The Secret Keeper of Jaipur, by Alka Joshi

The Secret Keeper of Jaipur is a sequel to The Henna Artist, which I read recently and also liked. This novel takes up the story some twelve years after the end of The Henna Artist, when some of the secrets kept in that novel are in danger of coming to life. The main character of that book, Lakshmi, is still present in this one, but the focus of the story shifts to Malik, the orphan boy who once worked as her servant and errand-boy. Now a young man of twenty, Malik leaves Lakshmi’s new home in Shimla to return to Jaipur and seek his fortune among old friends and enemies in the city.

This novel has the same engaging characters and vivid setting that made the first novel so good. I hope there is a third in the series, as we’ve yet to get a story focused on Lakshmi’s sister Radha, and that would round out a trilogy very nicely.