8-6-2026 Latham's Last Words: The Rishi by Leo Giroux, Jr.
- Donna Latham
- 4 hours ago
- 2 min read
Welcome to Latham's Last Words, where I give you my last words on vintage horror books I've enjoyed. Let's look at The The Rishi from 1985.
Another random thrift store purchase that turned out to be quite an adventure!
I was going back and forth while reading on if I liked this book. The first two parts are a very slow burn.
Taking place between India and Boston, I just didn't know is this was my type of story. But then I got interested in what I was learning about Indian spiritualism. Fully steeped in Indian culture and the beauty of it's people. The visuals the author was able to bring to life were just amazing.
Part three is where the story really gains momentum as the Thugee (Too-gee) cult comes to Boston. This is when the evil really shows it's true colors. From a mass killing of an entire church congregation to the manifestation of Kali trying to thwart the heroes I was equally appalled and fascinated.
Santha's hallucinations were so well written you'd think that it was actually happening to her. And her gradual personality change as she was slowly possessed by Kali made me not like her. Even though it wasn't her fault.
My two favorite characters were Swami Hanuman who was described as looking similar to a monkey. He was wise, the calm voice of reason while he prepared the heroes to battle Kali and the Thuggee. And he was almost a bit comical in how he could scale buildings. The second was Gauri Bala, who was the first vessel of Kali. Her transformations between being herself and then Kali were frightening. I had the most empathy for her, especially when she realized that being Kali's vessel wasn't going to end well for her.
I did see the twist coming on who the Huzoor was going to end up being, but it didn't ruin the story for me.
I highly recommend this book if you not only want you read a good story, but also learn about an aspect of a different culture. And I'm thankful the author included a glossary!
Two fun facts about this book!
The author was from Malden Massachussetts which is near me. It's always fun to discover a local horror author!
The Thuggee cult is the same cult featured in Indiana Jones and The Temple Of Doom. The movie however did not portray the cult accurately, they needed to make it suitable for the big screen which I get.
You can find used copies on Amazon here: