400 days
Author : Chetan Bhagat
Genre : Suspense Thriller
Language : English
Publisher : Westland
About the book
12-year-old Siya has been missing nine months. It’s a cold case, but Keshav wants to help her mother, Alia, who refuses to give up. Welcome to 400 Days―a mystery and romance story like no other.
‘My daughter Siya was kidnapped. Nine months ago,’ Alia said.
The police had given up. They called it a cold case. Even the rest of her family had stopped searching.
Alia wouldn’t stop looking, though. She wanted to know if I could help her.
Hi, I am Keshav Rajpurohit and I am a disappointment to everyone around me. I live with my parents, who keep telling me how I should a) get married, b) focus on my IPS exams, c) meet more people and d) close my detective agency.
But Alia Arora, neighbour and ex-model, wanted my help. And I couldn’t take my eyes off her face … I mean, her case.
Welcome to 400 Days. A mystery and romance story like none other. An unputdownable tale of suspense, human relationships, love, friendship, the crazy world we live in and, above all, a mother’s determination to never give up.
About the author
Chetan Bhagat is the author of ten bestselling novels, which have sold over twelve million copies and have been translated into over twenty languages worldwide.
The New York Times has called him ‘the biggest selling author in India’s history’. Time magazine named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world, and Fast Company USA named him one of the 100 most creative people in business worldwide.
Many of Chetan’s books have been adapted into films and were major Bollywood blockbusters. He is also a Filmfare award-winning screenplay writer.
Chetan writes columns for The Times of India and Dainik Bhaskar, which are among India’s most influential and widely read newspapers. He is also one of the country’s leading motivational speakers. He is active on various social media platforms, where his combined following runs into crores. Chetan went to college at IIT Delhi and IIM Ahmedabad, after which he worked in investment banking for a decade before quitting his job to become a full-time writer.
My take:
400 days is a suspense story of a young girl Siya who has been missing for more than nine months. Keshav Rajpurohit and Saurabh Maheshwari, the duo who run a detective agency in their free time is approached by Alia Arora, Siya's mother, to look into the case that the police have stopped looking into.
Despite reluctance from Alia's in-laws, Alia hires Keshav and Saurabh for the job. Soon Keshav and Saurabh dive head long into the case to understand all the minor nuances. As they get to know, they realise that everything is not as simple as it appears, and there are more layers to uncover.
The story is slightly slow but gripping. The suspense is held well till the end. The book also touches many areas such as the differences in socioeconomic strata, the police attitude, the dynamics of media circus. Sensitive topics such as child abuse are also touched, and handled with sensitivity.
The characters are nicely sketched, and the subplots make the story even more interesting. Thrilling scenes have been described in such a way that they will definitely make your heart beat faster. By the end of the book, the reader is praying that Siya be found safe and sound. The ending is equally unexpected, and I would have appreciated a trigger warning.
The language, as with all CB novels, is simple and lucid. As with all of his books, the descriptions of food made my mouth water everytime I read on empty stomach.
The characters Keshav and Saurabh are continued in this third consecutive thriller by CB, and they both stay true to their characters.
The book cover is nicely designed. I was wondering why the book was titled 400 days and not something alluring like Finding Siya. But once I read the book, I found out why 400 days is apt.
I rate it four stars.
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