ABOUT MY CORPORATE THRILLERSSurely, there must be men like Professor Moriarty in corporate India. They may not be such intellectual colossuses or consummate masters, but they would share some key traits with him – wile, ingenuity, drive and utter ruthlessness. And they would understand the psychology of temptation.
What kind of schemes would such men device? That is the question I seek to answer through my novels.
Apart from bringing in truckloads of money, these schemes would have to satisfy the fabled professor’s taste for elegant, water-tight designs; designs that ride on the motivations and vulnerabilities of intelligent but weak-minded men. My antagonists may not have Moriarty’s guile or panache, and my detectives may be intellectual pygmies before Holmes. Nevertheless, I have taken a shot (four shots, actually) at crafting credible stories of intelligent crimes in corporate India. Each of my four novels is set in a different industry.
FRAUDSTER is set in the banking world, INSIDER in the Indian stock market, SABOTEUR in the red-hot Indian eCommerce industry (Bangalore), and CONSPIRATOR in the world of fake news, paid news and tailored news – the media industry.
These corporate thrillers construct elaborate white-collar crimes that take advantage of gaping holes in corporate India’s control and governing mechanisms. Not surprisingly, these lead to murders and other ‘regular’ crimes. For the lay crime fiction reader, these novels are a blend of whodunits and thrillers – complete with clues, red herrings, deductions, misdirection and twists. For those who are interested in the intricacies of corporate India’s inner working, there is an additional layer of how high-stakes crime works in our business world.
ABOUT MY WHODUNITSAfter four corporate thrillers, I’ve turned to writing a series of murder mysteries (whodunits) with a new protagonist (Harith Athreya). The first of the series, A WILL TO KILL, is set in a colonial mansion in the misty hills of the Nilgiris. Needless to mention, murder strikes and there is no paucity of suspects or clues. A DIRE ISLE, the second in the series, which is titled GRAVE INTENTIONS in the UK and India, uses another classic setting - an isolated archeological mission in Bundelkhand, a place rich in history and legend. The third mystery (PRAYING MANTIS), which is set in another remote and picturesque location in India, will be out soon
I’ve tried to model my whodunits on the Golden Age Mysteries, while keeping them current with modern technology like mobile phones. And, as is the case with all my writing, I eschew vulgarity and profanity so that my stories are appropriate for readers of all ages. The only exception is the rare cuss-word that is used as an intensifier for emphasis.
Meanwhile, I am also experimenting with short stories (crime) set in contemporary India. Some of them are available on Amazon.
MY BACKSTORYAfter a corporate career spanning three decades and four continents, I’ve moved away from full time roles to pursue my other interests. I now serve as an independent director of company boards, teach business strategy at an IIM and write. In an earlier avatar with global consulting firms, I advised companies, banks, regulators, stock exchanges, governments, etc. on matters of strategy and operations.
Tired of extensive physical travel, I now prefer less punishing mental excursions into fictional worlds of my own creation.
The list of my full-length novels so far:
Fraudster
Insider
Saboteur
Conspirator
A Will to Kill
A Dire Isle / Grave Intentions
Praying MantisWebsite.
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