SLEEPING IN THE GROUND - Peter Robinson

 

The great British crime/thriller author Peter Robinson is back with a series that Stephen King referred to as "the best series now on the market".

King may very well be right as the Inspector Banks series has never had a disappointing story in its history and has also been turned into a top-notch BBC series. In SLEEPING IN THE GROUND, DCI Banks comes across a murder scene so brutal it might have come out a Quentin Tarantino film. A wedding celebration is in full swing in a quiet and charming country church when they are victimized by an unknown sniper who proceeds to shoot dead several members of the bridal party including bride and groom.

The party was in immediate chaos and one of Banks' team was in attendance, escaping with a mere flesh wound. With so many victims involved, it becomes difficult for Banks and his colleagues to pinpoint who may have been the intended victim and why. The fact that it may have been the unprovoked act of a madman is too chilling to consider --- but as the clues fail to lead anywhere immediately it becomes a consideration they must all quickly face up to.

The challenge is to locate the shooter before he takes any more innocent lives. Are we talking retribution or terrorism becomes the question at the forefront of DCI Alan Banks' mind. As Banks teams once again with Criminal Profiler Jenny Fuller, the two begin to unearth secrets buried so deep that tying only one killer to this brutal act seems more and more unlikely. The two of them make quite a team and their interactions are simply priceless.

This novel goes to some dark places and there is no better person to have by your side than DCI Banks and his investigative prowess. SLEEPING IN THE GROUND is a winner all around. I also enjoy the constant references to pop culture, usually in the form of music, that fill each Banks novel. He has a keen ear for an eclectic range of music that I always look forward. In this area, as well as crime writing, I equivalate Peter Robinson to American author George Pelecanos who always delivers hard-hitting stories filled with essential musical references. I eagerly anticipate the next novel in this terrific series --- as well as finding out about additional singers/records to add to my musical play-list!

Tete-a-tete with Shiv Khera

In a recent interview with motivational speaker, author, business consultant and politician Shiv Khera, I managed to dig deep into his personal life and find out things that you and I never knew before. Read on to find out what makes Mr. Khera tick.

Q1. Briefly encapsulate your career journey; educational background etc?

Ans. 1: My education background was quite bumpy. I was the back bencher troubling the front bencher. I was more into sports than academics. I used to read comics beside my text books and nothing else. I had to repeat the 10th grade but in my board Higher Secondary Exam there were only three people who got First Division in Arts and I was one of them.

Q2. How do you define success and what is your success mantra?

Ans. 2: Success is a journey not a destination. It is a feeling. Hence, it is internal not external. Values decide the quality of the journey. Achievement of the worthy goals is the destination and worthiness determines the values because sometime in life people can have unworthy goals.

Q3. Who's your role model? How were you inspired in life?  Any particular incident?

Ans. 3: The life history of 10 Sikh Gurus has been a great source of inspiration to me because they not only reflect the character but courage to implement the character. Dr. Norman Vincent Peale, author of Power of Positive Thinking had a great influence in life. I attended one of his programs almost 40 years ago in Canada which put me on a path to research the quality of success.

Q4. Going by your books, most assume that you're very serious and driven by principles. Tell us what keeps Shiv entertained; does he indulge in any pass time activity and what are they?

Ans. 4: During my school days I was quite actively involved in sports. I use to play football. I represented my school in Army horse riding and I use to play Polo. I am fond of dogs and I have two Rottweiler. Whatever time I can squeeze which is very limited I try to spend with my wife, my children and my grand children. I enjoy going to movie once in a while for entertainment. 

Q.5 You must've travelled to many places and dined at several restaurants. What is your favorite place and cuisine?

Ans. 5: The nature of my work demands lot of travelling. I have travelled to over 20 countries and have tried and tested different flavors and cuisines. However, my favorite cuisine still is the “Indian Food”, which I carve for when I am travelling out.

Q.6 A sound mind makes a robust body; tell us what do you do to keep yourself fit and active?

Ans. 6: I believe the more mental exercise you do the more you remain active. In fact, medical research has clearly shown that there is a very clear body mind connection. Staying physically and mentally active keeps me fit and active.

Q.7. There's a eureka moment in all our lives; moment when we decide what we'll do for the rest of our lives. Is there such a moment in your life when you decided to author a book or become a speaker?

Ans.7: Oh Yes, there was a moment in my life which became a turning point when I attended Dr. Norman Vincent Peale’s program where I realized two things:

 a) Many time in life we become our own biggest problem. Our attitude can make or break our lives.

 b) We cannot solve all our problem but we can handle them.

Life is full of choices and life is full of compromises. Series of positive choices is called success and series of negative choices is called failure. Here I realized that I have to create that positive choice among people to drive them towards success. Since then I devoted my time in research and writing.

Q.8 To be successful one should be self motivated; what did you do as a kid/youngster to keep yourself self-motivated?

Ans. 8: There is a tremendous correlation between Thinking, Feeling & Action. Thought trigger feeling and feeling trigger action. An attitude is habit of thoughts eventually thought pattern become permanent.

When conscious thinking become internalized and goes into the sub-conscious mind our behavior turns into reflex action. Hence, things start happening other than us doing which turns into passion and self motivation. Motivation follows inspiration, because inspiration is thinking and motivation is action. I am highly optimist and look positively to every opportunity. Probably, the positive thinking and optimistic approach towards life has kept me self-motivated. 

Q.9 We heard you're coming up with an academy; Institute of Leadership and Management Training? Tell us little bit about it?

Ans. 10:  Yes I have been planning and searching for some ways to create competent leaders who can manage and lead at the same time. There is dearth of potential leadership quality in the market which inspired me to provide an open place to the inspired youngsters who wants to lead with success.

I am coming up with the Shiv Khera Institute of Leadership & Management (SKILM) which will provide one year Post Graduate Program in Leadership & Management with a sole objective of blending character and competence to create Leaders who can manage and not Managers who cannot lead.

Rapid Fire:

Ans. 1:  Favorite Movie: Coach Carter

Ans. 2: Favourite Shopping area: DLF shopping centre, Vasant Kunj

Ans. 3: Favourite city: Singapore (city country)

Ans. 4: Favourite song: Indian Ghazals by Jagjit Singh

Ans.5: Favourite author: Dr. Norman Vincent Peale

Ans. 6: Favourite book: You Can Win