plotted crime thriller. The books discusses about family, betrayal, lust, and revenge.
Alice, Prem, Naithy, Tony – everyone with a grisly past and a motive to sustain their lives. Alice – a brilliant student and a cunning daughter who plays her dad to save her mom. Prem, the youngest in his family, a loving brother also master in martial arts. Both of them are the scattered pieces of the same jigsaw puzzle. Stuck in the labyrinth of life – how do they deal with their most feared nightmares in order to save their dear ones?
It is a story with a parallel plot and several characters – all of them connected to each other. It is a well-paced thriller. Author here takes ample time to describe every character. He has dedicated chapters to each one of the characters to describe their history and the how their childhood shaped up their future. This has made the backstory of all main protagonists believable and lead to a strong plot creation. He has also incorporated ISI and Mumbai terror attacks as well as LTTE into the story quite swiftly. This has somehow lead to an intriguing storyline and kept the story interesting.
Even with an interesting plot the story felt a little dragged. At certain points too much information in the novel that deviated from the story line or had a little use in the story. There were so many details that the story could have been made into a series. This would have helped grow a strong hold over the storytelling. It felt rushed and hurried to just end it. The book has not been edited properly as it has grammatical errors. The climax was a bit stereotypical and predictable. The name of the book could have been better as well.
Alice, Prem, Naithy, Tony – everyone with a grisly past and a motive to sustain their lives. Alice – a brilliant student and a cunning daughter who plays her dad to save her mom. Prem, the youngest in his family, a loving brother also master in martial arts. Both of them are the scattered pieces of the same jigsaw puzzle. Stuck in the labyrinth of life – how do they deal with their most feared nightmares in order to save their dear ones?
It is a story with a parallel plot and several characters – all of them connected to each other. It is a well-paced thriller. Author here takes ample time to describe every character. He has dedicated chapters to each one of the characters to describe their history and the how their childhood shaped up their future. This has made the backstory of all main protagonists believable and lead to a strong plot creation. He has also incorporated ISI and Mumbai terror attacks as well as LTTE into the story quite swiftly. This has somehow lead to an intriguing storyline and kept the story interesting.
Even with an interesting plot the story felt a little dragged. At certain points too much information in the novel that deviated from the story line or had a little use in the story. There were so many details that the story could have been made into a series. This would have helped grow a strong hold over the storytelling. It felt rushed and hurried to just end it. The book has not been edited properly as it has grammatical errors. The climax was a bit stereotypical and predictable. The name of the book could have been better as well.
August 28, 2020
Alice Cherokil a teenage girl smartly kills a man, sets the apartment on fire and stages a false blast to make it look like an accident. She escapes quickly with the help of a friend, far from the scene of crime. The person she killed happens to be her stepfather Tony while her mother Naithy is unaware, lying in coma. Parallelly runs the story of two brothers Arun and Prem; Prem the younger one is a Kalari enthusiast and lives in Mumbai slums along with his elder brother Arun. Soon they are forced to leave the city due to unexpected circumstances, and later Arun is killed in a police encounter. What forced Alice to murder Tony? How would Prem avenge the death of his brother? How are these stories connected forms the rest of the story.
I have read the debut work of the author and this book also has a similar narration and writing style, with multiple characters, parallel stories, real-life incidents woven into the storyline and all the parallel threads merging at the end. The plot is intriguing, and the suspense will keep the reader on the edge for a major part. The numbers of subplots and characters mean the reader needs to read the book in one go so as not to miss the story flow or the characters inter-relations. The terror angle connected to Mumbai attacks and the LTTE movement are well explored.
This book is better than the author’s debut work as there is a clear leap in the way the book has shaped up. The violence and abuse part might seem overdose to some readers, hence the likeability of the story is a personal choice. Also, instead of one part, the same story could have been divided into more parts so that the detailed narration will not be overwhelming for the reader. If you like thrillers with a fast pace, then this will appeal to you.
I have read the debut work of the author and this book also has a similar narration and writing style, with multiple characters, parallel stories, real-life incidents woven into the storyline and all the parallel threads merging at the end. The plot is intriguing, and the suspense will keep the reader on the edge for a major part. The numbers of subplots and characters mean the reader needs to read the book in one go so as not to miss the story flow or the characters inter-relations. The terror angle connected to Mumbai attacks and the LTTE movement are well explored.
This book is better than the author’s debut work as there is a clear leap in the way the book has shaped up. The violence and abuse part might seem overdose to some readers, hence the likeability of the story is a personal choice. Also, instead of one part, the same story could have been divided into more parts so that the detailed narration will not be overwhelming for the reader. If you like thrillers with a fast pace, then this will appeal to you.
November 29, 2025
The novel is an Adult Crime Thriller with multiple characters and plot threads that are skillfully linked. It's one of those books where the lives of several characters appear to be parallel at first, but later become entwined, reinforcing the notion of six degrees of separation. This was a story full of intrigue and deception. Many of the characters come from various backgrounds, but they are all connected in some way.
The book's cover is stunning. The plotline of the book deserves improved execution, which would improve the overall quality of the book.
If you're into a thriller you should give it a read.
You might like to wander through a few artistic journals — they’re full of sparks and surprises.
The book's cover is stunning. The plotline of the book deserves improved execution, which would improve the overall quality of the book.
If you're into a thriller you should give it a read.
You might like to wander through a few artistic journals — they’re full of sparks and surprises.
July 6, 2020
Faith and the beloved by Kochery C Shibu
Faith and the beloved is the thrilling second novel by author and it opens with the bang quite literally in novel. Author has explored myrud of themes from religion, terrorism, lust to love etc. There are two parallel plots going on. One deals with Alice and her mother Naithy and other deals with Prem and his older brother Arun and their theirs lives cross path with each other. I won't talk much about plot as I might end up giving a spoiler. So let's focus on other aspect of it.
