Book Reading and Book Signing Event
             Random House, India and Crossword, Pune had co-organized a Book Reading and Book Signing Event, by Dr. Manjiri Prabhu, author of The Astral Alibi, in Pune on Saturday 15th July 2006 at CROSSWORD, ICC Tower, Senapati Bapat Road, Pune, at 6.00 p.m.
The Astral Alibi, is a sequel to her first novel The Cosmic Clues, published by the renowned American Publishing House, Bantam Dell division of Random House, USA. It was released in New York and all over the world on the  27th June, 2006.  The Book Reading function was held to formally introduce the book to the Indian readers. In a well-attended function, Hon. Sister Flory, Principal of St. Joseph High School Pashan, Pune, unveiled a copy of the book, which was signed by the Author and dedicated to the school as the first signed copy, as Dr. Prabhu is a past student of the school. Sister Flory appreciated Dr. Prabhu's tribute to her school and said that very few past students acknowledge the contribution of their school in their lives. Ms. Deepti Lal, from Random House, India, congratulated Prabhu on the successful series. The Author read out an extract from the novel which was followed by an enthusiastic, lively interaction with the audience.  Later, a crowd gathered to buy both the books and get them signed by the author.
Uniqueness of Dr. Prabhu's books - "The Cosmic Clues" and "The Astral Alibi"

· This is for the first time that two novels in succession written by an Indian Writer residing in India are published outside India (Especially in the west and by a Publisher like Random House - Publisher of books like "The Da Vinci Code").
· This is for the first time Scientific Indian Vedic Astrology is coupled with Investigative Techniques or Crime Solving Methods in Literature.
· The main protagonist or the Sleuth / Detective/ Private Investigator in both these books is a young Indian female breaking the stereotype of Male detectives.
· The novels portray a modern, contemporary India, and really move away from the usual Indian Fiction published abroad.
· Indian writing seems to have emerged from the exhibition of poverty, population explosion etc. (and arty literature) and stepped into the commercial mainstream, with a universal, balanced picture of the real life and popular existence in India, described in both these novels.
· The novels help in creating a different and positive portrayal, as well as maintaining the traditional, family-oriented image, of India.
The style of writing could be termed as 'Serialized Novel' where different independent stories are interwoven into the thread of the main plot or a main storyline.