Numbers Don’t Add Up Review: A Crime Thriller That Keeps You Guessing Till the End

Numbers Don’t Add Up by Shweta felt like a quick cat-and-mouse chase thriller at the first glimpse. I received a review copy from the author, and I went in expecting a fast-paced mystery. It turned out to be more. A political thriller that’s digging out 50-year-old secrets buried deep.

This is a crime thriller that keeps you guessing till the end. It’s quite a page-turner, and I finished it quicker than I expected. Even with a few shortcomings, it did a good job in keeping me hooked.

My Rating:

❤️❤️❤️❤️🤍

“A crime thriller that keeps you guessing till the end.”

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What the Book is About

Numbers Don’t Add Up book begins with a series of daylight murders and bomb blasts. It revolves around police superintendent Ajay and bomb squad leader Satyarthi as they work together on a high-stakes investigation involving the state's CM. Their investigation leads them digging into 50 years of old wounds and political secrets.

The story takes twists from one angle to another, revealing how seemingly unrelated incidents can connect together with a common element. With its mix of crime, mystery and political themes, the book has an intriguing premise.

What Works?

Numbers Don’t Add Up is a gripping crime thriller right from the beginning. CM’s presentation in the state assembly hall and a bomb blast right in the middle creates enough intensity from the very first chapter. And then, short chapters and quick twists keep the thrill alive throughout.

Shweta’s writing is simple and accessible. The prose doesn’t try to be overly complex, which works well for a thriller that needs to move fast. This simplicity, combined with the chapter structure, makes it a genuinely breezy read.

It’s a political thriller that includes police procedures along with a spy-like flavour. The book ends in cliffhanger with the whodunit mystery continued for the next book in the series. Waiting!

What Falls Short?

I just wish the book were more conversational. The third-person narrative felt more like a voiceover for some reason than a story unfolding on its own. It was almost like a courtroom drama, as though someone were recounting the events to a judge. Made the story difficult to visualise.

Dialogues shift between being narrated as past events and being quoted in the present. At times, it became hard to tell whether something is part of a conversation or an internal monologue. This inconsistency broke the flow.

Over-explaining and dumbing down details, but leaving dangling references on other occasions, irked me the most. Had to keep pausing and thinking hard to connect the dots. It slowed down the pace. Sprinkling some jargons might have made the story more interesting. And the, the “personal animosity” mentioned in the blurb didn’t feel very prominent in the actual story.

Numbers Don’t Add Up is a little over 100 pages. And it could have been a book of around 200 pages if the themes were properly explored. Some subplots felt left loose and underdeveloped. But then, a few existing paragraphs felt unrelated to the core plot. I even skipped some here and there.

Who Should Read It?

The book is ideal for people who like short, fast-paced thrillers, sprinkled with political intrigue. It has crime, it has mystery, and it has a spy-like narrative. It’s also great for readers looking for a compact, weekend mystery read.

Final Thoughts

Numbers Don’t Add Up is a compact thriller story that combines crime and politics into an engaging mystery. Even with some rough edges and inconsistencies, it remains a perfect, brainteasing read. The cliffhanger ending sets up the next book well. And I’m genuinely curious to see where the story goes from here.

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