Add this book on Goodreads

Buy this book on Amazon

Genre: Crime Thriller

My Rating: 4 stars

“Do the actions of our father’s decide who we are or do they decide what we become? Did we choose this, brought this upon ourselves? We must have been fools to listen to them, to trust their promises and believe their lies and if it were to happen all over again we  would still make all the same mistakes. Do you know why? Because we are still fools groping in the dark, looking for any sort of guidance that can be provided.”

The Girl from Rostov is a stand-alone thriller by Shitij Sharma. It follows Majid and his niece Maya as they both battle the ghosts of their past. Their journey takes them to unexpected places and places them with unexpected situations. The book is about a family that is laden with tragedy. It is a mixture of love, loss, family, crime and grief.

I was surprised when I started this book. It was captivating right from the first few paragraphs. I liked how smoothly it flowed. It was easy to read but also very intense throughout.

The story takes places in various times between Russia and India. As the book starts, we are taken to Russia and introduced to a place where crimes take place ruthlessly. Much of the book in the beginning is about Majid and Maya’s younger days. There are new problems arising for them constantly. Just as I’m starting to really get into the story, we are suddenly transported to India.

 I loved the plot. It keeps the reader intrigued throughout. The story is fast-paced, easy to read and keeps you on the edge. Everything that happens is unpredictable. It only gets darker and darker and even heartbreaking at times.

The writing is good. At some points, the book felt disorganized and got quite confusing. The interactions between Maya and Samar in the middle of the book felt a little unnatural and out of place to me.

Towards the end, It was amazing how all the pieces started to fit together. I was hooked to the story by then and was left speechless when it ended. The ending fit perfectly and gave a sense of completion to the story.

I highly enjoyed reading this book! It is an excellent debut by the author. If you’re looking for a good thriller, I definitely recommend this.

I received this book from the author in exchange for an honest review