Monday, August 3, 2009

Review: A Circle of Souls - Psychological Suspense At Its Spookiest!

A Circle of Souls
By Preetham Grandhi
Sweetwater Books
ISBN: 9781599552354
341 Pages


Dr. Preetham Grandhi’s, A Circle of Souls, is not only a fantastic psychological suspense novel, it’s sp-ooooo-ky! I loved it!

Janet was walking home from school, worrying about the fifth-grade math test she had taken that day when she decided to take a different route, through private property. When she reached Willow Lake and started to pass the old red boathouse, she heard a noise and was concerned that somebody might need help. She went to investigate, and was never seen again.

At least by anybody other than seven-year-old Naya...

Naya had been taken to the hospital after she had been found sleepwalking by her adoptive parents and they realized that she had placed herself in danger. Dr. Peter Gram, a psychiatrist at Newbury Hospital was immediately drawn to Naya and became personally involved in helping her. Fortunately, Naya felt comfortable with him and was quite willing to share drawings of the dreams that were disturbing her sleep. One picture was of a young blond girl who was lying on the ground near a large rock.

Peter had lived in Connecticut, around this area all of his life; and he immediately recognized the rock! But he felt he had to make sure so he drove to the site and climbed to the top of the rock as he had done in his youth and was certain this was the place in Naya’s picture, though he knew she couldn’t have been there. Next he went to check out the location of where the little girl had been placed. And soon found himself in handcuffs!

Leia Bines, an FBI agent expert in cases involving children, was fairly certain this man was not the one who had killed Janet, but she was taking no chances, at least until one of the local officers joined her and identified Dr. Gram. Hhe explained why he was there, although they were not inclined to believe that a little girl had somehow psychically envisioned the location where Janet had been found.

With no other leads, Leia Bines has no choice but to take Dr. Gram’s help! As each picture involved Janet, Dr. Gram seeks out Naya’s Indian family, trying to find out more about her medical background, hoping to discover what was causing her sleep disturbance. When Peter met with Mr. Iyengar, Naya’s uncle, he learned that her mother had been a “Seeked One” and apparently so was Naya...

But then there came a night that Naya’s dream was of herself, and she hadn’t had time to show her new picture to Dr. Gram. Naya had disappeared!

A Circle of Souls by Preetham Grandhi is a beautifully written walk into a mystical world of suspense. Readers are caught with clues that could mean this one, or that one, but are not really sure until the very end. At the same time, the loving way in which Grandhi writes and talks about the children in the psychiatric unit reveals his own personal commitment to his New York patients. Much applause for his novel and his work! I’ll be trackling Preetham Grandhi, hoping he has another novel coming soon!


G. A. Bixler

1 comment:

  1. From the Author:

    Thanks for such a great, thouhtful and gracious review. I am happy that you liked the book. I was so thrilled to read your review. I will link it to my website. Do ask if you have any questions. Pass the word
    to friends and family.

    Thanks for everything.

    Preetham

    ReplyDelete