'The Goa Gambit': A crime-thriller to keep you on your toes

If Bollywood made a book, it would be 'The Goa Gambit'. At first impression, the book sounds like it might unfold along a gilded, royal backdrop - at least that’s what I half-expected, thanks to its opening title: 'The Czar of the Gambling Industry'. Instead, the narrative plunges straight into an opulent casino scene in Goa, where a rich couple orchestrates a slick game to keep wealthy clients spending and the business booming. There’s no immediate plotline to latch onto...just a pulse of intrigue and decadence, hinting that something murky is brewing behind the scenes.

From the opening pages, Anurag Tripathi’s fast-paced crime thriller grips the reader with a sense of anticipation, hinting at a web of mystery woven with loss, deceit, risks, conspiracy, and, above all, the art of gambling.

"I only throw a few crumbs at them, and for that they sing our praises in their social circles," a line in the book reads. The book flashes the dominance of reign and power in the plot. 

With fancy chapter titles and an undercurrent of the criminal underworld — blood, drugs, betrayal — the book brings to mind a high-octane Bollywood thriller. That impression is nailed home when a character remarks, “Straight out of a Bollywood movie, sir… Should I be scared?” 

The narrative threads through an eclectic cast of high-profile celebrities, risk makers/takers, influencers, and the shrewd architects of the gambling world. The protagonist isn’t operating alone; he's backed, watched, and possibly manipulated. We meet a powerful drug-lord kind who literally snorts his power, fueling himself with intoxicants before dispensing brutal punishment. Then, as expected in any classic underdog story, readers are introduced to a man who has climbed the ranks the hard way - burning the midnight oil, chasing success, and eventually earning it through grit and a little luck. And of course, there's a female character, the one show-stopper every scenario requires, among other characters that bind the story.

Just as you start settling into the narrative, there’s a twist...there’s always a bigger boss. A familiar trope in stories set around influential enterprises like casinos or anything remotely shady, but still satisfying to read. 

What truly elevates the book is Anurag Tripathi’s storytelling. He keeps the pages turning with a crisp narrative that doesn’t lose steam. Despite the tropes, the flow is smooth, and the writing engaging.

As the story picks up momentum, the plot thickens with the involvement of politicians, covert murders, and power games. Characters go to dangerous lengths, some even lethal, to climb the ladder of power. Add to that the strategic involvement of women, and the book transforms into a whirlwind of action, deception, and drama.

As I turned the pages, one thing became clear — Goa would never feel the same again. Not to me, and certainly not to those who read this book and later walk its sun-drenched streets with the story echoing in their minds.

In a literary landscape where many Indian readers shy away from homegrown authors, 'The Goa Gambit' holds its own. It doesn’t just echo the pace of bestselling crime thrillers from abroad, it challenges them. This one’s a strong contender in the gripping, politically-charged crime genre, proving that you can’t always judge a book by its cover, or its origin.