Awesome travel book. Review on Sea of Innocence, The - Kishwar Desai

The story is simple and one that we could all relate to. A missing girl, a death in paradise and a race against time to uncover the truth. Set in picturesque of Goa, home to holiday revelers and backpackers from across the world who come to while away their time. The story takes you to the dark, unexplored alleys that lie hidden under the pristine beauty and friendly attitude.

Social worker and crime investigator Simran Singh steps into Goa to take a break from the bleak reality of the world she lives in and yet, she finds her skill useful as a case builds before her eyes. She discovers that the girl is Liza Kay, a British teenager who has gone missing, she decides to save her.

A colleague of hers, Amarjit (also an ex-flame) sends her a disturbing video of a young girl being molested by four men in a hotel and she seems to be smiling, putting up little resistance and then she goes missing. The girl in the video, Lisa Kay, has a sister, Marian, looking for her and Amarjit, despite Simran’s emphatic nos, asks her to help Marian.

Nothing in the beach town is as it seems. The beach changes color everyday and so do those who make a living from it. Goa is a tourist’s paradise, but it has now got the dubious name of being a rapist’s paradise as well. Every year, a number of British and Russian nationals are found raped or murdered in this beach town.

Kishwar also refers to the Scarlett Keeling case, which landed a lot of bureaucrats and India in a lot of soup. The tone of this book is ominous and cautious and yet very saddening. The Delhi rape incident plays a prominent part in the book; references to the victim’s helplessness and the brutality seem to jump out at every corner in the story.

The closer she tries to get to the facts, the darker gets the hue of the supposed paradise. It seems that everyone knows the truth but no price is enough for them to speak it. A journey through paradise soon becomes a living nightmare...