First and foremost novel is extremely well researched. Author has done tremendous work in that field. We get lost of backstory and character arc, which sometimes get boring to read but once we get past that it's easy to follow.
Each chapter is dedicated to one character and we get to know about that character and his/her backstory. Each chapter is narrated in third person point of view so we get whole story from vantage point.
Every characters journey takes us to different parts of world as well as India. From Kerala and it's Syrian Christian community to Mumbai and it's gangwars to shallowness of Delhi.
One of the refreshing points of this story is that it focuses more on LTTE and India than usual India Pakistan troupe so that was quite refreshing to read.
There are few grammatical errors and sentence structure issues but that's easy to get past by. If it had been edited better then it would have been more fun and exciting read. However with strong plot it is easy to get past all those things.
Overall it was really fascinating and exciting experience.
#BookwithApurva #teammysecretbookshelf
Faith and the beloved is the thrilling second novel by author and it opens with the bang quite literally in novel. Author has explored myrud of themes from religion, terrorism, lust to love etc. There are two parallel plots going on. One deals with Alice and her mother Naithy and other deals with Prem and his older brother Arun and their theirs lives cross path with each other. I won't talk much about plot as I might end up giving a spoiler. So let's focus on other aspect of it.
First and foremost novel is extremely well researched. Author has done tremendous work in that field. We get lost of backstory and character arc, which sometimes get boring to read but once we get past that it's easy to follow.
Each chapter is dedicated to one character and we get to know about that character and his/her backstory. Each chapter is narrated in third person point of view so we get whole story from vantage point.
Every characters journey takes us to different parts of world as well as India. From Kerala and it's Syrian Christian community to Mumbai and it's gangwars to shallowness of Delhi.
One of the refreshing points of this story is that it focuses more on LTTE and India than usual India Pakistan troupe so that was quite refreshing to read.
There are few grammatical errors and sentence structure issues but that's easy to get past by. If it had been edited better then it would have been more fun and exciting read. However with strong plot it is easy to get past all those things.
Overall it was really fascinating and exciting experience.
#BookwithApurva #teammysecretbookshelf
October 1, 2020
A crime thriller with revenge, betrayal and family. The twists and turns will keep your nose in the book. I just wish there had been an audiobook option!
August 16, 2020
“Silence is the sea and conversation is like admiring. You are looking for the sea. So do not look for admiration”
This is my second read from this author and true to his first debut book “Men and Dreams of Dhauladhar” I was not at all disappointed with this one. 'The Faith and the Beloved' can be classified as a dark crime thriller and is set in India. It's a story of greed, revenge, love, lust, betrayal and lots of crime. I was kept on my feet the whole time.
“The behavior of an individual is a reflection of his value system. Educate his mind well and he will be a good citizen.”
The story is kept at a fast pace, short length and right to the point instead of dragging it unnecessarily which made the book interesting and not boring. Some people might not like the fact that there was too much information regarding everything but for me, I enjoyed gaining as much Intel as I could. This was a very well researched book. Author has done tremendous work in that field. Well- researched and detailed books are always better than half-way finalized books.
“Keep silent, because the world of silence is a vast fullness”
The book essentially consists of two primary plot-lines. The idea of this story was a great one. Two different stories combined to make one crime thriller. The story of two brothers, Prem and Arun involving Alice and Naithy. Along with these characters, the book focuses on the individual lives of the many characters it includes in the story. Each chapter is dedicated to one character and we get to know about that character and his/her backstory. It is written in third person pov. The characters of the book have been well developed despite the short length of the book.
This book had mixed reviews about it. Some of the reviews might be off-putting but I would request you to give it a try. Overall I think it was a very refreshing and interesting book.
September 19, 2020
Monotonous but Thrilling !!!
Faith and the Beloved is a thrilling mystery novel but it fails in execution at many places. It seems as though Kochery Sir has been trying to put together little pieces of different stories but it falls apart at many places. It is a story of betrayal and love, the latter which is expressed very beautifully by Kochery Sir.
Naithy, Alice and Prem's character are very strongly built around the different plotlines which the book follows. The revenge plot of Prem for his brother Arun, his uneasiness of mind and thoughts that Arun was murdered. The business mind of Naithy is sure to engage each one of you there. It's and adult thriller series which portrays lust, polygamy and other issues which are not very socially acceptable in a very subtle manner. Kudos to Kochery Sir for portraying it beautifully.
The plot of the story is explained in a very vast manner which I personally think is unnecessary. The development of each and every character is good but somehow it affects the plot too. It makes it boring to read and somewhat monotonous, but I think that's just Kochery Sir's style. He focuses on character development arcs.
One thing which I personally liked very much was the thrill element. The suspense build up, the mystery surrounding Alice, Naithy and Tony was just mind-blowing. The writing style is simple english, that is easy to understand and well executed suspense and thriller is a must to go for.
There is a lot of graphic content during the description of the rape scenes, so I would definitely not recommend it to any of the faint hearted readers, but if graphic thrillers strike you, then it's a must read. I rate it at 4 out of 5 stars as the novel becomes too monotonous to handle sometimes and if you are not into reading that much character development then you would be skipping the first half of the book. Overall, it's a nice read well covered under 200 pages.
Faith and the Beloved is a thrilling mystery novel but it fails in execution at many places. It seems as though Kochery Sir has been trying to put together little pieces of different stories but it falls apart at many places. It is a story of betrayal and love, the latter which is expressed very beautifully by Kochery Sir.
