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.
