#Review: Shadows Over Ayodhya by Anuj Tiwari
Shadows Over Ayodhya
Author: Anuj Tiwari
Publisher: Rupa Publications
Rating: ⅘
Shadows Over Ayodhya is a high-voltage political crime thriller that refuses to let you breathe easy. Set against the emotionally charged backdrop of the Ram Mandir inauguration, the book fuses faith, fear, and forensic suspense into a narrative that feels disturbingly — and deliberately — close to reality.
Right from the first chapter, the tension coils like a live wire. SP Naveen Shukla isn’t your typical fictional cop; he’s methodical, flawed, and dangerously close to truths no one wants unearthed. When he stumbles upon forged contracts, vanishing funds, and a chilling pattern of “accidental” deaths, the story sheds any illusion of being a routine corruption case. This is a countdown — and we feel every tick.
Enter Nikhat Sherwani, a fierce journalist whose personal stakes sharpen the narrative further. The legacy of her father’s unfinished investigation adds both emotional intensity and moral weight, turning her into more than just a foil to Shukla. Together, they sift through ghost companies, falsified ledgers, and a network of power brokers tied to a foreign investor whose motives are as explosive as the secrets buried under Ayodhya’s soil.
The writing is taut and cinematic — every chapter ends with a hook sharp enough to pull you into the next. The city itself becomes a character: tense, sacred, vulnerable. As the danger escalates and the threat morphs from financial deceit to catastrophic violence, the story confronts a terrifying question: What happens when faith becomes the target?
Inspired by true events, Shadows Over Ayodhya delivers not just plot twists, but commentary — on power, communal fragility, the cost of truth, and the shadowy intersections of politics and crime. It’s fast-paced yet thoughtful, sensational yet responsible, and deeply unsettling in all the ways a great thriller should be.
A gripping, atmospheric read that lingers long after the final reveal.
Find this book here.
