undreds ( )

Shakti is a survivor of the 1993 earthquake that struck Latur, India. Having lost her family in the disaster, she is forced to survive and eventually contacts Kriya-di who takes her in and gives her a home. Kriya-di is an airline hostess with Trans-Pacific Airlines and after graduating from college, Shakti also becomes an airline hostess and continues to live with Kriya-di. However, Kriya-di has unknowingly become involved with the drug Mumbai Drug Mafia and is kidnapped. Shakti must fight the drug mafia and the incompetent Mumbai Police to have any hope of finding Kriya-di.

Shiva is a computer software business man working for Alltech, a Silicon Valley Firm. He works with Harry, his best buddy from Cornell, but their boss is a idiot whose ambition exceeds his intelligence. In a fit of anger, he fires Shiva, who eventually takes Harry and joins with another Cornell friend, Hong to found a startup software company. After ten years of startup growing pains, Shiva’s company is ready to take on major backing and grow.

But fate has other ideas, and Shakti, Shiva, Harry, Harry’s friend Sally, Kriya-di, drug mobsters in both Mumbai and Thailand, including a former school bully of Shiva’s collide in violent finale during the December 26, 2004 earthquake and tsunami that devastated much of south-central and Southeast Asia.

Quest for Kriya is an extremely entertaining book that mixes a great crime action adventure with elements of far-eastern spiritualism and more than a little element of fate. The characters are well developed and the reader can readily understand their emotions and motives. There is no problems empathizing with any of the good guys and I found myself cheering them on. The bad guys, well, it is enough to say they are people readers will love to hate.

The Quest for Kriya is a great read for anyone mystery, crime/action, or gangster lovers, or for lovers of stories about India or Indian spirituality and philosophy. 5-Stars Clabe Polk ( )