Book Reading and Signing in India by Bantam/Dell Author Manjiri Prabhu

Random House, India and Crossword, Pune, India had recently co-organized a book reading and book signing event, by Dr. Manjiri Prabhu, author of The Astral Alibi, in Pune at CROSSWORD.

'The Astral Alibi', is a sequel to her first novel 'The Cosmic Clues', published by the renowned American Publishing House, Bantam Dell division of Random House, USA. It was released in New York and all over the world on the 27th June, 2006. Dr. Manjiri Prabhu is the second woman mystery writer of Indian origin to be published internationally.
The Book Reading function was held to formally introduce the book to the Indian readers. In a well-attended function, Hon. Sister Flory, Principal of St. Joseph High School Pashan, Pune, unveiled a copy of the book, which was signed by the Author and dedicated to the school as the first signed copy, as Dr. Prabhu is a past student of the school. Sister Flory appreciated Dr. Prabhu’s tribute to her school and said that very few past students acknowledge the contribution of their school in their lives. The Author read out an extract from the novel which was followed by an enthusiastic, lively interaction with the audience. Later, a crowd gathered to buy both the books and get them signed by the author.

Titles of the books by Dr. Manjiri Prabhu and their dates of publication:
1) The Cosmic Clues – 28th September 2004
2) The Astral Alibi – 27th June 2006

Uniqueness of Dr. Prabhu’s books – “The Cosmic Clues” and “The Astral Alibi”
· This is for the first time Scientific Indian Vedic Astrology is coupled with Investigative Techniques or Crime Solving Methods in Literature.
· The main protagonist or the Sleuth/Detective/Private Investigator in both these books is a young Indian female breaking the stereotype of Male detectives.
· The novels portray a modern, contemporary India, and really move away from the usual Indian Fiction published abroad.
· Indian writing seems to have stepped into the commercial mainstream, with a universal, balanced picture of the real life and popular existence in India, described in both these novels.
· The style of writing could be termed as ‘Serialized Novel’ where different independent stories are interwoven into the thread of the main plot or a main storyline.