Mysterious tales of men, a dose of motivation (IANS Books This Weekend)

This time, it's fiction ruled by male protagonists. There's a gripping story of two men whose lives are interlinked and who are willing to break every rule to win; a man whose life changes after he finds himself dangerously trapped in a suicide case; a boy who is made to live separately in a house where the residents die mysteriously.

Finally, an inspirational book that motivates one to take risks and overcome the fear of uncertainty. Here's this weekend's dose of the IANS bookshelf. Read on!

1. Book: The Sialkot Saga; Author: Ashwin Sanghi; Publisher: Westland Ltd; Pages: 584; Price: Rs. 350

Arvind and Arbaaz, the leading protagonists of the book, are businessmen of a kind. Both are unaware that what they seek and fight over is the very obstacle in realising an ancient secret that dates to a time long forgotten.

The story weaves together the past and the present, where the lives of these characters are unwillingly intertwined and ricochet off one another while they play out their sinister and murderous plots of personal and professional one-upmanship.

2. Book: Nothing Can Be as Crazy; Author: Ajay Mohan Jain; Publisher: Rupa; Pages: 206; Price: Rs. 250

A girl, after sneaking into the highly-restricted area of a bank, jumps to her death. And Rajesh, the recently-appointed head of the computer section, finds himself embroiled in an unexpected controversy as the police suspect him.

Will Rajesh be able to set himself free or is he actually guilty? Set against the backdrop of banking institutions, Ajay Jain's book is a taut, racy thriller, with a new twist at every turn of the page that keeps the reader on edge.

3. Book: The Death House; Author: Sarah Pinborough; Publisher: Hachette; Pages: 273; Price: Rs. 399

A simple blood test changed Toby's life. Now he lives in the death house, an out-of-time existence far from the modern world where others who live there are studied by doctors.

Toby spends his days fighting his fear and wondering how much he has left. But then a new arrival in the house shatters the fragile peace because everybody in the death house dies. What will happen to Toby? Read on to know!

4. Book: Chancing It; Author: Robert Mathews; Publisher: Hachette; Pages: 290; Price: Rs. 499

In the face of political upheaval, turmoil in financial markets and an endless litany of risks, threats and calamities, we all crave certainty. The need to understand chance, risk and uncertainty has never been more pronounced.

But one needs to accept the reality. This book, written by Robert Mathews, carries the central message that while one can never be free of chance, risk and uncertainty, one has the tools to take them on and win.