Wrapped in mysteries

Former Bahrain resident Fawaz Jaleel continues to thrill mystery lovers with his much-awaited sequel in the Yohan Tytler series, set to be unveiled this month.  

Insiders Versus Outsiders follows beloved character Yohan as he solves multiple murders set in India, against the backdrop of political events, linked to the country’s contemporary history.

“I have tried to touch upon political events that are less talked about,” Fawaz told GulfWeekly.

“The book follows a series of murders, including a literary agent and a Bollywood actor who is found dead in his house in Mumbai, and traverses the metro city and Assam,” he added.

An excerpt from the book reads, “The police team, armed mostly with INSAS rifles and 7.62 FAL, and the fuel of resolve in their eyes, took their positions, strategically along the road. Yohan, his grip firm on his gun, surveyed the surroundings, his heart pounding in his chest. This was the moment they had all been waiting for—to capture Banjur Basumataray, the elusive criminal and close aide to the absconding Assam Tiger Liberation Front (ATLF) leader, Arup Baruah. More than anything, he believed that Banjur could fill the missing pieces especially owing to his mysterious presence in the deaths of Mekhala and Siddharth.

“In the militants’ camp, more than 24 hours had passed since any semblance of food had reached their starving bellies. The absence of their fellow soldiers, who had ventured into the village to investigate the disrupted supply, only added to the growing sense of unease. Banjur, weakened by hunger, lay on the makeshift bunk, his eyes betraying his desperation. The camp leader, Neigham, approached him, a tinge of remorse etched on his face towards his prized guest whose protection was entrusted with him.”

The sequel features characters from the first book, including the fierce and outspoken Ila Qureshi who is the ‘muscle’ of Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) lead investigator Yohan’s team, the grounded and analytical right-hand man Sukumar Azaghu, who is the ‘heart’ of the team and CBI director veteran Jagat Verma.

In the next book, readers will be introduced to a fresh character, Gunang Gogoi, the disciplined and studious newbie on the team.

The 250-page novel follows the immensely successful Nobody Likes An Outsider, which focused on a crime mystery, tracing the death of one of India’s most promising young politician. It’s being adapted into a film by a Bollywood-based production house and will be released this year.

“I must say that the production house has been very hands-on with the project. They keep me involved at all stages and honestly retained most of the essence from the book while adding some brilliant twists and changes in the adaptation for the big screen. Their understanding of the audience is impeccable and hence the output looks very promising.

“My first book follows Yohan and his associates as they solve the murder of a minority political leader and soon after, his personal assistant. On investigation, they discover that the deaths are linked to major events of Bihar’s (the Indian state where the story is set) modern history,” Fawaz added.

Fawaz’s journey as a writer began during his growing years in Bahrain. He lived here with his parents and brother, from 1997 to 2009, and attended The Asian School and then The New Indian School. His formative years were marked by active involvement in the Bahrain Keraleeya Samajam, where he first garnered recognition for his writing talent.

Currently, the 31-year-old is based out of Mumbai and Bangalore in India. In addition to handling product marketing for a European financial services firm, Fawaz actively contributes to the local literary scene, writing columns for newspapers, offering consultancy services to authors, giving lectures on publishing and related topics in schools and colleges, among other things.

He continues to visit his father Jaleel Kutty, general manager at Fine Foods, and his mother Nasseera Jaleel, a homemaker, who reside in Segaya.

Fawaz’s books, both published by Kalamos Literary Services, are available for purchase on Amazon.

He has another book on the way and has, in the past, written and published short stories From The Land of Palaces, Alternate Identities and The Legend of Birbal’s Bull.

For details, follow @fawazsays on Instagram.