Opening Doorz

By Medha Setia | Opening Doorz Editorial | May 27, 2021

Book Review: Sniper’s Eye
Author: Mainak Dhar
Rating: 3.5/5

The Essence: The writing style is eloquent and crisp that keeps its readers engrossed and eager to turn to the next page. Sniper’s Eye is an excellent package of thriller-cum-drama and is a good fit for action junkies.

Sniper’s Eye Book Review

Sniper’s Eye by Mainak Dhar is a fast-paced action-packed thriller taking place in the crowded city of Mumbai. This story revolves around, Aaditya Ghosh, an Ex-Major of the Indian Army, who is running away from the demons of his dark past. Aaditya is currently working as Senior Facilities Manager in GRS International trying his best to keep a low profile. Fate, however, has other things planned for him.

On a movie date with his colleague Zoya, he witnesses a murder of a high-ranking retired officer, who once had been the head of the anti-narcotics squad. Aaditya’s instincts kick in and he goes in pursuit of the culprit and accidentally kills the sniper’s accomplice. In the course of action, he observes that the culprits were talking in Pashto. The killers were neither local goons nor belonged to a small terrorist group, but were Afghans. This indicates a deeper conspiracy and a sinister agenda. Why have Afghan terrorists come to Indian soil? 

The very next day a kill list goes up on the internet and the ones in the list find themselves dropping like flies. The accomplice Aaditya had killed accidentally was the brother of the sniper, making him the next target.

Aaditya and his heroic past

Due to his heroic act, Aaditya finds himself in the limelight. The press who shows him as a saviour also dredges up his past as a Para Commando in the Indian Army. He along with other Paras had been under investigation for the deaths of teenagers under a cross-border raid in Pakistan. The media portrayed the teenagers as innocent, which they were not. They were bloodthirsty jihadis who had previously attacked an army base in Kashmir and killed women and children in cold blood. Unfortunately, one of the teenagers who Aaditya killed was the nephew of the Pakistani General, Asghar Karimi. Karimi led a recent coup in Pakistan and is now the President, making it impossible for Aaditya to tell the truth about the raid. 

Disgusted that the leaders who once were all praise for their bravery and are now willing to sacrifice their commandos to appease the enemy, he resigns from his post.

The plot thickens

As his name finds a place on the kill list, he is contacted by Thapa, who claims to be an IB officer. Thapa request Aaditya to act as ‘bait’ to capture the snipper. Aaditya, desperate to clear his name and save others on the hit list, blindly walks into a trap cleverly laid out for him. He soon realizes his mistake and also comes to know that the sniper and he are just mere pawns, in the big game, to be sacrificed for a bigger motive.

Aman Karzai, the sniper behind the killings was misled by Thapa alias Sai and Asghar Karimi to believe that the two American drone strikes which had killed hundreds of Afghanis including his mother were a joint operation by the Americans and Indians named Project Lotus. 

That’s not all. There’s more to Project Lotus than what appears to be and there also more the Thapa and Karimi. As the story progresses, there are twist and turns that keep you on the edge of your seat.

Indian author Mainak Dhar who has many books to his credit dishes out an interesting concoction of suspense, action, and mystery. The writing style is eloquent and crisp that keeps its readers engrossed and eager to turn to the next page. Sniper’s Eye is an excellent package of thriller-cum-drama and is a good fit for action junkies.

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