KOCHI: Unlike mystery plots, where the reader zeros in on the perpetrator of the crime before getting to the last page in a bid to be one up above the author, psychological thrillers hold their readers enthralled even when the deviant character is revealed early on. Here, it has more to do with the gradual build-up of the psychological tension triggered by the deviant who may or may not be the protagonist, and the chaotic spread of terror upon those around them.
Be it the Gothic thriller ‘Rebecca’ by Daphne du Maurier or Patricia Highsmith’s ‘The Talented Mr Ripley’ or even ‘Gone Girl’ by Gillian Flynn, all of these gifted readers with a modern take on the human psyche, and such novels have always had zealous fan clubs who always hankered after more.
So for all those who absolutely love thrillers, here’s an Indie one up for grabs, ‘The Artist,’ a debut novel penned by Manu Joseph who, as the blurb on the back cover says, “works as a data scientist in Walmart, but in his spare time, writes dark, psychological thrillers and while not crunching data or weaving plotlines.”
For a debutant, Manu has come up with a surprisingly cohesive narration that seamlessly weaves subdued undertones with graphic murderous violence, rendered via sickeningly artistic hues, taking the readers on a sometimes nauseatingly horrifying ride, from one end of the country to the other.
The subtle humaneness that the author has managed to integrate into at least one of his deviant protagonists pull the readers into a tough moral dilemma as to whether to root for the character or condemn him outright for his macabre acts. Does the mind become depraved due to the toxic environment one is born into, or are the seeds of a twisted personality embedded in one’s genes even before she/he is born, or is it an innate desire to right the wrongs that in an extremely unfair world, ironically providing fuel to further polarising personality disorders? The author explores these questions skillfully, making for a compelling read.
The main characters get enough space to evolve throughout the novel, be it the Artist himself or Manas or Nasir - to name a few. However, the back-stories of the other characters could have been fleshed out a wee bit more, so as to do justice to their current roles. The novel does get almost all its hard facts right, with well-researched procedures and descriptions included. Published by Paper Towns, it offers a solid read for genre enthusiasts and introduces a promising new writer to the literary scene.