“A well-rounded novel that comes alive with her engaging plot and prose, placing Guha comfortably in a genre dominated by the likes of Tom Clancy, Robert Ludlum, and John le Carre.” – Recommended by the US Review of Books
Rogue agents. Illicit arms deals. Bank heists. Island getaways.
THE DOGS OF WAR meets MISSION IMPOSSIBLE on the island of Madagascar.
Former spy Petra Shirazi and the … OF WAR meets MISSION IMPOSSIBLE on the island of Madagascar.
Former spy Petra Shirazi and the Ahriman, a retired Iranian assassin, work together to bring down an illegal arms trader who has eluded international authorities for decades and propped up conflict zones around the world.
Author Puja Guha is a semi-finalist in Publisher’s Weekly Booklife Prize for fiction and an Amazon bestseller who will keep you on the edge of your seat with this intriguing and gripping plot combined with well-developed characters.
Fans of The Night Manager, Homeland, The Day of the Jackal, and international espionage thrillers will love this fast-paced suspense novel.
Nine years ago, Agency operative Vik Jennings was brutally gunned down after he infiltrated the inner circles of illicit arms dealer Duc Nguyen, responsible for aggravating numerous conflicts around the world.
Seeking justice for Vik, his former colleague Carlos engages the help of former spy Petra Shirazi and the Ahriman, a retired Iranian assassin.
The team sets up an operation to gather the evidence to take Nguyen down, first at his country home outside of London, and then later during the celebration of his son’s marriage in Africa.
The investigation leads them into a labyrinth of deception implicating intelligence agencies all over the world. As the operation unfolds, Petra must keep her relationship with Vik a secret to hide her culpability in his murder from the rest of the team.
This international spy book features a strong female protagonist and a romantic suspense thread that takes readers around the world, from Japan, to London, and finally to the shores of Africa.
This is a great story, full of action and adventure! The characters are so well defined you’ll think they are real. The intrigue ands suspense will keep you on the edge of your seat. I believe that anyone who loves a great thriller won’t be able to put this one down. I couldn’t so I read it in one sitting, now it’s way past my bedtime and I’m going to sleep.
This stand-alone novel is part of a larger series based on the two main protagonists, Petra and Kasem. Both are former CIA field operatives, and this history gives author Puja Guha a lot of potential material to work with. And she does so to good effect in Resurgence of the Hunt as Petra and Kasem are recruited for an off-the-books mission to capture a notorious black-market arms dealer. Although the relationships between the five or six main characters is a bit contrived and unbelievable, the plot certainly holds water and could easily be ripped from tomorrow’s headlines. This book is as much a romance as it is a thriller, and at times the romantic tension overwhelms other elements of the story. Whereas the scenes involving spy craft are well done, the action sequences are thin. Still, this is an entertaining story that should appeal to a broad audience.
This is my first book by this author and I must say I’m hooked! I definitely want to read more although I had no trouble jumping right into this series and keeping up.
The characters are great, very believable. There’s lots of action with great twists and some wonderful unexpected turns. So glad I found this new to me author.
This is the third book of the Ahriman Legacy. If you enjoy reading an ongoing International Intrigue series that has the main characters wondering who they can trust, then you should check this out.
Puja Guha has turned into one of the best writers in the world. Easily compared with some of the greats of our time. As is normal for Puja, this book is filled with suspense, mystery and a truckload of action. Maybe there will be more of this series and I surely hope so. It would be so neat to have Petra’s daughter brought into a new novel and use some of the newer characters from Resurgence. Well, I can dream can’t I.? Anyway, this is a book that you will want to read non stop but it will be worth it. Be sure to keep track of Puja’s writing and you will be glad you did.
Resurgence of the Hunt #3 – I love this trilogy. This book was heavier into the relationship between Petra and Kasem, complete with their ups and downs, doubts and trust issues, BUT the story still continues all the storylines and is filled with fast paced action.
Well written and well thought out, the story moves at a good pace and keeps the reader interested. While it is not necessary to read Ahriman and Road, books 1 and 2, I highly recommend reading them sequentially; there is so much background and the foundation that this trilogy builds upon is worth the time invested.
The characters are multi-faceted and range the spectrum of personalities, complete with the evil ones. Even the good characters will have to decide how far to go with boundaries. None are boring and all serve their purpose. The cursing is infrequent and not vulgar, I only remember one word that fit that descriptor and it was not the F-bomb. There is sex but we are not invited as voyeurs.
This author does remind me a lot of Ludlum. The planning, the research and the intelligence found in these three books makes the Ahriman Legacy worthy of the big boys. There is nothing Hollywood or patching to make the story flow. AL is realistic and believable.
