Harith Athreya is back, this time to face a centuries old-curse in the second novel in the series.

An archaeological expedition is excavating in the heart of Bundelkhand, a place rich in history and legend. When an archaeologist defies a local myth, the fallout is swift and deadly, the body found exactly as the ancient stories describe.

Like many others over the centuries, is this death too a manifestation of the myth? Or is there something more down-to-earth and sinister behind it? Is there more to the lovely lady who is a spitting image of a long-dead heroine of a tragic tale? What secrets lurk within the leafy confines of the haunted islet?

Detective Harith Athreya, an investigator with a vivid imagination, begins to uncover a mystery where the lines between past and present are blurred, reaping a harvest of evidence and motives — theft, plagiarism and a host of other crimes, showing that few of the archaeologists are what or who they appear to be. Will he be able to unravel the truth from legend before the curse strikes again?

OPEN Magazine lists A DIRE ISLE as one of the best books of 2021.

CrimeReads: “The second novel in the Harith Athreya series firmly establishes RV Raman as an author on the rise and an impressive force in the world of whodunnits … Readers who crave the fair play puzzling of a traditional mystery mixed in with some armchair travel will be richly rewarded.”

Publishers Weekly: “Raman does a good job weaving in the mystery with a possibility of the supernatural . . . a multilayered reveal in the final pages proves satisfying as well. Armchair travelers and fans of traditional mysteries should take note.“

OPEN Magazine: “Raman evokes an atmosphere of gothic dread for the reader and takes us into Agatha Christie territory set in modern-day India.”