The author has tried to diversify out of his trademark corporate thrillers with this novel, and has done a great job to some extent. The projected theme of this book―the opening of the vaults of Anantha Padmanabha Swamy temple in Thiruvananthapuram, supposed to house unimaginable riches―is very attractive. Added to this are many other plots and sub-plots with several characters with their own stories and motives. The result is a fast paced story that keeps the reader hooked. However, in the end, the complexity works against the novel and many major loose ends remain even after the epilogue.
In the name of God starts with a tremendous potential to become a brilliant thriller, sustains it for the most part, but ends with more questions than answers. ( )

It always feels good to read Indian authors because it is so much relatable but what is the most exciting is reading thrillers. I only took up this book because it was part of a book club but I ended up enjoying it. There were multiple plot points going through which all come to a head at the end and give us a reasonable conclusion. The background of the Anantha Padmanabha Swamy temple and its vaults of wealth gives a very authentic feel to the story. The book also gives us an understanding of the subtle corruption that possible goes on in high profile cases in our country. There are a lot of characters here who we get to meet here but there is no big growth or development that we see. The only characters we get to know closely are the officers investigating the case and its good to see them hating each other at first which grows into mutual respect in spite of their differences. The suspense is kept up till the end and each of the involved ones look like the culprits at any given point of time. The only problem I had is that what I felt was the main thread in the story was never resolved and the epilogue only hints at some speculation. The book would have seemed more complete if the ending was detailed. However, the book was enjoyable overall and thrilling in parts. ( )

Are you a reader who loves to explore thrillers? If yes, then this book will not disappoint you.

The Plot:
Anantha Padmanabha Swamy Temple in southern India have total 6 vaults and it is assumed there is a remarkable amount of wealth stored in it. The direct descendants of the king who got that temple built are given the responsibility of the trustee to the temple and the wealth. A fellow who is into the management of the temple doubts that as the wealth is never counted, there might be fishy things going on, probably by the king who is in charge of the temple and trust; and his men.

Rajan decided to play a whistle blower and he files a PLI in court to order the management of the temple (and thus the vaults too) should be handed over to the government. An effort should be made to calculate the amount of wealth and regular accounting should be imposed. This will ensure the proper management of the wealth.

Obviously, many people doesn't find the idea welcoming. Some of them are very powerful and have influence on the state government too. So the government eventually took that stand that the government find the management of the temple and it's wealth is done in appropriate manner, and there is no need to take the matter in hands. Court passes orders to open the vaults and calculate the amount of wealth though.

Rajan was attacked in the court, but the attacker missed the target and instead Rajan's friend was met with death! And, that is not the only murder, it seems that the people associated with the investigation of vault and calculating wealth are being targeted one or the other way.

Why, how and who is behind it, is explored in the book pretty nicely. To avoid spoilers I cannot mention more than this.

Views and Reviews:
The book maintains it's pace throughout. There are a large number of characters appear in the book, the author tried to explore them pretty effectively. The language of the book is simple and effective. Ravi grew up a lot as an author and this book contains a lot of gems in terms of writing. Here are some of them.
---- ---- ---
It was always the small frauds that lay the pathway for a larger malaise. If one paid attention to the small frauds in the system it became very easy to unearth the decay within.
---- ---- ---
Convincing people to do what they think we don’t want them to do is also an act of genius, isn’t it?
---- ---- ---
In this book, the scenes are built convincingly. The surroundings, the environment and the attributes are written in such a way that you can visualize the scene in front of you. That is the success of the author.

A glossary is required in this book which is missing.

Summary:
Definitely one of the best thrillers of the year by an Indian author so far.

Detailed Review is available on our website at: https://thinkerviews.com/books/english-books/in-the-name-of-god-by-ravi-subraman... ( )