What do readers think of The Caretaker by A .X. Ahmad? Write your own review.

As with most debut novels, "The Caretaker" exhibits both the promise and the blemishes of much new fiction. A character-driven mystery, it features Ranjit Singh, a disgraced former officer in the Indian army. That Singh happens to be a Sikh makes him unique in today's crowded crime market, and allows Ahmed to explore cultural differences in both India and the United States. A rather pedestrian plot, mainly set in Martha's Vineyard, finally gets resolved (while allowing for a continuation of what might become a series for Singh), but with few twists or surprises.
Ahmad's writing lacks much flair, and he is at his best in set pieces rather than continued narrative. An adequate mystery, but hardly a page-turner, The Caretaker nonetheless shows considerable potential and a sequel could easily expand on the groundwork laid out in this introductory effort.

I enjoyed reading this story, but something kept bothering me in some parts of this book; I had some minor difficulty in the dialogue. Sometimes I didn't know who was talking, or I thought another character was speaking, and it disrupted my flow of reading; I had to reread sentences or a paragraph over, but maybe it's just me. I glanced at some of the other reviews and no one else mentioned trouble with the dialogue. I also noticed on my copy of the ARC there are two publication dates - one in May 2013 on the spine and back cover, and one in August on the front cover. Maybe the author is in the middle of a major rewrite? I need to compare the finished product to the ARC for my final analysis.



Note from BookBrowse: There are always minor edits between the ARC and the finished book but unlikely to be a significant rewrite. This book is scheduled to publish in late May.

The premise of this book is the entanglement of an Indian caretaker with a powerful US senator. It attempt to deal with cultural bias, espionage, political allegiances, romance, and seems to not do any of it very well. It uses the technique flashbacks to tell the story of Ranjit Singh, a Sikkh army officer, who has a shameful past which has forced him to establish a life for his family outside of India. I have read many books that use this technique some more successfully than others. It was the weakest part of the story. I also found the relationship between Ranjit the Senator's wife not very believable. I think the book attempted to include too many elements and came off flat rather than suspenseful. The characters could have been interesting but weren't. I just never felt any real momentum building like I would have expected with what was suppose to be a thriller.
The story just did not hold my interest very well.

I enjoy reading books by debut authors because I feel that they probably have been thinking about the story for awhile and want to give it everything they've got! I also enjoy reading stories of suspense and espionage and "The Caretaker" fulfills all of these criteria.

The story is about Ranjit Singh, who is a former member of the Indian military who is dishonorably discharged. He is forced to leave his country along with his family and moves to America. When he moves his family to America, he is forced to work odd jobs to support his family. The story mostly takes place in Martha's Vineyard where Ranjit is a landscaper, however, after the summer months, he is able to find work as a caretaker of the large homes of the wealthy after they leave from the summer.

I thought that the plot and characters in the story were well thought out and developed, however, there were some parts of the story that were unbelievable and a little far fetched to me but not enough that I didn't still enjoy the story. For instance, I found it hard to believe that Ranjit would allow himself to have relations with Anna, the senator's wife, while trying desperately to free his wife and child from imprisonment and deportation.

Even though there were parts of the story I didn't like, I would still recommend others to read "The Caretaker" because as I said before the basic plot was well executed. I give it 3.5 stars.

I was looking forward to this book. It is a genre that I enjoy...action/adventure and took place in two settings that I enjoy--India and Boston/Martha's Vineyard. Unfortunately, the story quickly fell flat. Outside of the protagonist, character development was lacking and the motive for the villain was weak. Even the love interest did not make sense. I appreciated the author's attempt to tie the main character's previous experiences as a solider in the Indian Army to his current dilemma but in the end I was left feeling flat and disappointed.