Book Review: A Circle of Souls by Preetham Grandhi

Last night I sat up and read the debut novel, A Circle of Souls by Preetham Grandhi.
I started the book yesterday and thought I'd read a while before bedtime as is my habit.
I did not stop until the end.
This engrossing story captured me, and I must say held me until the final page.

It began with the gruesome abduction and murder of a young girl in Newbury,Connecticut, but this was not your usual 'Investigate and solve the crime' tale.

Central to the story are the characters of Dr. Peter Gram, a pediatric psychiatrist,
and another little girl named Naya, who is haunted by nightmares that have resulted in terrifying her parents to the point, that they have brought her into Dr. Gram's emergency room.

Dr. Gram finds himself faced with a scenario that challenges his learned medical training, and his perceived notions of diagnostic reasoning.
Indeed, he learns that sometimes there are no pat, textbook answers.

This book is a quickly engaging, psychological thriller, with a touch of the paranormal. I don't want to give too much away, but this story is chilling,
and I don't mean just the murder at the beginning either.
I found it to be a quick read, and am looking forward to more from this author who writes on the subject of child psychiatry with the clarity and authority of one who knows his subject matter well.
My thanks to Dr.Grandhi for sending me this review copy.

About the author:

Preetham Grandhi, M.D. immigrated to the United States from Bangalore, India. A graduate of Yale, he has been the chief of service for House 5 at Bronx Children’s Psychiatric Center.
A Circle of Souls is his first novel.

You can read more about this book at Dr. Grandhi's website A Circle of Souls