BENGALURU: Shobha Nihalani’s Unresolved is a gripping psychological thriller about a traumatised woman who gets involved in the world of crime because of her hasty marriage. This is an abusive bond that unravels against the backdrop of dark mental games played by the husband. The book is liberally strewn with incidents of physical abuse, murders, hot chases, family problems, recurring violence and mysterious disappearances.
The story leads us into the disturbed psyche of a killer who is leading a normal life with his wife. Things however turn nightmarish for the wife when she discovers the real man behind the mask of a loving husband. The author has made a serious attempt to delve into the mysteries of the human mind through the characters of Maya, a fragile woman and Deepak, an assassin or a hit man working for a criminal organisation.
The author has drawn a parallel between the lives of two couples where the men are psychotic but leading a deceptively normal existence.
The story begins on a quiet note with Maya being very unsure of Deepak, her so-called police-officer husband. She is troubled when she hears muted conversations between her husband and his colleague Suresh and observes frequent bouts of violence. With the passage of time, Maya figures that her husband who is a manipulative and unemotional person, is not really a police officer. He chose Maya as his wife because of her past history of mental illness. And slowly but surely, Maya’s love for Deepak deteriorates to anger and hatred and she finally plans to dig into his background.
This is not easy for her in view of her father’s total belief and trust in Deepak. Her life is further compounded by Deepak’s colleagues who behave mysteriously and always seem to be around her, keeping a watch and not allowing her to go anywhere on her own.
Maya discovers the truth behind her husband’s work and further uncovers an unholy nexus and dark secrets of many murders. She is battling her own mental trauma after the death of her mother. Can she trust herself or the findings she comes upon?
And with a history of mental illness, who will believe her? With Deepak killing her sister and a few others, now is the time for Maya to go after the killers and take help if she can find it. Will she come out of this mess and survive the trauma of being locked in a mental asylum? Will Deepak, a wanted man now with the destruction of his criminal organisation, the Cell, courtesy his wife, target her?
Read the book to know what happens in this tense, engrossing thriller.