Naithy, Alice and Prem's character are very strongly built around the different plotlines which the book follows. The revenge plot of Prem for his brother Arun, his uneasiness of mind and thoughts that Arun was murdered. The business mind of Naithy is sure to engage each one of you there. It's and adult thriller series which portrays lust, polygamy and other issues which are not very socially acceptable in a very subtle manner. Kudos to Kochery Sir for portraying it beautifully.
The plot of the story is explained in a very vast manner which I personally think is unnecessary. The development of each and every character is good but somehow it affects the plot too. It makes it boring to read and somewhat monotonous, but I think that's just Kochery Sir's style. He focuses on character development arcs.
One thing which I personally liked very much was the thrill element. The suspense build up, the mystery surrounding Alice, Naithy and Tony was just mind-blowing. The writing style is simple english, that is easy to understand and well executed suspense and thriller is a must to go for.
There is a lot of graphic content during the description of the rape scenes, so I would definitely not recommend it to any of the faint hearted readers, but if graphic thrillers strike you, then it's a must read. I rate it at 4 out of 5 stars as the novel becomes too monotonous to handle sometimes and if you are not into reading that much character development then you would be skipping the first half of the book. Overall, it's a nice read well covered under 200 pages.
July 17, 2020
Content - Alice Cherokil has killed her stepfather Tony.D.Souza and is on the run for her life from his people. Tony.D.Souza was adapted by Canadian citizen when he was a small boy. Now he is a part of LTTE and is on a secret mission. Arun and Prem, two brothers are living their life doing different work and incidentally broke into a house to steal and sexually assaulted the lady of the house. After a few days of this incident, Arun got killed in a police encounter. Now Prem found that it was a murder and wants revenge.
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Read the whole book to know the interwoven story of each character.
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My Views - The story mainly revolves around Alice Cherokil, her mother Naithy Cherokil,her stepfather Tony.D.Souza and Prem Rollands. But there are several other characters interconnected and each character has their own story and each of them are somehow intertwined with one another. The author has interwoven terrorism,drug dealing, smuggling, gang fight in the story. There is also mentions of LTTE and its rise, Mumbai terror attack which has added extra dimensions and helped the story to go on smoothly. But the main drawback of the book which slows the pace of the story and the readers might loose interest in the book is the prolonged and elaborate back story of each character's life and family which was not at all necessary and could be cut short. And one more thing,there are too many sexual instances which somewhat could have been avoided. Other than that, the story is gripping and the characters are quite well developed. Alice is a strong headed character and is really inspiring.
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The narration is smooth wven with all the back stories and the language is lucid.
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It's a good and gripping Adult mystery.
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Read the whole book to know the interwoven story of each character.
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My Views - The story mainly revolves around Alice Cherokil, her mother Naithy Cherokil,her stepfather Tony.D.Souza and Prem Rollands. But there are several other characters interconnected and each character has their own story and each of them are somehow intertwined with one another. The author has interwoven terrorism,drug dealing, smuggling, gang fight in the story. There is also mentions of LTTE and its rise, Mumbai terror attack which has added extra dimensions and helped the story to go on smoothly. But the main drawback of the book which slows the pace of the story and the readers might loose interest in the book is the prolonged and elaborate back story of each character's life and family which was not at all necessary and could be cut short. And one more thing,there are too many sexual instances which somewhat could have been avoided. Other than that, the story is gripping and the characters are quite well developed. Alice is a strong headed character and is really inspiring.
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The narration is smooth wven with all the back stories and the language is lucid.
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It's a good and gripping Adult mystery.
June 29, 2020
A definite page turner!
The story revolves around seemingly unrelated individuals who are spun together over years of suspicious and questionable activities. It is about Prem and his brother on one side and Naithy and Alice Cherokil on the other.
After 10 years of silence from the LTTE, are they rising again?
Why are two of the biggest mafia gangs chasing a teenage girl?
Why is a tour guide shadowing a model turned business man and his family?
There are two priceless diamonds brought illegally into India floating around, who is going to get hold of it?
The story is episodic and fast paced keeping the reader on edge all the time, it is also the most effective page-turner! The writer has managed to keep the suspense till the very end of the book taking the audience in a whirlwind around each of the characters.
I found it difficult to navigate around a lot of unessential characters which I felt could have been avoided. Also, this book has some stark narrations that is not suitable for teenagers. Otherwise, it is a book that every thriller/suspense novel addict would enjoy reading.
The story revolves around seemingly unrelated individuals who are spun together over years of suspicious and questionable activities. It is about Prem and his brother on one side and Naithy and Alice Cherokil on the other.
After 10 years of silence from the LTTE, are they rising again?
Why are two of the biggest mafia gangs chasing a teenage girl?
Why is a tour guide shadowing a model turned business man and his family?
There are two priceless diamonds brought illegally into India floating around, who is going to get hold of it?
The story is episodic and fast paced keeping the reader on edge all the time, it is also the most effective page-turner! The writer has managed to keep the suspense till the very end of the book taking the audience in a whirlwind around each of the characters.
I found it difficult to navigate around a lot of unessential characters which I felt could have been avoided. Also, this book has some stark narrations that is not suitable for teenagers. Otherwise, it is a book that every thriller/suspense novel addict would enjoy reading.
July 19, 2020
This book is a crime thriller and it's the second book by this author.
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This book has some really good storytelling with two parallel stories, one of Naithy cherokil , her daughter Alice and her husband tony and other of two brothers named Prem and Arun. The book slowly builds up the connection between the two families which will leave you hooked to the book.
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As the title suggests the book revolves around religion, caste and relationships and how one can affect another. The book also involves connections from underworld and LTTE . The story talks also about some issues like polygamy and sexual desires.
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This book has too many characters and it was a bit difficult to remember each one of them.
