Debut
This charming first mystery may follow several trendy and now familiar tropes, but that didn’t bother me in the least because the telling of the story and the characters in it are simply delightful. It’s set in an upscale condo development where the main character, the recently retired and widowed librarian Neeti Shah, lives with her niece Myra and her adorable great nephew, Ved. The story begins when Neeti hears a scream across the road and hurries over to find her neighbor dead at the foot of his stairs, seemingly killed by a fall, but, surprise, Neeti is not convinced.
The body was discovered by the man’s wife, who is soon joined by a local doctor, the pair of them rushing to order that not only must the victim be cremated as soon as possible, but his beloved dog Yolo has to be put down. Horrified at that prospect, Neeti quickly takes the animal in, mourning the death of her neighbor, while still being well aware that the brash and unpleasant fellow wasn’t much liked in the community.
To the delight of Ved, she heads back home with her new pet, where she quickly assembles a group of neighbors who dub themselves “The Masala Chai Mystery Club,” dedicated to gathering information about their local crime, with the aim of ultimately solving it.
It’s all a bit reminiscent of the Marlowe murder club as well as other recent books by Michelle Cullen, Freya Sampson, and Fergus Craig, but it’s no less appealing here, a big reason being the characters. Neeti herself is a charmer, making her chai tea and wearing lovely sarees which she lovingly describes for the reader. Usually she and her niece get along fine though some tension eventually develops between them, with the contrast between Neeti trying to find a place for herself after retirement and widowhood, and Myra trying to find a similar niche as a young single mom becoming a powerful and resonant theme. It’s almost like a romance with a breakup coming halfway through the narrative, because you know these two will work it out eventually, the question being not if they will but how.
The other stand out characters are neighbor Peggy and her Shakespeare quoting husband, who, though diagnosed with Parkinson’s, always seems to come up with an apt quotation for every occasion, as well as Thandi, a woman from South Africa who fears the police. Much like Osman’s Thursday Murder Club books, a female cop is drawn into the proceedings despite her better instincts when, unlike her blowhard lead boss, she concludes that a murder has indeed been committed.
Neeti and the dead man also have a previous backstory, one that makes her appreciate him despite all his unpleasant quirks, its eventual revelation proving both moving and unexpected. The mystery part of the story is similarly well handled, with the quite suspenseful parts of the story leading to a satisfyingly brisk pace. Soni brilliantly introduces her story with a reference to Christie’s Dumb Witness, and the trail of clues pursued by the team are classically clever and well laid out, with even the dog playing a vital part in the proceedings. All this and more have allowed Soni to produce this truly enjoyable and well written debut. — Robin Agnew