This latest review is by Paola Zoppi, the artistic director of LibrIn Terra Arts Festival in Valperga, Italy on the Italian edition of Haunting Bombay.  The review, of course, is in Italian but Paola was kind enough to translate a few lines for me.  She writes, “The reader will discover the Mittal family through fascinating language, sharp and rich… Agarwal paints a family gripped by their own guilt… the ghosts that knocking at the door are the voices with they have to deal, sooner or later, in their life….”  Additionally, Paola writes of Haunting Bombay that it is “intense, special, mysterious, cruel and nostalgic, it caught me until the end.” Click here for the full review.

I was delighted to see this review of my book written by a blogger who is attempting to read every fiction book in the Bella Vista Library. She writes, “Agarwal’s first novel is a brilliant story…more than just a ghost story; it’s a story of love, hurt, great loss, vengeance and understanding… This novel was truly a work of art. In fact I love it so much that I am giving it an A+.  Click here to read the review.

Since I’ve published Haunting Bombay, it has been reviewed by a number of book bloggers out there in cyberspace.  One of my favorite bloggers is Swapna of S. Krishna Books whose reviews are consistently well-written and thoughtful.  I was thrilled when she reviewed Haunting Bombay this week, calling it “a masterpiece of multicultural fiction” and “compulsively readable” with writing that is “beautiful.”  Swapna also writes,  ”It is difficult to tell that this is [Agarwal’s] first novel - her prose has the skill and confidence of a master of the craft.”  Click here for the full review.

Fantasy Book Critic reviewed Haunting Bombay this week, calling it “easily one of the best books of the year” with writing that is “captivating and elegant” and “a sheer pleasure to read.”  Click here for the full review.

I’ve been doing a lot travel in the past months, speaking at various literary events and this weekI had the opportunity to go on a virtual book tour with TLC Tours.  Book bloggers have hosted me on their sites, reviewing my book or inviting me to write a guest blog - and all this without ever having to leave my home or pack a suitcase.Here’s what they are saying about Haunting Bombay:   Darlene at Peeking Between the Pages writes, “From the beginning of the book I was hooked and I just kept turning those pages in an attempt to find out what was going to finally happen. It was a book that kept me on the edge of my seat a bit while giving me shivers up and down my spine.”Ramya of Ramya’s Bookshelf writes, “The prologue instantly gripped me - the mysterious air, the freaky characters, a subtle hint of deaths and more, etc and I couldn’t put the book down. From that moment, until I turned the last page - I was hooked to haunting Bombay. It has been a while since I read a book that engrossing.”Wendy at Musings of a Bookish Kitty writes, “Haunting Bombay lives up to its title. It is a haunting tale full of mystery, forbidden love, dark secrets, and mysticism. Shilpa Agarwal’s writing is beautiful, her story intense. I fell in love with this novel on the very first page and that feeling never wavered. If anything, it grew with each turn of the page.”Serena at Savvy Verse & Wit writes, “Agarwal’s poetic language is like a siren song, pulling the reader into the Mittal family’s struggles with one another… Readers looking for a ghost story will get more than they bargained for with Haunting Bombay. It’s a ghost story, mystery, and historical novel carefully crafted to hypnotize the reader.”

This insightful review just out from Seacoastonline, a newspaper serving New Hampshire and Maine, makes the observation that I have set “the arc of this debut novel to the rhythm of India’s climate. The parched heat strains tempers, and the still air lies heavy with secrets. The first monsoon rains bring giddy relief, renewing married love and awakening forbidden young hopes before the relentless wetness seeps into every crack and corner of the place, sprouting mold and hastening decay.” Click here for full review.

This thoughtful and in-depth review from Mysterious Reviews was just published, describing Haunting Bombay as ”a beautifully crafted mystery of amazing depth, sensitivity, and complexity… as haunting in its style as in its substance.” Reviewer Wayne Cunningham also writes, “Besides developing an outstanding story filled with family tensions and dark drama, Agarwal holds her reader’s interest with passages of history and biting social commentary and references to Indian mythology, deities, and regional superstitions. She can evoke laughter as well as tears, fear as well as serenity, and she is masterful at springing surprises at just the right moment.” Click here for the full review.

USA Today Books Roundup featured HAUNTING BOMBAY, describing itas an “intriguing debut novel” that “draws on the broader mystical culture that envelops India, where there is always a supernatural explanation for everything that happens, especially the horrific. Often, fingers point to the weakest members of the community; Agarwal seeks to give voice to the dispossessed through the supernatural.” Read the review.

Library Journal just gave HAUNTING BOMBAY a starred review, calling it a “good ghost story” that will “definitely appeal to fans of Monica Ali and Jhumpa Lahiri.”