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The book had lot of extra redundant information which could have been skipped.
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The book was a poorly edited. Also, the book had lot of adult content so it's not suitable for people below 18.
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Overall, it's a nice,well researched India based thriller book.
Rating:3.5/5
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This book has some really good storytelling with two parallel stories, one of Naithy cherokil , her daughter Alice and her husband tony and other of two brothers named Prem and Arun. The book slowly builds up the connection between the two families which will leave you hooked to the book.
.
As the title suggests the book revolves around religion, caste and relationships and how one can affect another. The book also involves connections from underworld and LTTE . The story talks also about some issues like polygamy and sexual desires.
.
This book has too many characters and it was a bit difficult to remember each one of them.
.
The book had lot of extra redundant information which could have been skipped.
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The book was a poorly edited. Also, the book had lot of adult content so it's not suitable for people below 18.
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Overall, it's a nice,well researched India based thriller book.
Rating:3.5/5
January 23, 2021
Faith and the Beloved - Kochery C Shibu
My Perspective:
“Alice, Remember one thing. Whenever you are in trouble and you don’t know what to do, read the Bible and pray, solutions will come to you.” When Alice’s mom said these words to her, I felt as if it was a secret message sent to me in disguise- through this book in a code. This made me realize I was completely involved with the reading process and the book held this captivating concept that can easily draw one’s attention to it.
About the Book:
This book is from the best-selling and award-winning author of the book, ‘Mena and Dreams in Dhauladhar.’ The book is colored in red with titles in white and black with a heart in the center. The semi-part o it is in crystal form while the other half is bleeding red. The paperback quality is good and the papers are creamish yellow with good letter printing.
About the Story:
This has 2 stories running in parallel that are somewhere interlinked to each other. The first is about Naithy Cherozil, a strong businesswoman, her daughter, Alice Cherozil, and her second husband, Tony D’Souza. The daughter gets to know that her step-dad is the reason behind her mom getting into trouble and decides to kill him. The other story is about 2 brothers Prem and Arun whose lives are ruined when Arun is killed under suspicious incidents. How the stories are interlinked, what happens, will Alice be able to save her mom- Naithy? Will Prem get to know about the mystery behind his brother’s death are covered in the story.
About the Protagonist:
Naithy - A strong businesswoman residing in Mumbai and is rich.
Alice - Naithy’s daughter, an 18-year old girl- brave and clever.
Prem - A brilliant student who loves his brother the most.
About the Author:
Kochery C Shibu is the author of this book who was born in Kochi and now lives in Banglore. He has served the Indian navy, commanded two warships, and is the best selling and award winning author.
#teammysecretbookshelf
My Perspective:
“Alice, Remember one thing. Whenever you are in trouble and you don’t know what to do, read the Bible and pray, solutions will come to you.” When Alice’s mom said these words to her, I felt as if it was a secret message sent to me in disguise- through this book in a code. This made me realize I was completely involved with the reading process and the book held this captivating concept that can easily draw one’s attention to it.
About the Book:
This book is from the best-selling and award-winning author of the book, ‘Mena and Dreams in Dhauladhar.’ The book is colored in red with titles in white and black with a heart in the center. The semi-part o it is in crystal form while the other half is bleeding red. The paperback quality is good and the papers are creamish yellow with good letter printing.
About the Story:
This has 2 stories running in parallel that are somewhere interlinked to each other. The first is about Naithy Cherozil, a strong businesswoman, her daughter, Alice Cherozil, and her second husband, Tony D’Souza. The daughter gets to know that her step-dad is the reason behind her mom getting into trouble and decides to kill him. The other story is about 2 brothers Prem and Arun whose lives are ruined when Arun is killed under suspicious incidents. How the stories are interlinked, what happens, will Alice be able to save her mom- Naithy? Will Prem get to know about the mystery behind his brother’s death are covered in the story.
About the Protagonist:
Naithy - A strong businesswoman residing in Mumbai and is rich.
Alice - Naithy’s daughter, an 18-year old girl- brave and clever.
Prem - A brilliant student who loves his brother the most.
About the Author:
Kochery C Shibu is the author of this book who was born in Kochi and now lives in Banglore. He has served the Indian navy, commanded two warships, and is the best selling and award winning author.
#teammysecretbookshelf
April 2, 2021
~𝙁𝙖𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝘽𝙚𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙙~
"𝚂𝚒𝚕𝚎𝚗𝚌𝚎 𝚒𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚎𝚊 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚜𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚒𝚜 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚊𝚍𝚖𝚒𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚐. 𝚈𝚘𝚞 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚕𝚘𝚘𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚎𝚊. 𝚂𝚘 𝚍𝚘 𝚗𝚘𝚝 𝚕𝚘𝚘𝚔 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚊𝚍𝚖𝚒𝚛𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗. "
In other news, I recently finished this book and I would like to thank the author for the review copy. The book follows two narratives, one of Alice Cherozil who has murdered her step-father and is laying low. The other stories follows Prem Rollands, whose brother Arun is killed by police under mysterious circumstances and he kills the inspector in retribution and is on the run.
How the two stories converge and secrets are spilled makes it an interesting read.
"𝚂𝚒𝚕𝚎𝚗𝚌𝚎 𝚒𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚎𝚊 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚜𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚒𝚜 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚊𝚍𝚖𝚒𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚐. 𝚈𝚘𝚞 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚕𝚘𝚘𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚎𝚊. 𝚂𝚘 𝚍𝚘 𝚗𝚘𝚝 𝚕𝚘𝚘𝚔 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚊𝚍𝚖𝚒𝚛𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗. "
In other news, I recently finished this book and I would like to thank the author for the review copy. The book follows two narratives, one of Alice Cherozil who has murdered her step-father and is laying low. The other stories follows Prem Rollands, whose brother Arun is killed by police under mysterious circumstances and he kills the inspector in retribution and is on the run.
