Unveiling 'The Bucket': A Haunting Tale of Time and Trauma

Arnab Ray's new psychological thriller, 'The Bucket', explores the dark complexities of time, trauma, and memory. Revolving around four friends, it unravels their intertwined destinies as a true-crime documentary reopens a mysterious death from their past. The novel delves into emotional upheavals at two crucial life stages.

Hachette India has announced the upcoming release of 'The Bucket', a psychological thriller-horror-mystery novel by renowned author Arnab Ray, slated for release on Tuesday. Famous for his works 'The Mine' and 'Shakchunni', Ray's latest effort delves into themes of time, trauma, and the concealed darkness within human relationships.

'The Bucket' is the story of four friends facing the fallout from a decades-old death, previously deemed a closed case, now reopened by a probing true-crime documentary. The novel contrasts the emotional turmoil encountered by men at two critical junctures in life: once at 18, faced with potential futures, and at 50, when possibilities have largely faded.

Set against the backdrops of diverse destinies—a Bollywood superstar, a California-based physics professor, an aspiring government minister, and a cancer patient—the narrative revisits their bond shattered by the enigmatic drowning of a peer named Pramila. As the why's and how's of the past resurface, the characters must grapple with unresolved truths and the notion that both water and murder hold memories that endure.

(With inputs from agencies.)