A Chilling Tale of Ghosts and Mystery: And The Roses Bled Reviewed
Sukriti Tankha
And The Roses Bled by Mehak Daleh (Fingerprint Publishers, 224 pages, Rs 399) is a story about Alisha and her ability to see and hear ghosts, specifically of her twin sister Nina. This horror-thriller novel blends mystery, supernatural elements and psychological drama to create a gripping narrative.
A Haunting Bond Between Twins
Alisha and Nina are twins who love each other immensely and share a special bond, common to all twins. One day, when they were six, while playing together in the ground, Nina disappears and Alisha is left alone, crying and searching for her. The family is distraught but eventually accepts that she is dead.
But not Alisha. Soon she starts seeing the ghost of Nina, which affects her deeply. She is unable to sleep, eat or do anything. There is no one with whom she can share her problem. Her mother becomes overly protective, and Alisha begins to avoid her altogether. Therapists don’t work either. Time passes.
Strange Visions and Growing Fear
Alisha is now 11 and her father finally decides to send her to a boarding school “to help her grow individually”. There she meets Ravneet, and they become the best of friends. All is going well for Alisha when one day she sees another ghost—of a girl she doesn’t recognise.
Soon after, she starts hearing voices, seeing strange things, and experiencing nightmares. All this perplexes her; she cannot understand the reason behind it. The story gradually builds suspense, making it a compelling read for fans of horror fiction.
A Chilling Mystery Unfolds
Then one day, one of her classmates and good friend Robby mysteriously disappears. His body is found some days later. This leaves Alisha more troubled than before, and thus begins her journey of discovering the truth.
She is sure that all these events are somehow related and is determined to get to the bottom of the matter.
What lies at the bottom is something Alisha wouldn’t have thought possible even in her wildest dreams! And, what comes at the end is shocking and terrifying but not entirely unbelievable. What is that, I won’t tell you! For that, you have to pick up the book yourself.
One thing I must say is that the book is extremely well-written—terrifying and exciting in equal parts. When I picked up And The Roses Bled, I had taken it to be just another run-of-the-mill horror story about ghosts and zombies, but it isn’t that simple. In fact, it is genuinely spooky.
The story is engaging, and I couldn’t put the book down till I had finished it. At places, I was scared to turn a page; at others, too excited to know what comes next—that’s the kind of thrill this book delivers, a complete rollercoaster.
It truly makes you believe that there are some unknown and unexplained forces out there—some of us can see them, some can’t—but nobody can entirely deny their existence.