How the two stories converge and secrets are spilled makes it an interesting read.
June 22, 2020
Faith And The Beloved is mystery novel of international standards though there are certain misgivings but the story telling is definitely up to the mark . I really enjoyed the beginning of the book as for me the beginning of the book is always a deal maker or breaker. The beginning of the book arises a good number of questions in the minds of the reader which is a great thing as keeps the reader glued to the book . As the blurb above suggest , the book is basically a very reasonable and realistic concoction of the lives of the three characters with the contemporary incidents .
The characters of the book has been well developed despite of the short length of the book. The narrative is very smooth and switch between between the characters has been done very efficiently . Overall I think it was a very refreshing and interesting book.
The characters of the book has been well developed despite of the short length of the book. The narrative is very smooth and switch between between the characters has been done very efficiently . Overall I think it was a very refreshing and interesting book.
July 4, 2020
2.5/5 ⭐
Faith and the Beloved by Kochery C Shibu is a thriller tale of betrayal, vengeance and love. It's a tale of characters who need to take some unfortunate decisions in their life in order to protect their loved ones.
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Naithy, Alice and Prem are the main characters around whom the story revolves. Naithy is a south Indian woman, born in a Syrian Christain family who builds her own image as a businesswoman with her intelligence and skills. Alice, daughter of Naithy, is a smart and wise girl like her mother. Prem a clever student and a computer geek who is seeking vengeance of what happened with his brother in his teenage.
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The book is a well researched fast pace thriller. The story is built using some real-life incidents like Mumbai serial bomb blast, attack of 26/11, demonetisation, etc. Also, the author has adopted words from regional languages which helps to relate more with places through which the tale travels.
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The book involves so many characters and many parallel storylines in the beginning which later gets unified. Book is much of a descriptive type and lacking in dialogues which made the narration monotonous. Also, much of the description in the initial chapters was felt unnecessary.
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Mostly I enjoy reading thriller novels but this one was not a satisfactory thriller. I felt that the book was missing the element which gives a kick of excitement in thrillers.
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Happy reading!
Faith and the Beloved by Kochery C Shibu is a thriller tale of betrayal, vengeance and love. It's a tale of characters who need to take some unfortunate decisions in their life in order to protect their loved ones.
•
Naithy, Alice and Prem are the main characters around whom the story revolves. Naithy is a south Indian woman, born in a Syrian Christain family who builds her own image as a businesswoman with her intelligence and skills. Alice, daughter of Naithy, is a smart and wise girl like her mother. Prem a clever student and a computer geek who is seeking vengeance of what happened with his brother in his teenage.
•
The book is a well researched fast pace thriller. The story is built using some real-life incidents like Mumbai serial bomb blast, attack of 26/11, demonetisation, etc. Also, the author has adopted words from regional languages which helps to relate more with places through which the tale travels.
•
The book involves so many characters and many parallel storylines in the beginning which later gets unified. Book is much of a descriptive type and lacking in dialogues which made the narration monotonous. Also, much of the description in the initial chapters was felt unnecessary.
•
Mostly I enjoy reading thriller novels but this one was not a satisfactory thriller. I felt that the book was missing the element which gives a kick of excitement in thrillers.
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Happy reading!
July 1, 2020
Faith and Beloved has elements of love, lust, family, betrayal and a cold-blooded saga of revenge. This is a book that will take up on you slowly and when it does you won’t be able to get out of it. Read on to know more about this riveting book and why you should give it a try.
𝗪𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗦𝘁𝘆𝗹𝗲
The author chose to narrate the book in the third person and divided the book into different chapters, each chapter narrating the story in the respective character’s perspective. The language used is very basic with a few or no difficult words. There were a few grammatical errors which implied that the editing is not on point.
𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀
Each character is carved and etched in a way that will surely make an influence on the reader. The female characters are illustrated to be strong and independent. Every character is well researched, authentic and precisely portrayed. I loved the character arc of Prem and Naithy.
𝗠𝘆 𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄𝘀
The overall plot is intriguing, fast-paced and well-composed. I liked the way the author gave this book a sideline of the underworld. The efforts of the author in building the plot are clearly perceived and it is evident that he succeeded in his attempt. However, there are some parts where one would feel bored due to exaggerated narrative. For me, the climax of the book was palpable and predictable, which I neither expected nor liked.
I cherished the fact that the author chose to include some lesson in every part where something immoral or unscrupulous happens but this book is strictly for the 18+ age group. This book is a short read but I don’t think that it is for beginners because it has too many characters and a twisted plotline. The cover of the book is too simple but the title of the book is apt and significant throughout the book.
𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀
You’d pick this book if
•You love crime thrillers and enjoy verbose description.
•Enjoy a strong and realistic character arc.
•You like multi-layered books.
You’d not pic this book if
•You fancy a phenomenal climax.
•You are new to this genre.
•You do not prefer bold and adult narrations.
Overall this was a good read for me with some extraordinary characters and a wonderful plot. The author evidently did a great job in researching and composing the book. I was completely engrossed while reading this book but the finale made me sad. I’d recommend this book to everyone out there who like crime thrillers.
𝗪𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗦𝘁𝘆𝗹𝗲
The author chose to narrate the book in the third person and divided the book into different chapters, each chapter narrating the story in the respective character’s perspective. The language used is very basic with a few or no difficult words. There were a few grammatical errors which implied that the editing is not on point.
𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀
Each character is carved and etched in a way that will surely make an influence on the reader. The female characters are illustrated to be strong and independent. Every character is well researched, authentic and precisely portrayed. I loved the character arc of Prem and Naithy.
