August 29, 2025

Imagine a calm, green holiday island in Sri Lanka where a young boy suddenly goes missing! One moment, he is sitting in the backseat of his mum's car; the next moment — poof! — he's gone. What happened? Who took him? And why don’t the police get involved? These puzzling questions kick off Chhimi Tenduf-la’s book 'A Hiding to Nothing,' a story full of curious characters and twists. The story mostly follows Neja Pinto, the shocked mother, who quickly becomes our guide through this jungle of mystery. But here’s the catch — can we trust what Neja tells us? The story uses something called an "unreliable narrator," meaning Neja might not be telling the full truth or could be confusing us on purpose. This trick has been famous since Agatha Christie’s classic 'The Murder of Roger Ackroyd' in 1926. It keeps readers guessing and adds spice to mysteries like 'Gone Girl.' Neja isn’t your usual calm heroine. Instead, she stumbles through the story, often dehydrated or drinking tequila, sometimes acting wildly — like crawling on a house roof with no clothes on! She admits her vision is blurry and she can be clumsy. This makes us wonder if she’s Truth or Trick. Plus, there are many other strange and irritating characters: a tough man named Popeye, a mysterious embassy worker called Mercy, a shady British hotel owner, and more! With confusing timelines and so many “red herrings” (fake clues), you feel the chaos whirl around Neja just like in a crazy TV show. Beyond the wild ride, the book tries to touch on deep feelings like love and loss. But some parts, especially about motherhood, feel overdone and heavy-handed. We see group texts from school mums, a man’s tough relationship with his own strict mother, and mysterious secrets about Neja’s background. The big surprise twist about Neja’s story might have worked great — but by then, readers may feel too lost or tired to care much. Chhimi Tenduf-la, who is half-British, half-Tibetan and lives in Colombo, has written well-received books before. This new one had the chance to be a dark, funny thriller full of surprises. Instead, it feels a bit forced into a thriller style, with too many confusing parts and characters. Still, if you love a puzzling mystery with a touch of madness on a beautiful island setting, 'A Hiding to Nothing' could be your next curious read. The book is published by Hachette India and costs ₹599.

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Tags: A hiding to nothing, Chhimi tenduf-la, Unreliable narrator, Thriller novel, Sri lanka, Mystery,