Chital Mehta has authored four fiction novels I Luv My Lyf, The Promise, Are you the one for me? and The Heart’s Whisper. The Promise went on to sell more than 6000 copies and was a national bestseller. She is constantly writing about her life and experiences in her blogs. She holds an MFA in Creative Writing (Fiction) from Lindenwood University. She believes that every style of art must be cherished to its truest form. Chital is deeply passionate about human life and is constantly on the lookout for good stories. She usually spends her time writing ‘THE’ book and chasing butterflies with her toddler. Currently, she is residing in Massachusetts, US with her husband and children. You can connect with her on Twitter @chitalmehta. Below you can read an excerpt from her latest work, The Chennai Killings
About the book:
Name: The Chennai Killings
Pages: 208
Genre: Fiction Mystery/Thriller
Summary :
Inspector Vikram Rathi is battling memories of his sister’s brutal murder that has rendered him sleepless nights. But it is the recent murder of a young woman in Chennai that takes Vikram on a journey of buried secrets, complicating his already messed up life. As he ventures further, Vikram comes close to unravelling his sister’s murderer. Is Vikram prepared to learn the secrets that will finally put his doubts to rest? But what if these secrets threaten to change his life forever and question everything that he ever believed in? Chital Mehta’s latest mystery novel is all about discovering dangerous secrets lurking inside human minds, set against a backdrop of Chennai, India’s megalopolis.
Book Excerpt:
“Are you okay?” she said as she took a step toward him to place a hand on his shoulder, but she never got a chance to cover the distance between them.
Sandhya felt something sharp sting her. It was only a few seconds later that she noticed a large knife slicing through her throat. The pain didn’t come right away. Rather, it was the sight of blood bubbling out of her that made her scream. When she turned, the knife was out of her body, but she could feel the cut as if somebody had just chopped her like a fruit. As if she were a red, juicy watermelon. She saw him take a step closer and pierce the knife through her chest, targeting the area between her breasts. Sandhya screamed in pain as her body tilted with a slight slant. This time, he attacked her again, slashing her neck and face.
By now, she was covered in the blood that splattered from her body. Sandhya opened her mouth to scream but the only thing that came from her mouth was a low, mournful gurgle. Her eyes swelled with red blood as the weapon struck her body repeatedly. A screeching noise escaped her throat before she dropped to the ground. Her body shivered sporadically like a fluttering butterfly struggling to revive itself.
In his heart, Ranjan didn’t believe that his daughter was dead; not when he saw her body lying on the hospital’s cold steel cot. Not even when Jothi joined him from behind and broke into loud, deafening sobs as she fell across Sandhya’s body as if trying to wake her up. Perhaps it was the moment when her death certificate was issued… As he held the paper in his hand, Ranjan comprehended that the certificate itself appeared similar to her birth certificate with most of the details being similar except for the word ‘DECEASED’.
It was at that moment that Ranjan realized that the breaking of a heart wasn’t just a metaphor, for it caused actual pain. His chest tore inside like crumpled paper. The hollow feeling in the pit of his stomach grew heavy with each passing minute. He felt his whole body shutting down and yearning for a good night’s sleep, that is, if he could bring himself to get any sleep in the forthcoming months. He wanted to cry but his tear glands wouldn’t cooperate. Instead, they simply went dry, leaving him numb and empty. And then he thought about what somebody had once told him.