Having spent most of my life either reading, buying or browsing through books, I have concluded that while people buy a book for the story, they end up falling in love with the characters. Where the plot is the flesh and blood of a good book, the characters are the soul. Insincerely Yours is one such book. A fast paced novel set in a small town, the story revolves around seven people, all connected by one person only, deciding to have an impromptu trip to the nearest haunted house for cheap thrills.
The story centres around Atreya ‘Ray’ Sen, a laid back, suave girl, to whom male attention is not unusual, although she does nothing extra to call them her way. She has a strong exterior, but she feels a void inside of her. Whether that is because of her absentee parents, having to shift to a new place every couple of years because of her civil servant father, or the fact that she doesn’t have one person in her life she can call her own, we can’t tell. The story progresses to show that there are gaps in her memory – also the reason for her void – that she has a past she cannot remember.
Our next character is that of Rohan Singh. In the first instance, he seems like the typical teenage boy: sarcastic, flirty, and easy going. His uncaringly good looks make him confident of his popularity with the ladies. Ray terms him as the standard “dilliwala”, and has an instant disdain towards him. Rohan feels torn between wanting to be carefree for just one night, and his protective nature for Ray, who seems to be the magnet for anything dangerous. Which would he choose?
We have Aman Rao, a simple yet sweet guy who is a Vizag localite. He is the son of another IAS officer, and knows Ray since they were kids. He is the common thread between all the people. Aman has a protective side for Ray, which is why he does not like either of the boys hitting on her. He knows more about Ray’s past than she does herself, but would he reveal it to her?
Mira Sharma comes from a humble background, and befriended Ray one morning at the beach. She is also Aman’s girlfriend, and introduces him to Ray, which is when he told both the girls that he and Ray were, in fact, childhood friends. Mira knows how elite and exclusive the civil servants and their families can be, and feels quite inferior to the others time and again. Mira convinces Ray to accompany her on this adventure, saying that she needs a girlfriend to come along, or her parents wouldn’t allow her. But is that the only reason, or does she have an ulterior motive?
We also have Raghav Varma, smart, sexy, and confident. He is the guy who always gets what he wants, and would stop at nothing once he has made up his mind. He and Aman are friends through the common club for the children of IAS officers. He feels an attraction for Ray as soon as he sees her, but senses some competition (read Rohan). Raghav seems to be perfect boyfriend material, but can anyone really be so perfect?
Karthik and Shane are the last two of the bunch. They are Raghav’s lackeys, just along for the ride for lack of something to do. Karthik gets trapped in a room at the haunted house, and what he experiences there is known only to him. But whatever it is he has seen there was enough to drive him to madness. Shane tries his best to calm Karthik down, but Karthik is in the mood to blame the person responsible for them being followed by something so evil. Karthik and Shane eventually separate from the group, leaving the rest to their fate. But would evil really let them go so easily?
One night, seven people, but does everyone survive? 24 hours was all it took for their lives, as they knew it, to change. Read all about these characters in my upcoming novel, Insincerely Yours, and let their stories ignite your imagination.