𝗠𝘆 𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄𝘀
The overall plot is intriguing, fast-paced and well-composed. I liked the way the author gave this book a sideline of the underworld. The efforts of the author in building the plot are clearly perceived and it is evident that he succeeded in his attempt. However, there are some parts where one would feel bored due to exaggerated narrative. For me, the climax of the book was palpable and predictable, which I neither expected nor liked.
I cherished the fact that the author chose to include some lesson in every part where something immoral or unscrupulous happens but this book is strictly for the 18+ age group. This book is a short read but I don’t think that it is for beginners because it has too many characters and a twisted plotline. The cover of the book is too simple but the title of the book is apt and significant throughout the book.
𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀
You’d pick this book if
•You love crime thrillers and enjoy verbose description.
•Enjoy a strong and realistic character arc.
•You like multi-layered books.
You’d not pic this book if
•You fancy a phenomenal climax.
•You are new to this genre.
•You do not prefer bold and adult narrations.
Overall this was a good read for me with some extraordinary characters and a wonderful plot. The author evidently did a great job in researching and composing the book. I was completely engrossed while reading this book but the finale made me sad. I’d recommend this book to everyone out there who like crime thrillers.
July 14, 2020
'The Faith and the Beloved' can be classified as a dark crime thriller and is set in India. There are two major plot lines: those of Naithy Cherokil and her daughter Alice; and Prem and Arun, brothers; both of which converge toward the end. There are several other POVs too, which play major roles in the story. I love books with multiple POVs, in general, because I feel that it allows a more wholesome development of the story. So I loved this aspect of the book.
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The plot was really thick, and when I say really, I mean REALLY. It's a story of greed, revenge, love, lust, betrayal and lots of crime. I was kept on my feet the whole time. It talked a great deal about the life of the characters. The amount of research that went into the book has to be appreciated. The sheer quantity of details that are present could not have been obtained any other way.
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But, the amount of description that went into the emotional development of the characters was less than I had expected. There's a huge focus on what the characters are doing, but not enough is put on why they are doing it and their overall psyche.
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At the end of the book, the main plotline was concluded satisfactorily. But I could see several other loose ends. I couldn't understand whether the author meant it to be that way or not.
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The plot was really thick, and when I say really, I mean REALLY. It's a story of greed, revenge, love, lust, betrayal and lots of crime. I was kept on my feet the whole time. It talked a great deal about the life of the characters. The amount of research that went into the book has to be appreciated. The sheer quantity of details that are present could not have been obtained any other way.
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But, the amount of description that went into the emotional development of the characters was less than I had expected. There's a huge focus on what the characters are doing, but not enough is put on why they are doing it and their overall psyche.
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At the end of the book, the main plotline was concluded satisfactorily. But I could see several other loose ends. I couldn't understand whether the author meant it to be that way or not.
June 13, 2020
It’s my second book of the author. I read “Men and the dreams” and I loved that so I had to pick this up. It’s a really complex plot so definitely I loved it. I will try to superficially and simply mention the plot. There are kind of two stories that run simultaneously. Naithy Cherokil is a successful businesswoman in Mumbai. Her husband was killed in the terror attack in Mumbai and later on she is married to Tony D’souza. Another is of Prem and Arun. They are brothers and under mysterious circumstances Arun was killed by the Police and his brother seeks for the revenge. And there is also and important character Alice Cherokil. Now read the book to unfold further plot and rule out their correlation. I loved the plot as I said. It’s vast and written in well elaborated manner. There are number of characters and twists and turns that makes it interesting. There are some new concepts like “Mata Hari” I have vaguely came across but never knew about it. So that was interesting for me. I liked writing style of the author. It’s lucid and catchy. Author has amazing narration style for the suspense or thriller plot. Overall good one. Recommended from my side.
July 18, 2020
Does anyone of you like a story involving various characters with their individual stories running in parallel with each other, and meeting at a common point? I do.The main protagonists Alice, Naithy, Tony and Prem, were living their independent lives unknown to each other. Alice, being the daughter of Naithy, was the only one closely related and thereafter as the story proceeded, more characters came joining in. A murder had been committed, an apartment blown up, three men dead, a girl on a run and a woman hospitalized. Different stories connected just with one crime, all set in different parts of the country- Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, few abroad- Canada, Bangladesh, Dubai- and in one or the other way connected to the Mumbai Bomb Blast 2008. The book revolves around the motive of the murder, the people involved- including few from underworld and two hidden priceless diamonds.
The narration is just fine with the third person narrative style. The author has tried hard to make it up to the mark but failed at a few instances. The storyline and the plot are great with complete emphasis on the murder and the circumstances it brought along, but the inapt narration made it a bit confusing. The great part of the book is the turns that the story made at each point.
The main purpose of the book was to arouse curiosity in the readers for the character’s situations and the purpose had been adeptly fulfilled. However, the title and the story are not much of a match but the climax is praiseworthy. It’s fast pacing storyline, great vocabulary and persuasive characters is what makes it a fine read.
The narration is just fine with the third person narrative style. The author has tried hard to make it up to the mark but failed at a few instances. The storyline and the plot are great with complete emphasis on the murder and the circumstances it brought along, but the inapt narration made it a bit confusing. The great part of the book is the turns that the story made at each point.
The main purpose of the book was to arouse curiosity in the readers for the character’s situations and the purpose had been adeptly fulfilled. However, the title and the story are not much of a match but the climax is praiseworthy. It’s fast pacing storyline, great vocabulary and persuasive characters is what makes it a fine read.
June 25, 2020
|| Book review || - 🍁 The book, Faith And The Beloved By Kochery C Shibu, is Mysterious Crime Thriller. The intriguing part of the book is the description of each and every character in the beginning. Each description is very detailed.
