The Case of the Missing Servant - Hardcover

Hall, Tarquin

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0091925630 ISBN 13: 9780091925635

Publisher: Hutchinson, 2009

Synopsis

Meet Vish Puri, India's most private investigator. Portly, persistent and unmistakably Punjabi, he cuts a determined swathe through modern India's swindlers, cheats and murderers.

In hot and dusty Delhi, where call centres and malls are changing the ancient fabric of Indian life, 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. How will he trace the fate of the girl, known only as Mary, in a population of more than one billion? Who is taking pot shots at him and his prize chilli plants? And why is his widowed 'Mummy-ji' attempting to play sleuth when everyone knows Mummies are not detectives?

With his team of undercover operatives - Tubelight, Flush and Facecream - Puri ingeniously combines modern techniques with principles of detection established in India more than two thousand years ago -- long before 'that Johnny-come-lately' Sherlock Holmes donned his Deerstalker.

The search for Mary takes him to the desert oasis of Jaipur and the remote mines of Jharkhand. From his well-heeled Gymkhana Club to the slums where the servant classes live, Puri's adventures reveal modern India in all its seething complexity.

About this title

Product Description:

Vish Puri, a private investigator. Portly, persistent and unmistakably Punjabi, he cuts a determined swathe through modern India's swindlers, cheats and murderers. In hot and dusty Delhi, where call centers and malls are changing the ancient fabric of Indian life, Puri's main work comes from screening prospective marriage partners.

Review:

"Tubby, ingenious and hilarious, Delhi's most trusted PI, Vish Puri, is not easily forgotten. Properly disdainful of unoriginal crime-busters like Sherlock Holmes and James Bond, his unique methods of detection deserve to be widely known and feted." -- David Davidar, author of "The Solitude of Emperors"

"Vish Puri is the most original detective in years. Tarquin Hall has captured India in a way few Western writers have managed since Kipling. The country's humor, commotion, and vibrancy bursts from every page, exposing its vast, labyrinthine underbelly. Scintillating!" -- Tahir Shah, author of "The Caliph's House"

"Speaking of sweet stuff, consider "The Case of the Missing Servant" by Tarquin Hall. This first novel is set in Delhi, where Vish Puri, found and director of Most Private Investigators, Ltd., performs discreet investigations into the backgrounds of prospective grooms, with surprising and often comic results."
--Marilyn Stasio, "New York Times Book Review"

Speaking of sweet stuff, consider "The Case of the Missing Servant" by Tarquin Hall. This first novel is set in Delhi, where Vish Puri, found and director of Most Private Investigators, Ltd., performs discreet investigations into the backgrounds of prospective grooms, with surprising and often comic results.
Marilyn Stasio, "New York Times Book Review""

Hall turns to fiction with the debut of what promises to be an outstanding series....An excellent, delightfully humorous mystery with an unforgettable cast of characters, The Case of the Missing Servant immediately joins the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency as representing the best in international cozies.
Booklist (starred review)"

Speaking of sweet stuff, consider The Case of the Missing Servant by Tarquin Hall. This first novel is set in Delhi, where Vish Puri, found and director of Most Private Investigators, Ltd., performs discreet investigations into the backgrounds of prospective grooms, with surprising and often comic results.
Marilyn Stasio, New York Times Book Review"

"Hall turns to fiction with the debut of what promises to be an outstanding series....An excellent, delightfully humorous mystery with an unforgettable cast of characters, The Case of the Missing Servant immediately joins the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency as representing the best in international cozies."
--Booklist (starred review)

"Speaking of sweet stuff, consider The Case of the Missing Servant by Tarquin Hall. This first novel is set in Delhi, where Vish Puri, found and director of Most Private Investigators, Ltd., performs discreet investigations into the backgrounds of prospective grooms, with surprising and often comic results."
--Marilyn Stasio, New York Times Book Review

About this edition

• Publisher: Hutchinson
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 0091925630
• ISBN 13: 9780091925635
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 320