The Bikini Murders by Farrukh Dhondy

The Bikini Murders by Farrukh Dhondy is based on the serial killer Charles Sobhraj, his life, killings and prison tenures. Through this book, I felt that Dhondy has not really tried to show us the mind of Jhonson Thaat, the character for Charles. He has rather shown us the life story of this serial killer. How he came to be in contact with folks who were linked with killings and how he turned into the vicious person who he ended up being.

The book keeps you hooked, and you do want to know how the story pans out. It is very fast paced, but if you are looking for some character sketches and understanding of  what happened and why, then there are no answers. This is a fictionalized account of the life and murders. The book does not disappoint one bit with regard to the story, but for some reason I did expect a more detailed view of the surroundings and times. This was missing, or maybe not required to detail the life of this character.

This was a book which I picked up at the library out of curiosity and did not know the plot or had not even heard of the book. I was not aware of these killings also, so this proved to be a great insight into the story which had unfolded during the period of 20 long years.

This book is a quick read and it is a story which will remain with you knowing that it draws from real life incidents. But, the writing and style is nothing to note or remember.