The Black Orphan by S. Hussain Zaidi – thrilling action thriller

The Black Orphan is engaging, gripping, tense and thrilling action thriller perfectly blending real world and facts with fiction.

Other Books I have read by the same author –

Zero Day

Synopsis

A bold and daring cop.

A passionate human rights lawyer.

And a deadly terror plot.

It’s love at first sight for DIG Ajay Rajvardhan of the National Investigation Agency when he sees attractive young lawyer Asiya Khan in court, defending a young woman the NIA has arrested on charges of terrorism. They are on opposite sides – he specializes in taking down terrorists while she defends those wrongfully arrested by the authorities – but he finds he is unable to get her out of his head.

Even as Ajay and Asiya are drawn closer, a web of crime, deception and intrigue weaves itself around them and threatens to take them down. A serial killer is on the loose, murdering India’s most famous nuclear scientists one by one. And something far worse is brewing in the bylanes of Mumbai. Time is running out for Ajay and his associates, Deputy Commissioner Sagar Pratap and Commissioner Neeraj Kumar, to find the mastermind behind these incidents and stop them.

Inspired by true events, this riveting tale of love, terror and revenge is Hussain Zaidi at his best.

Review

NIA agent, DIG Ajay Rajvardhan encountered a terrorist behind bomb blast in Mumbai but just before his last breath he warned there are things in motion in every in city.

Mission director, Chandrashekhar at Atomic Research Centre was found hanged in his house after the big press release about successfully magnifying nation’s nuclear capacity. His death brings attention of NIA and Ajay finds out other scientists working at Atomic Research Centers of the nation also died mysteriously, indicating a serial killer at loose.

While he is on the case he also meets Asiya Khan a defense lawyer in city who bails a suspect by NIA drawing Ajay’s attention. Despite their difference in view, it’s love at first sight. Will their love prevail amid all the terror and tension?

Lately it takes me one week to finish a book but I finished this within a day so that itself says how gripping this was.

Writing is straightforward, to the point without any wordplay, fast and engaging. Few chapters in and I could already see the large picture of all different cases connecting.

Like previous books I read by the author , there isn’t much character depth, but I enjoyed the plot and and description of how various government agencies work. Crime, espionage, betrayal, assassination, and terrorist activities makes it compelling read and hard to put down.

Ajay is interesting officer. I liked his working style and some of his characteristics but it was unbelivable this hardened officer fell for the old trick so easily. Love between him and Asiya is too hasty and too good to be true making the first revelation about the culprit not really surprising. But I still enjoyed how he untangled all the layers of culprit’s plot and how he stopped it.

Exploration of real-world issues in this book was the best part. What surprised me is women terrorist group active around the nation called Khwaharan-E-Millat (k-e-m). I didn’t know about such groups until Google search. It’s not the same one but I could see there are women terrorists organizations around who were part of activities disturbing peace.

While the identity of the leader in this book wasn’t hidden and how they plan to murder Ajay is pretty obvious, what surprised me is how they operated and women actually were ready to be part of this kind of life.

Murders of scientists and author’s note about me also made me go on Google search and I was surprised I didn’t hear about series of murders until mentioned in this book.

I like the way author ended this book indicating real issues don’t just die with the culprit. Good prevails but evil doesn’t die.

Overall, The Black Orphan is engaging, gripping, tense and thrilling action thriller perfectly blending real world and facts with fiction.

Book Links

Goodreads | Amazon.in | Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk

The Black Orphan by S. Hussain Zaidi – engaging, gripping, tense and thrilling action thriller perfectly blending real world and facts with fiction. ⭐⭐⭐⭐#TheBlackOrphan #HussainZaidi #ActionThriller . Many thanks @HarperCollinsIN for… Share on X

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How do you feel about character portrayed good but you know they are the culprit way early in the book?

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