A Goan Holiday by Anitha Perinchery
Mysterious Exes, Nosy Neighbours, the Cops at Her Door, and a Job She Never Asked For…
Anjali’s Life Is One Hot Mess.
From the INTERPOL database:
Target 1: Anjali Joshi. Doctor; manages a rundown charity clinic in a Goan town which may or may not be a front for criminal operations.
Target 2: Rishabh Rastogi, the sizzling ex-husband whose name somehow keeps popping up in connection with the investigation into the clinic.
Target 3: Joe D’Acosta, the brooding former boyfriend who resurfaces after vanishing without a trace eleven years ago following a visit to the clinic.
Complication: Ha! As in just one complication? Let’s start with the fact both the exes want Anjali back. Then, there’s the nosy neighbour who thinks Anjali is keeping a male harem and is trying to drive her out of town.
Operation: (going down the drain… kidding… maybe…) A Goan Holiday.
I really enjoyed this book, but I am going to start off by saying the summary is a bit misleading. Yes, everything it says may have been related, but that is not the main focus at all. Additionally, the summary reads like it will be a comedic book, which it most definitely isn’t, so fair warning. Also, it is not a love triangle or anything of those sorts (which I absolutely hate), so don’t let that deter you.
That all being said, I did really like the story and the fact that it is set in India and with Indian culture, which I am not as familiar with, was great. The plot follows the three main characters, Anjali, Rashi, and Joe as they meet in the city of Goan and are facing their messy pasts and trying to navigate their troubling futures.
One of my main goals for the month of August is for 50% of the books I read to be focused around POC, minorities, LGBTQ+, etc. and this book contained it all. As much as Indian culture is beautiful and colorful, it also saddened me with the amount of sexism, classism, and homophobia people still face. This is obviously not unique to India, but it never makes it any harder to read about or experience. I really commend the author for her approach to those topics.
My main problem with this book is too much of it was focused on the past. The book is written using a time warp style so it jumps back and forth between past and present. I have no problems with this style, but I really just wanted to know what was going to happen and it felt like the past scenes were extremely tedious and contained information that wasn’t always necessary for the plot. The book is in the mid 500’s for pages, so I think it could have done with some cutting. I admit, I did do a bit of skimming in those parts.
Overall, I did enjoy the book and would recommend it to anyone. It was great to read a book not about western culture, and add that too a plot with friends, family, drama, love, heartbreak, and Interpol poking around, you have one interesting story. This book is available on Kindle Unlimited.
The Travelling Reader 
One thought on “A Goan Holiday by Anitha Perinchery”