Partho, the intrepid inventor, his trusted sidekick and brother-in-law Dev, and wife Ria are back. This time for a scientific conference that takes Partho to Philadelphia, where the trio have decided to have an extended holiday. At Philadelphia, they meet Dr David Hall, Partho’s friend and mentor. While on a sightseeing trip with Charlie, David’s nephew, they encounter a disheveled man being chased by gangsters.
Later, Peter, a cop and David’s son-in-law, seeks Partho’s help to solve a mystery involving trouble. Flinn, a death row inmate accused of treason, double homicide and hate crimes, has escaped from prison.
Hitting upon an important lead, Partho signs the three of them on a bus tour. Soon it becomes clear that not everyone on the tour is enjoying a leisure trip. Partho also becomes aware of a countdown to a huge explosion. Their efforts to prevent the explosion fail and Partho goes missing.
Who is responsible for playing with the lives of thousands of innocents? And what do they hope to gain from it? And will Partho return safely?

As in Book 1, this book too is written from the first person past tense point of view of Dev, the Watson to Partho’s Sherlock.
What I liked most about this book was the sense of familiarity it evoked, after I had thoroughly enjoyed the first one. It felt as if I was meeting a couple of eccentric but still lovable friends, who had plenty of foibles.
The element of danger is notched up in this book and the potential negative repercussions of failure are much higher. The plot itself is far more complicated than it was in the first book, and the pace far headier. The large number of characters added to the challenge of keeping track of who is who, but the effort was rewarded.
In the second book, the author gives us a little bit of the back story of Partho, making it a little easier for us to understand him.

The best part of the Partho series is undoubtedly Partho himself. He may seem a trifle mollycoddled with Ria fussing constantly over him, but he still comes across as a good guy, a chap you want on your side. You never know which of his inventions might serve as a lifesaver. The beauty of Partho’s inventions lies in their sheer ingenuity. I also appreciated his willingness to step up and risk his life for a total stranger.
The book is written with humour and enthusiasm. The author tells us of Partho, Viruses often announced their arrival in the neighborhood through him.
The only thing that gave me pause was the number of grammatical errors in this book. The use of different tenses in the same sentence, incorrect usage of words etc. it took away from the pleasure this book gave. I hope the author rectifies this soon.
Also, I missed the philosophical tidbits and the humour that Partho had to share in the previous book. Here he was a little too serious.

I look forward to meeting Partho in yet another book.

A genius Indian version of Sherlock Holmes visits the eastern United States with his wife and brother-in-law. They find themselves embroiled in a terrorist plot while on a bus tour.
The narrator is not the protagonist, but rather the brother in law, who is cast as Watson. The wife is left to worry at home.
There’s a conspiracy, with too many characters to keep straight! The plot gets confusing, and it only gets worse as it goes along. I couldn’t keep track of all the people on the bus, let alone all the other characters. Had I not been so close to the end of what’s really a short book I would have given up.
By the time the bad guy’s revealed I had no idea who he was, and I didn’t care enough to go back.
The writing just barrels ahead, with not much room for style. It’s certainly not bad, but it not exactly scintillating either. Having one character be so matter of fact is more than enough, but most of them are. Worse, far from being a Sherlock Holmes, this guy is completely a Marty Stu.
2.5 pushed up to 3/5

Author Rajib Mukherjee takes what worked so well in his first Portho novel and transports us to a new place with Escaped. This is a thrilling supernatural noir adventure, and a mashup of many elements I enjoy in a variety of genres.

There is suspense, a sense of humor, and much engagement to be found in this book. I recommend Mukherjee's words and the Portho series.