Here’s the ace blogger’s review of The Madras Mangler in her blog Njkinny’s World of Books & Stuff:

When I heard about The Madras Mangler, I was very intrigued. The title is catchy and new. The cover is appealing and instantly made me feel thrilled and anticipatory of a consuming criminal mystery. The blurb is intriguing and catches the interest of the reader at first glance.

A metropolitan city with beautiful beaches, a hot and humid climate that can test your endurance levels and with people who value their families and their culture, Usha brings to us a thrilling tale of a serial killer with no conscience running free in this conservative city. Beautifully and vividly sketched, she brings out the beauty and the social diversity of the city and its people. The writing style of the author is simple and yet captivating. She has created and admirably handled a line up of characters, each with their own characteristic nature and traits. A perfect bunch of suspects is provided and a suitable back story given for each of them. The author is well read and she has done her research which shows when one is reading the book.

The plot is well conceived and admirably executed. I did figure out the killer and the Vir angle beforehand but still was duly kept interested in the story until the very end. There are well planned twists and turns but they are somewhat mellowed and thus, sometimes don’t leave the desired impact on the reader.

The characterization is good and I liked the characters and could relate with them either personally or through people I have met in my life. The characters effectively take the story forward and keep the reader interested in the book till the end. Usha made me laugh, instilled fear in my heart and also made me feel high with the thrill of chasing an elusive, sly and vicious serial killer!

I loved the Chepauk Stadium scene where the helicopter used in the Hollywood movie is used to catch the killer. I am not giving away the scene. Go read the book to know more!

The dirty politics, the two face people, the red tapism in the police, the ruthless media and then the victimized public with a vicious and devious killer on the roll. Everything is all too real and frightening. Kudos to the author for bringing all this alive in the book so beautifully.

While I loved the mystery and its execution, I did feel that how the killer chose his victims was not clearly explained. There were so many colleges and thousands of girls, so how did he expressly choose these five friends? How did he come across them?

The romance is a bit under developed in the book. I would have loved if the love pairs had been given some intense scenes like a clash in their beliefs or emotions etc. Maybe this will be handled in the sequel which I guess is planned since the author ends the book with a hint of it.

The climax is crisp and I enjoyed it immensely. My interest dipped a little in the middle part of the story but then was again upped in the later part.

Overall, I enjoyed the book and the mystery and give The Madras Mangler 4 out of 5. A captivating mystery from a very promising author, this one is a must read for all mystery lovers. Kudos to Usha for taking a risk to write a mystery novel which is very tough and for doing it so beautifully. I wish her the best and hope to read more from her in the future.

I received the book from the author and the tour organizers and I am very thankful to them. The above review is my honest and unbiased opinion and in no way influenced.

Interested? Buy the paperback on Flipkart or Amazon.in. Or download an ebook from these sites or a host of others.