The Case of the Deadly Butter Chicken- Book Review

This is a Vish Puri mystery- yes, the Dilliwala jasoos created by Tarquin Hall that I had referred to in an earlier post. This is his second book I  read, and I am quite impressed. The Delhi language and mannerisms of all the aunties (particularly the aunties), the guys, the ordinary people 'and all' , is spot on. The mystery is no less.

A dinner guest, father of a Pakistani cricketer, is poisoned in full public view, at a gala dinner after an IPL (name disguised) cricket match. Vish Puri has eaten the same butter chicken that killed him. A lot of big businessmen  and their families are present, and are suspects.

How Vish Puri, aided by his mother (mummy-ji) solves this international crime, involving the betting ring-leader, a paan laced with aconite, a moustache thief who steals the facial hair of the record-holder for the longest 'mouche',  Pak ex-general with a softer side, and the diamond-smuggling syndicate of Gujarat, is the rest of this absorbing story. Tarquin Hall also takes a few cracks at Agatha Christie  (solving a crime in a village of a dozen geriatrics is different from doing so in India, Vish Puri says) and the British people along the way.

A fun read, and I am looking forward to 'The Man Who Died Laughing' next, which I bought with great foresight before I left Delhi a few months ago.

An Indian Poirot- Vish Puri

That tag is given by one of the blurbs on this book- and that is what made me pick it up. Well, not quite Poirot, but very readable and interesting is this detective called Vish Puri, a denizen of Delhi. He likes chilli pakodas, and seekh kababs, like a true Punajbi, and employs staff with engaging nicknames, such as Facecream and Handbrake, and Tubelight. These people help him, more like Paul Drake and co. in Perry Mason stories, to dig up evidence that will exonerate his clients, or get them disentangled from unwanted matrimonial alliances.

The Case of the Missing Servant starts with a rich lawyer being accused of murdering his tribal maid-servant. After a lot of twists and turns, and another murder along the way, it gets resolved satisfactorily- the denouement happening as in a Poirot mystery, with an assembly of all the major characters in the house, with an inspector (like Japp) keeping an eye out for the surprise that Puri will spring.

The Delhi descriptions of people, places and character quirks is quite accurate, and seems first-hand authenticated. That adds to the narrative.

An engaging read, this author called Tarquin Hall. I will read some more of him for sure.