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I always enjoy a good thriller that builds up an atmosphere of suspense till the very end. Blood On The Sands is one such fast-paced novel that leaves the readers at the edge of their seats. Set in the beautiful Rann of Kutch, @sujatasabnis tells us the tale of Mankor, a quiet and striking woman who carries a peculiar sadness within her. The story unfolds in Kuran, the last village on the Indo-Pak border and revolves around a family of four. Mankor lives with her children, while her husband, Virender is mostly away working with the BSF as a tracker. She dotes over her daughter, Ranu and admires her teenage son who shows maturity beyond his age. When Navratri arrives, Virender arrives home with a bravery award for nabbing a notorious man who belongs to a cross-border gang. Mankor, is both happy yet hesitant about her husband's arrival.

Right from the start it becomes abundantly clear that Mankor has a haunting past, a secret that the author maintains spectacularly well till the end. With a terrorist activity planned on Diwali and a murder that could possibly be linked to it, the BSF gets involved in resolving the two cases. Sabnis cleverly adds quite a few scenarios to keep the readers from guessing who the real culprit might be. But where does Mankor fit into all this? What is that dreadful past which often leaves her speechless and cowering in fear? Blood On The Sands is a gripping novel that explores a variety of societal issues like sexism, gender disparity and mostly of people's hesitancy in accepting a girl child. Sabnis has managed to paint a vivid picture of the lives of women in rural areas where they aren't allowed to go out of their homes alone and where their opinions aren't mattered much. That significant twist at the end of the story makes for an interesting read. I recommend this.