Book Review - Heartquake by K. Vijayakarthikeyan

K. Vijayakarthikeyan has made a loud entry with his debut book "once upon an IAS exam". Being an IAS himself he has taken writing around experiences of the same environment. Once Upon IAS was so popular in 3 months of its release that we cannot deny the book. So we wanted to read the book to know what is all the noise about the book. My teammate Devi read it and she liked the book. As per her, the book was on par with praises it was fetching. So this time when Vandana from Vinfluencers offered us a review copy in exchange for an honest review I took the opportunity.

Book Blurb

An IAS officer’s tale of survival against all odds.

Once upon a time there was a city plagued by greed, corruption and mysterious deaths…

A patriotic IAS officer, Vikram, decides to expose a corrupt and powerful minister, Rudra Pratap Rana (aka RPR), during the latter’s visit to the IAS training academy. The video of Vikram asking the minister some highly embarrassing questions in front of a packed auditorium goes viral.

Instead of having Vikram suspended from service, a vengeful RPR unleashes violence on the officer’s family, and to continue the torture, RPR gets Vikram posted as the sub-divisional magistrate in Laxmipur—the politician’s backyard.

As soon as Vikram joins duty, RPR resumes his vengeance. However, a new drama unfolds when a large number of people start dying of heart attacks across Laxmipur. As Vikram tries to unravel these mysterious deaths with the help of Veda, a cardiologist, and Raghu, a police officer, extreme panic grips the city, which soon leads to riots and pandemonium. Vikram is left with no other choice but to risk his life to get to the bottom of this mind-numbing situation.

Join Vikram in this fast-paced thriller as he fights to save Laxmipur from HEARTQUAKE

Well, "Once Upon" was the story around IAS exam preparations. "Heartquake" is more of after IAS situation. Don't worry it is not a sequel (even if it is I didn't feel one). The story started when during IAS training our protagonist Vikram confront antagonist Rudra Pratap Rana (RPR), a corrupt politician & home minister of the state. RPR got Vikram posted in his base constituency, Lakshmipur. He planned to insult Vikram and he did it till the end. In Lakshipur Vikram met the love of his life, a cardiologist Veena. Then started a series of mysterious heart attacks in Lakshmipur taking lives of hundred plus people. The story became a mystery thriller later on.

Vijayakarthikeyan's writing style is simple and straight. This was my first read by Vijaya and now I know why he is reaching good readership in such a short time. His story flows like a smooth river stream, which is fast in pace and shallow not to sink its readers. You will turn page after pages and before you know you are done with the book. You can finish the book in 2-3 sittings. If I had 2-3 hours at stretch I could have finished it in a single sitting. Language usage is simple, if you want to cultivate a habit of reading or learn English this book can be a good pick. The book cover of Once Upon IAS was catchy but with this book, I found it a little dull. 

Ratings

1. Cover - 3/5
2. Concept - 3.5/5
3. Characte - 4/5
4. Content - 4/5
5. Overall - 3.5/5

Book can be found at Amazon

Review from other readers can be found at GoodReads