I did notice a difference with Resurgence that did not appear in the first two books. The author does state she did not agree with all the editing, so this is probably why “thank God” has been changed to “thank god”. I have a bad habit developed from my job to edit as I read, bad, bad habit when the books are subpar, but Ms. Guha’s books were well edited and did use God in the first two books. So Ms. Guha, your editors were wrong about thank God, but they are probably following the trend against God since there is no more regulation with multimedia and the owners have their own agendas; not counting the Internet – that’s a different world. I do not know how to clearly describe the difference with how the relationships were handled in this book. Do not get me wrong, this IS a very good story, but the nuances were noticeable to me. Happily, I read the paperback version. This 287 paged, oversized book was comfortable to hold and didn’t have any fumes. The serif typeface was a size too small for me to read comfortably, but with normal eyesight it is perfect. I’m used to a Kindle with narrow pages and large font to enable me to read faster. 5*
Ahriman: The Spirit of Destruction #1 – This is my first read by Ms. Guha and I was impressed. I took my time to read this well thought out and well written and well edited first time novel. The author’s experiences and education show throughout her book; while not a spy, she understands of the parts of the world she is writing about so clearly. There are several storylines that weave in and out during two or three periods of time and mesh together in this intriguing, suspenseful saga of terrorism and politics in the Middle East and the agents assigned to combat the terrorists.
While there are Americans involved, the majority of the characters are from the Middle East and there is plenty of customs and languages used throughout the story that add depth. The characters have interesting backgrounds about their developments and the events that shaped them during the different timeframes. The pace is fast and smoothly transitions the years and events to keep the reader immersed in the pages. Plenty of time is given to set the foundation that meshes the storylines and shapes the characters into a novel that keeps the reader constantly striving to figure what happens next. There is nothing Hollywood about this book. This is a very substantial read that could have been written by any of the heavy weights like Ludlum and Follett and company. This caliber of Indie author is hard to find in this genre nowadays.
Happily, I read the paperback version. This 309 paged, oversized book was comfortable to hold and didn’t have any fumes. The serif typeface was a size too small for me to read comfortably, but with normal eyesight it is perfect. I’m used to a Kindle with narrow pages and large font to enable me to read faster. I have the other two books of this series, in paperback, and look forward to reading more about the female character that played such a strong role in this novel. I contacted the author to review her books. 5*
Road to Redemption #2 – I think this was the best. This is a well written, well developed and realistic story complete with a gamut of action, suspense and second chances. Once started, this book was hard to put down and the pages flew by rapidly. The storylines continue from Ahriman and further develop into new worlds and problems.
The characters come into their own and fulfill their roles with intelligence, daring and bravery. Of course, they are human and show their inner struggles. I like the fact that some of the characters were shown in a good light, since their nationality is usually depicted as the terrorist or villain. The locations and politics and events are interesting, along with the twists that keep the wheels rolling on the bumpy roads.
There is so much to this story, but I find it difficult to write about them without turning this into a book review. I cannot say anything without it being a spoiler. I do recommend reading all three books sequentially for the foundation and storylines are built up and give so much more substance to the reading. Each book can be read without the others, but why do that? Happily, I read the paperback version. This 362 paged, oversized book was comfortable to hold and didn’t have any fumes. The serif typeface was the perfect size to read comfortably; I wish the other two books used this size. 5*
Resurgence of the Hunt #3 – I love this trilogy. This book was heavier into the relationship between Petra and Kasem, complete with their ups and downs, doubts and trust issues, BUT the story still continues all the storylines and is filled with fast paced action.
Well written and well thought out, the story moves at a good pace and keeps the reader interested. While it is not necessary to read Ahriman and Road, books 1 and 2, I highly recommend reading them sequentially; there is so much background and the foundation that this trilogy builds upon is worth the time invested.
The characters are multi-faceted and range the spectrum of personalities, complete with the evil ones. Even the good characters will have to decide how far to go with boundaries. None are boring and all serve their purpose. The cursing is infrequent and not vulgar, I only remember one word that fit that descriptor and it was not the F-bomb. There is sex but we are not invited as voyeurs.
This author does remind me a lot of Ludlum. The planning, the research and the intelligence found in these three books makes the Ahriman Legacy worthy of the big boys. There is nothing Hollywood or patching to make the story flow. AL is realistic and believable.
I did notice a difference with Resurgence that did not appear in the first two books. The author does state she did not agree with all the editing, so this is probably why “thank God” has been changed to “thank god”. I have a bad habit developed from my job to edit as I read, bad, bad habit when the books are subpar, but Ms. Guha’s books were well edited and did use God in the first two books. So Ms. Guha, your editors were wrong about thank God, but they are probably following the trend against God since there is no more regulation with multimedia and the owners have their own agendas; not counting the Internet – that’s a different world. I do not know how to clearly describe the difference with how the relationships were handled in this book. Do not get me wrong, this IS a very good story, but the nuances were noticeable to me. Happily, I read the paperback version. This 287 paged, oversized book was comfortable to hold and didn’t have any fumes. The serif typeface was a size too small for me to read comfortably, but with normal eyesight it is perfect. I’m used to a Kindle with narrow pages and large font to enable me to read faster. 5*