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🍁 The story has well-thought plots about lives of different characters and how some of them are turning their traumatic experiences into doing murder and indulging in lustful activities for the sake of money.
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🍁 Smuggled Diamonds are the root cause of murders in the story. There is certain thrill which you will feel while reading the book. Initially it could seem like boring, but soon story mixes the different plots together. Meanwhile, you finish the book, you would have got a complete New Experience of Mysterious Crimes. To know more about story, read the book.
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|| Personal Insight ||- 🌸 The book, Faith And The Beloved, has gang wars, murders and rapes. It basically is telling stories of different characters and how some of them have turned their traumatic experiences into earning money via any means. There is a twist in the story at every point. And every character has its own role to be played in the story.
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. 🌸 I, personally, liked Character named Alice. She is the daughter of Naithy Cherokil. She is Intuitive, Intellectual and Brave. She is ahead of police and every other person in the story. The ending is quite predictable when Alice and her mother meet and they are saved and everyone in the story who had done wrong gets punished. To know how and what Alice does to save her mother, read the book.
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🌸 If at all you like to read Mysterious Crime, then you would love this book. But If you are someone who likes to read books that are light, then you would not find this book interesting.
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🍁 The story has well-thought plots about lives of different characters and how some of them are turning their traumatic experiences into doing murder and indulging in lustful activities for the sake of money.
.
.
.
🍁 Smuggled Diamonds are the root cause of murders in the story. There is certain thrill which you will feel while reading the book. Initially it could seem like boring, but soon story mixes the different plots together. Meanwhile, you finish the book, you would have got a complete New Experience of Mysterious Crimes. To know more about story, read the book.
.
.
.
|| Personal Insight ||- 🌸 The book, Faith And The Beloved, has gang wars, murders and rapes. It basically is telling stories of different characters and how some of them have turned their traumatic experiences into earning money via any means. There is a twist in the story at every point. And every character has its own role to be played in the story.
.
.
. 🌸 I, personally, liked Character named Alice. She is the daughter of Naithy Cherokil. She is Intuitive, Intellectual and Brave. She is ahead of police and every other person in the story. The ending is quite predictable when Alice and her mother meet and they are saved and everyone in the story who had done wrong gets punished. To know how and what Alice does to save her mother, read the book.
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.
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🌸 If at all you like to read Mysterious Crime, then you would love this book. But If you are someone who likes to read books that are light, then you would not find this book interesting.
June 27, 2020
This is the first negative review I have ever written. I generally don't write negative reviews as I understand the amount of effort that goes in writing a book. But I had to write this one as I was asked to give an honest review. The book sounded very interesting. It's a crime thriller. So it was right up my alley. The beginning was promising. But after a while the description of past of the characters and various other facts got very boring and I just wasn't interested in any of it. There were too many charactersin this book. Almost 40% of the book goes in introducing the characters. There is too much information, too much family history mentioned, lots of technical points and a lot more of 'too much'. To top it all I could notice a few errors in editing this book. So I didn't like this book much.
TW: A lot of violence, rape
I received a review copy and a small amount of payment in exchange for an honest review.
TW: A lot of violence, rape
I received a review copy and a small amount of payment in exchange for an honest review.
June 7, 2021
Book- Faith and the Beloved
Author- Kochery C Shibu
The tittle is good and live up to the expectations of the exact storyline
. The cover design stands among one of the best covers I have seen this year. The red vibrant colour gives a vibe of crime-thriller.
The blurb portion is one of the exact things I look at in a blurb. The way it mentions three characters with three different plot and at a point, you'll read that the characters are interconnected, this is fabulous. There are three protagonists in the book. Naithy Cherozil, Prem Ronalds and Alice Cherozil . Alice kills her step-father by planning a blast at his residence. Her mom was in a coma at that time.
Alice is so worried about the incident that and she is scared of getting caught. Alice is a little girl but the bravery she shows in that plot when Tony was about to shoot her is tremendous. After that, she changes her city. Prem Ronalds was initially Prem Gautam, he came from a small town in Bihar named Kishan-Ganj. Him and his elder brother Arun Ronalds had to face many circumstances because they belonged to a lower- caste. Both the brother came to Mumbai and starts a new life. Arun was backbone of Prem, he was everything for Prem but eventually, Arun was encountered by Police and Prem is waiting for revenge. Neithey Cherozil belongs to a very reputable Syrian-Christian family. She was raised under many restrictions and she always wanted to explore this world and live life on her terms His father had a conservative approach for women. So, it was more difficult for her to leave this cycle of restrictions.
The characters are so good and the diversity of the plot makes it more attractive. But, the book takes few social injustices too lightly or at some points, it feels that the author is justifying few things. For example, in Prem, Ronald's story, they justify Rape / nonconsensual sex as one of the sex fantasies. It's a wrong message because Rape itself is a very delicate topic. Although it shows reality it could have been better. The book needs good proofreading, I found many mistakes. If I sum up all the things together, then it's a good crime thriller.
Ratings-4/5
Author- Kochery C Shibu
The tittle is good and live up to the expectations of the exact storyline
. The cover design stands among one of the best covers I have seen this year. The red vibrant colour gives a vibe of crime-thriller.
The blurb portion is one of the exact things I look at in a blurb. The way it mentions three characters with three different plot and at a point, you'll read that the characters are interconnected, this is fabulous. There are three protagonists in the book. Naithy Cherozil, Prem Ronalds and Alice Cherozil . Alice kills her step-father by planning a blast at his residence. Her mom was in a coma at that time.
