REVIEW: In This Life Or The Next book by Menaka Ramakrishnan

Book title: In this Life or the Next

Author: Menaka Ramakrishnan

Rating: 4/5

In This Life Or The Next by Menaka Ramakrishnan: Book Review

In This Life Or The Next is by far the best book that I read in the last few weeks. It’s because the book had a unique and different concept altogether, rather than a common story.

It is the story of a girl named Tania Seth who has got a rare gift. When someone sings or hums a tune or a song that is close to their heart, her mind automatically gets transported to the memories of that person’s past life.

This rare gift of having visions about other people’s past lives is passed on from one generation to the next in her family. This gift is inherited by only the firstborn females in the family. Both she and her mother are the firstborn females in her family and have got this superpower.

So, Tanya has been having these visions since the time she was only ten years old. Her mother asks her to promise that she will use her power only for the benefits of others.

One day while travelling in Dubai metro, Tania Seth hears an anonymous man hum his favourite tune. This takes her to the moments of that person’s previous birth on a mysterious island. The memories are tragic where his lover is killed by some people. And in this life, he is on a mission to kill the murderers of his lover.

However, this is not the right thing to do for him. Because the murderers of previous life might not be doing anything wrong in this life, so he doesn’t deserve to be killed. Also, this will be a crime for that man to murder someone.

Tania decides to stop that person from committing a horrendous crime. But she hadn’t even seen the face of that person in the metro and knows nothing about him.

In her efforts to find that person, the demons from her own painful past come back to haunt her. She finds that nothing is really as it seems.

An engaging and well-narrated book

Menaka Ramakrishnan has tried her best to keep the readers engaged until the end. The story has been narrated in a well-structured manner so that things can be understood easily, whether Tania is lost in vision or living her present life.

What I liked the most about this book is the concept that is completely unique and interesting. The chapters are short which improves the readability of the book and don’t bore the readers. Even though it is 236 pages, but the story won’t make you feel like you have a lot to read.

At some moments in the book, I found myself completely lost in the story. Menaka has written the scenes of past life really well that they get created in your mind the way the author might have imagined herself.

If you are someone who enjoys reading mysteries and thrillers, then this book is should be in your reading list for sure. Even though I mostly read romantic fiction, I’m glad I picked it up.

What kind of books do you like to read? Let me know via the comments below.

Also read: One Arranged Murder Book by Chetan Bhagat: REVIEW