This is a gripping story with more twists and turns than my suspense thriller! An avid reader and friend of mine bought a copy of ‘The Madras Mangler’, got me to sign it and took it home. That’s when unexpected things began to happen.

The key character in the story, her husband, Thirugnanasambandam Vaithyanathan, ‘Sam’ for short, made his entry on the scene. Sam is happy to call himself a ‘voracious non-reader’ ― probably to distance himself from his wife’s circle of reader friends! ― and has not read a single novel in his life.

Soon I got a message from my friend saying that her husband was not letting her read the book. And before your imagination begins to run riot, let me clarify that my book is not lurid and he was not objecting to her reading it. On the contrary, Sam had started reading the book himself and had told her he was not able to put it down.

You can imagine her surprise at this twist in the tale and she wondered what was happening, with this role reversal in her life. This morning, I got a message from Sam this time, saying that he had read 120 pages of the book and could hardly wait to read the rest of it!

This whodunit looks like it’s going to have a happy ending, don’t you think? I’m waiting for Sam’s review once he completes the ‘Mangler’. Just don’t reveal any secrets, Sam. We want to keep other readers guessing about the killer!

Here’s wishing Sam many, many more books to come! And thank you for making a writer feel her work was not in vain.

Want your own copy of ‘The Madras Mangler’? Buy it online at Snapdeal for a special price of Rs 125 (pay cash on delivery or by card); or at Starmark bookstore, Express Avenue Mall.