8/21/18

Her Beautiful Monster - review

by Adi Tantimedh
Leopoldo & Co./Atria/Simon & Schuster.

Ravi Chandra Singh, investigator with Golden Sentinels of London, thinks he’s a holy fool. To him the gods of Hindu mythology are far from mythical: he sees them everywhere (except when he’s making love to gorgeous girlfriend Julia – the gods do have some discretion). His colleagues know about his oddity, yet they’re fine with it. His Machiavellian boss Roger Golden even sees Ravi’s budding shamanism as an asset to the firm. As for Golden Sentinels’ own implanted CIA spook Marcie, who knows what she really thinks?

The case of a Russian oligarch’s missing will leads Ravi and Co to a murderous family of blue-bloods. The case is wrapped up with the firm’s usual skill, but the result has disturbing geopolitical implications. To give them a break, Roger sends Ravi and Julia on an easy fact-finding assignment to observe the firm’s LA office at work. 

La-La Land lives up to expectations, with wannabe movie stars, beautiful people, and celebrities causing scandals. No scandal has the potential to be bigger than the case of Hollywood mogul Gossamer Rand Ross. Ross’ enthusiastic amateur efforts to assist the CIA in a little matter of gun running comes off the rails when brush fires encircle the city. Ravi and Julia are dragged into the middle of it all, and things turn especially hairy when old faces from Ravi’s past show up – including Ravi and Julia’s former lover Ariel, mercenary and sociopath extraordinaire. When Ravi sees the goddess Kali licking her lips, he knows the smelly stuff is going to hit the fan. Are the gods here to help, or are Ravi and Julia heading for a fatal fall?

Her BeautifulMonster is a rollicking journey through the dystopian world of modern mores, where East meets West in a fusion of laughter and wince-inducing pathos. 



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