An engaging tale about a love triangle featuring doctors set in beautiful Goa.
The reappearance of an old boyfriend complicates the failed marriage of two physicians—and raises many ghosts from the past—in this romantic mystery.
For the first time in 11 years, Dr. Anjali Joshi finds herself back in Vagator in the coastal Indian state of Goa, where the famous beaches bring tourists from all over the world. She is here to check on her family’s medical clinic, which has been attracting some rumors of criminality. While she’s in town, Anjali goes on a blind date at the behest of a meddling cousin only to arrive at the restaurant and see Dr. Joe D’Acosta sitting at the table. Joe is Anjali’s medical school boyfriend who disappeared from her life without a word 11 years ago—her last trip to Goa was to search for him only to hear that he didn’t want to be found. Enraged at the sight of him, she storms off. Anjali is recently divorced from Dr. Rishabh “Rishi” Rastogi, Joe’s old medical school roommate. Rishi used Anjali’s family’s political clout to protect himself from a blackmailer, but now that he is single again, the letters have begun to reappear, threatening to out him for a crime he committed many years ago. The return of the blackmailer causes Rishi to quit his job and rush to Goa to try to convince Anjali to forgive his past indiscretions and take him back. Meanwhile, Joe feels just as shaken by the blind date as Anjali and wonders what she knows about his disappearance: “The most important question of all was one Joe didn’t dare ask: was there a chance she knew the real reason why he left Delhi, the terrible truth of what he’d done?” As both men attempt to win back Anjali while escaping the mistakes of their youth, she, too, seeks emancipation from the past—at least, the past as she understands it. The narrative leaps back and forth between two timelines: the present in Goa and the past when the three protagonists were still in medical school. Perinchery’s prose is smooth and fluid, and it succeeds in capturing the muddled emotional states of her characters: “An Ambassador car waited at the entrance of the jetty. Joe hesitated only a second or two before stumbling into the backseat. If he tried to run, he wasn’t gonna get far, and what the agent said about the criminals going after Joe’s loved ones... he watched the streets fly past, not really seeing any of it.” While there are some high-stakes happenings and big reveals, the book is essentially a three-part character study (with some supporting personalities as well). It feels long at over 500 pages—a slimmer novel would have more momentum—but the world and the characters are generally compelling. In addition to universal themes of love and betrayal, the author explores some particular South Asian concerns relating to marriage, gender roles, and familial expectations. The ending is perhaps a bit too neat, but those who have gotten that far are likely onboard with Perinchery’s tidy brand of storytelling.
An engaging tale about a love triangle featuring doctors set in beautiful Goa.Pub Date: Nov. 25, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-73379-864-8
Page Count: 556
Publisher: Self
Review Posted Online: Feb. 13, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2020
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
PERSPECTIVES
A sparkling, laugh-out-loud novel.
Polished debut fiction, from Australian author Simsion, about a brilliant but emotionally challenged geneticist who develops a questionnaire to screen potential mates but finds love instead. The book won the 2012 Victorian Premier's Literary Award for an unpublished manuscript.
“I became aware of applause. It seemed natural. I had been living in the world of romantic comedy and this was the final scene. But it was real.” So Don Tillman, our perfectly imperfect narrator and protagonist, tells us. While he makes this observation near the end of the book, it comes as no surprise—this story plays the rom-com card from the first sentence. Don is challenged, almost robotic. He cannot understand social cues, barely feels emotion and can’t stand to be touched. Don’s best friends are Gene and Claudia, psychologists. Gene brought Don as a postdoc to the prestigious university where he is now an associate professor. Gene is a cad, a philanderer who chooses women based on nationality—he aims to sleep with a woman from every country. Claudia is tolerant until she’s not. Gene sends Rosie, a graduate student in his department, to Don as a joke, a ringer for the Wife Project. Finding her woefully unsuitable, Don agrees to help the beautiful but fragile Rosie learn the identity of her biological father. Pursuing this Father Project, Rosie and Don collide like particles in an atom smasher: hilarity, dismay and carbonated hormones ensue. The story lurches from one set piece of deadpan nudge-nudge, wink-wink humor to another: We laugh at, and with, Don as he tries to navigate our hopelessly emotional, nonliteral world, learning as he goes. Simsion can plot a story, set a scene, write a sentence, finesse a detail. A pity more popular fiction isn’t this well-written. If you liked Australian author Toni Jordan's Addition (2009), with its math-obsessed, quirky heroine, this book is for you.
A sparkling, laugh-out-loud novel.Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-4767-2908-4
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: April 12, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2013
Typical Macomber holiday romantic fare: short and sweet and as much a part of the season for some readers as cookies and...
Chicago society-page columnist Carrie Slayton wants to find and interview reclusive author Finn Dalton to prove her credibility as a real journalist; she doesn’t expect to fall in love with him, jeopardizing both her heart and her career.
Carrie Slayton yearns to write meatier stories, and her editor offers her a challenge: find and interview best-selling, reclusive author Finn Dalton, and she can have her pick of assignments. Determined, Carrie makes real progress, tracking down his birth certificate, then his mother, then the man himself. Basically drop-shipped by an Alaskan bush pilot to his cabin’s doorstep, she is met by an angry author and an Arctic blizzard. Finn may be crotchety, but he’s not inhumane, and he can hardly leave her outside in the snow. As the two get to know each other, they realize they may have more in common than either expected, and despite their icy beginnings, they warm up to each other. After two snowbound days, Carrie heads back to Chicago and her job, but neither Carrie nor Finn is ready to say goodbye, and the two begin a long-distance romance. Meanwhile, despite enough material to write a story, Carrie buries the piece, believing Finn’s trust in her is more valuable than any article. The two are stuck on each other, but the people around them are more worried about their differences than their similarities, and they’ll either have to figure out a way to be together or end it completely. Set in snowy Alaska, Chicago and Seattle during the Christmas season, Macomber fulfills fans’ expectations with this romantic holiday confection. As with many Macomber books, the pace is relaxed, the story soft and fuzzy. Certain details miss the mark, and sometimes the story feels told more than shown, but the author will likely enthrall her usual audience with this quick, simple love story of two opposites attracting and struggling to make it work.
Typical Macomber holiday romantic fare: short and sweet and as much a part of the season for some readers as cookies and candy canes.Pub Date: Oct. 8, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-345-52889-6
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Ballantine
Review Posted Online: July 6, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2013
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