Title: Play to Kill Author: Puja Mukherjee Khattri Publisher: Srishti Publishers & Distributors

PANKAJ GIRI

Play to Kill is a thriller set in Delhi, primarily revolving around two protagonists—Anya, a TV producer who finds herself mysteriously drugged after a party and brought to her home, and ACP Karan, who is investigating the case, along with a few other similar cases. ACP Karan and his team, Urban Crimes, immerse themselves in the investigation, discovering distressing facts as they delve deeper into the cases.

The story is gripping from the get-go, and the suspense escalates beautifully throughout. Many twists and turns ensue, resulting in a captivating reading experience. Despite handling three cases, the story never gets convoluted, which speaks volumes about the author's storytelling expertise. Ms. Khattri has extensively researched online games, the dark web, and other technicalities, which are essential for this story. Although, admittedly, it went a bit over my head sometimes.

Both protagonists are relatable, and you feel like rooting for them till the very end. Even the side characters, especially the members of the Urban Crimes team, are likable and amiable, and it is a pleasure to keep them company as they strive to solve the case and help Anya achieve a sense of stability in her perilous life.

The language is simple and lucid, and the short paragraphs make the prose eminently readable. The descriptions are also excellent, painting a vivid picture of the landscapes, residences, roads, and offices, among other things. Moreover, notably, Ms. Khattri is one of the rare Indian authors—including many critically acclaimed and award-winning authors—who understand the difference between dialogue and action tags. She ensures that the punctuation is near-perfect, which is admirable.

The ending is also well done, but I feel Ms. Khattri could have done a better job there. Almost all loose ends are tied up, but I feel the resolution occurred a bit too easily. I had expected a bit more action, danger, and higher stakes in the climax and ending, aligning with the intriguing sense of foreboding and suspense in the rest of the story.

Nevertheless, Play to Kill remains a well-executed thriller and is definitely worth reading for fans of this genre.