In a world where corruption wears a suit and shortcuts promise instant success, Ledger of Lies by Rajnish Rao delivers a gripping account of one young man’s fight to stay honest in a profession built on trust—and tested by temptation.
Sharan, a sharp and determined middle-class CA aspirant, finds himself in the eye of a moral storm during his first major audit. As shady officials like Krishnappa and cunning opportunists like KP close in, they see Sharan as an easy pawn. But he’s more than they bargained for.
With mentorship from the principled Shivshankar and a conscience that won’t go quietly, Sharan must choose: bend to the system or break it from within.
A story of ethics, endurance, and the quiet power of saying “NO” when everyone else says “YES.”
What was the driving force behind writing this book, and how did the concept first come to life for you? Mostly frustration at the way the system works. And a bit of boredom. Ideas come and experiences happen, I don't ask why, some you forget, some stay; you just hold on and write it down before it kills you.
Can you walk us through your typical writing routine or any personal rituals that help you stay creatively engaged? I write every morning until the words stop making sense. Then I run or work, and fight regret. If you're not full of self-doubt or heartbroken, you're probably not writing anything worth the paper it's printed on.
Were the characters in your book inspired by real individuals, or did they emerge purely from your imagination? They should be. I borrowed them from real life, gave them better dialogue, and made sure they suffered more than they did in real life and enough to earn their page time. People only remember the ones who they identify with or suffer on the page.
Your novel touches deeply on the challenges within Audit Practice. What drew you to focus on this theme, and what message do you hope readers take away? Because that’s what all life – Audit practice is about. We lose mostly and we succeed sometimes. We try to mean something. Then we die. If a book doesn’t stare that in the face, it’s just not what it was meant to do.
How did you approach the process of crafting your novel’s immersive world, and were any real places or historical contexts influential in that? The world is already rich with experience and feeling. You just have to get out of your own self-immersive miserable world and into the dirt. Write what’s real, then I take out the parts that feel like writing—it’s the emotion and flow.
In crafting your story, how do you navigate the tension between originality and genre expectations? Using genres is like getting into cages. I write what’s my experience. If it breaks the “genre,” wonderful. If it doesn’t, at least I wasn’t trying to copy. I was not boring.
The narrative maintains a gripping pace throughout. What’s your method for sustaining tension and momentum across the story? I write short sentences, use verbs that convey strong emotions. I have cut the frills and fancy language. If it sounds like something you’d say in a fight or in anger, it’s probably good.
With reader tastes and media formats constantly shifting, how do you see traditional storytelling evolving, and how do you make your writing resonate today? People still lie mostly, still fall in love, still go to war, still die—the same with the accounting and finance professional. The packaging may change. The story doesn’t. I tell the truth, it’ll outlive everything.
👉 Buy your copy of Ledger of Lies today on Amazon and step into a world where every number has a hidden cost—and every choice counts.