Alice is so worried about the incident that and she is scared of getting caught. Alice is a little girl but the bravery she shows in that plot when Tony was about to shoot her is tremendous. After that, she changes her city. Prem Ronalds was initially Prem Gautam, he came from a small town in Bihar named Kishan-Ganj. Him and his elder brother Arun Ronalds had to face many circumstances because they belonged to a lower- caste. Both the brother came to Mumbai and starts a new life. Arun was backbone of Prem, he was everything for Prem but eventually, Arun was encountered by Police and Prem is waiting for revenge. Neithey Cherozil belongs to a very reputable Syrian-Christian family. She was raised under many restrictions and she always wanted to explore this world and live life on her terms His father had a conservative approach for women. So, it was more difficult for her to leave this cycle of restrictions.
The characters are so good and the diversity of the plot makes it more attractive. But, the book takes few social injustices too lightly or at some points, it feels that the author is justifying few things. For example, in Prem, Ronald's story, they justify Rape / nonconsensual sex as one of the sex fantasies. It's a wrong message because Rape itself is a very delicate topic. Although it shows reality it could have been better. The book needs good proofreading, I found many mistakes. If I sum up all the things together, then it's a good crime thriller.
Ratings-4/5
February 18, 2021
Before coming to the story in the book, I would like to draw your attention to few of the important topics regarding this book.
Firstly, a prior trigger warning was needed to be mentioned, along with that an age restriction is required ,few scenes of the book deals with sensitive topic and is targeted for mature audiences ( 18+) , which makes me wonder why did the author sent me this book despite the fact that my age is clearly mentioned in my profile on Instagram where he contacted me (17 yrs old).
I wonder how carelessly and irresponsible must be the author, and yeah don't forget the publisher, they're at fault too.
Coming back to the story, I was not able to affix myself with the characters given in it, I found myself skipping paragraphs as the author was more into the detailing of scenarios rather than emotions and perspective of characters.
Three tales were interconnected to form this , which could have done wonders if only it was not written in a rushed manner. The story also involves face of underworld and few communities, I have a doubt that it might have hurt the sentiment and representation them in a wrong manner , but I'm not sure about this ,
The community is tigers from Sri - Lanka ( somthing connected with (LTTE).
If anyone of you know about this in detail , let me know.
Now ,the time of recommending this I didn't find any audiences right for this,
I'll let you know the targeted audience according to author , If only he let me know
Firstly, a prior trigger warning was needed to be mentioned, along with that an age restriction is required ,few scenes of the book deals with sensitive topic and is targeted for mature audiences ( 18+) , which makes me wonder why did the author sent me this book despite the fact that my age is clearly mentioned in my profile on Instagram where he contacted me (17 yrs old).
I wonder how carelessly and irresponsible must be the author, and yeah don't forget the publisher, they're at fault too.
Coming back to the story, I was not able to affix myself with the characters given in it, I found myself skipping paragraphs as the author was more into the detailing of scenarios rather than emotions and perspective of characters.
Three tales were interconnected to form this , which could have done wonders if only it was not written in a rushed manner. The story also involves face of underworld and few communities, I have a doubt that it might have hurt the sentiment and representation them in a wrong manner , but I'm not sure about this ,
The community is tigers from Sri - Lanka ( somthing connected with (LTTE).
If anyone of you know about this in detail , let me know.
Now ,the time of recommending this I didn't find any audiences right for this,
I'll let you know the targeted audience according to author , If only he let me know
December 16, 2024
Alice Cherokil kills his stepfather and slips out of the house before it turns into flames. Her mother, Naithy Cherokil is in Coma during these incidences. On the other hand, Arun and Prem, two brothers belonging to Bihar, do odd jobs in Mumbai and Delhi, trying to make a living. Things go awry when these characters cross paths at more than one occasion.
✨
Each of the initial chapters come up with new characters with their unnecessary back stories. Huge amounts of information about these characters make the story imperceptible at times.
Though connecting the two stories together was done in a neat way, it could have been better if the book had lesser information.
✨
The story is full of sexual incidents, rapes, drugging and killing, making it repetitive at times.
✨
I was about to DNF the book during the first few chapters as they didn't seem to connect anywhere. But, the book picks pace in the second half making it a bit more interesting.
✨
The book not being edited added to the distaste caused by the lengthy introductions.
Could have been better with a bit more of editing and a few less characters.
✨
Each of the initial chapters come up with new characters with their unnecessary back stories. Huge amounts of information about these characters make the story imperceptible at times.
Though connecting the two stories together was done in a neat way, it could have been better if the book had lesser information.
✨
The story is full of sexual incidents, rapes, drugging and killing, making it repetitive at times.
✨
I was about to DNF the book during the first few chapters as they didn't seem to connect anywhere. But, the book picks pace in the second half making it a bit more interesting.
✨
The book not being edited added to the distaste caused by the lengthy introductions.
Could have been better with a bit more of editing and a few less characters.
July 15, 2020
This is the second work of author that I am reading, the first one being "Men and Dreams in Dhauladhar" and from the experience I must say that I found a lot of similarities in both the works. The most stark similarity is that the writing is descriptive here as well. Here too there is intertwining of paths of characters who are totally unrelated to each other. I guess that's the author's style of writing and I highly appreciate his immense knowledge and research on many lesser known topics. But this story is way more savage and strong. At times, I felt the excessive background detailing was not necessary to the story in general. If you love knowing about historical, social and cultural aspects of characters involved, then this book is for you. I love knowing about extra stuff and some lesser known facts and trivia here and there; hence, I enjoyed reading the book because it wasn't just a story but a treasure trove of knowledge as well. But I can't deny that, personally, as a reader I expect a faster pace and to the point narrative for a thriller novel. Nonetheless, the writing is engaging and stimulating in nature, and does keep you on your toes.
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