The Case of the Missing Servant / Tarquin Hall - 3.5***

[Book Concierge]

The Case of the Missing Servant – Tarquin Hall
Digital audiobook performed by Sam Dastor
3.5***

From the book jacket: Meet Vish Puri, India’s most private investigator. Portly, persistent, and unmistakably Punjabi, he cuts a determined swath through modern India’s swindlers, cheats, and murderers. In hot and usty Delhi, Puri’s main work comes from screening prospective marriage partners, a job once the preserve of aunties and family priests. But when an honest public litigator is accused of murdering his maidservant, it takes all of Puri’s resources to investigate.

My reactions:
This debut novel was just delightful! Puri is a marvelous character, and I want to follow the series just to get to know him better. But the supporting cast is also wonderful. From “Mummy-ji” (his mother, who insists on playing sleuth when “everyone” knows mummies are not detectives), to his undercover operatives: Tubelight, Flush, and Facecream.

While the main storyline focuses on the missing Mary, there are other issues Puri and his team must deal with – WHO is taking potshots at Puri and his chili plants? As the team travels from the swanky Gymkhana Club to the slums of Dehli, and from a desert oasis to a distant mine, the reader gets a view of modern-day India that is colorfully vivid.

I’ll definitely read more from this author.

Sam Dastor does a very good job of narrating the audiobook. I love the accents he used for Puri, Mummy-ji and the other characters.



LINK to my review

[Booknblues]

I've had this on my tbr for 10 years, so it is high time I read it.