THE GIRL IN ROOM 105

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐆𝐢𝐫𝐥 𝐈𝐧 𝐑𝐨𝐨𝐦 𝟏𝟎𝟓
𝐁𝐲 𝐂𝐡𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐧 𝐁𝐡𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐭
𝐏𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐫 : 𝐖𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐏𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬
𝐏𝐚𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 : 𝟐𝟒𝟎
𝐏𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐝 : 𝟗𝐭𝐡 𝐎𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝟐𝟎𝟏𝟖
𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐞 : 𝐂𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐞, 𝐓𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐫, 𝐌𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐲, 𝐑𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐅𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧
𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐖𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠
𝐌𝐲 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬 : 𝟗𝐉𝐚𝐧 - 𝟏𝟏𝐉𝐚𝐧 (𝟐𝟎𝟏𝟗)

This story is about a girl named Zara Lone who was murdered on IIT Delhi campus in her own hostel room. Before dying, she calls her ex-boyfriend Keshav into her room who finds her dead. Keshav makes it his life’s mission to solve her murder’s mystery and his friends Saurabh helps him in that.
I love the suspense author has managed to keep throughout the novel. I really loved the character of Saurabh. He was a genuine friend, witty, funny, intelligent and supporting. Without his help, Keshav would not have been able to solve this case. Even though Keshav is the main character, Saurabh stole my heart.

What I didn't like about the book!
Spoiler Alert!

I want to talk about Zara Lone's characterization as she is The Girl in Room 105. Zara has suffered because of the instability her father brought about in the family, by marrying repeatedly and wants a stable family life complete with parents-in-law, husband and children. When Keshav introduces her to his family, they reject her. This makes Zara re-evaluate her relationship with Keshav. She breaks up with Keshav. Once again we find a weakness in Zara's characterization. She could have easily debated with Keshav's parents and made them see her point of view. She could have fought to win them over. Keshav and Zara then approach Zara's family. Her father asks Keshav to convert to Islam. Keshav refuses.
After this bitter event in her life, she again chooses Raghu, a Hindu, and this time both sides parents agree to their marriage. If Zara's dad had insisted that Keshav convert to a Hindu, why does she choose another Hindu? Given that Zara's dad wouldn't repeat his request, he would perhaps not be too supportive of their marriage, in which case, her dream of a stable family would still not be realized. Is Zara so stupid that she doesn't realize this?
By the end of the story, we see that Zara realizes that Raghu can give her a stable family by being loyal to her, but is not sexually or romantically excited. She begins to miss Keshav as he is both. So, she ends up meeting this handsome military officer, Faiz Khan and begins an affair with him because she misses the fun and excitement of being with Keshav. Faiz Khan is a Kashmiri Muslim, but is married and has kids.
After seeing her father in multiple relationships and having suffered the consequences, how can Zara get involved in frivolous sexuality? This, as I see it is the biggest hole in the story!

My Rating

4/5