Vish Puri #6
You may not know that the world’s greatest detective is Delhi based Vish Puri, but if you read this sweetly sunny book you will immediately find yourself fascinated by his family and work life. As the story opens, Vish has just been named “International Detective of the Year,” but, unfortunately, the “confidential” news has leaked prematurely, and his office is quickly deluged with congratulatory phone calls and sweets. Even worse, his mother phones to inform him that she plans to accompany him and his wife to London for the award ceremony, which an unwelcome associate has also pledged to attend.
Then Puri is summoned by a high up bureaucrat and instructed to find a notorious disgraced businessman who has fled to London with his ill-gotten millions, leaving in his wake victims of a medication that caused deaths rather than a cure. It seems rather a full plate, and even more, his investigation must take place without the knowledge of the diplomats in London.
He has so much on his mind when he boards the plane for London that his wife has to secretly drug him to overcome his fear of flying. When they land, he’s irritated by the long line at customs and by the fact that he’ll apparently have to shlep his own luggage (a friend had warned him that the West is “DIY”). It doesn’t help that when they arrive at the cousin’s where they are to stay and he discovers to his dismay that not only is she vegan, she’s a terrible cook as well.
Puri, however, soldiers on and reaches out to an old friend at Scotland Yard to find information on the whereabouts of the missing millionaire, dubbed by his friend the “Bombay Duck.” Puri also has operatives back in Delhi watching the man’s wife, and they are sure she’s planning to make a run for it. Meanwhile, his own wife is delighted to be in London and wants to see all the sights there are to see. My favorite scene may have been high tea at the Savoy that Puri somehow ends up paying for in the hopes of spotting his quarry.
While still trying to accompany his wife when possible, he’s assisted in his investigation by his young cousin, who speaks and behaves like a Londoner with the addition of some impressive tech skills and street smarts. Hall obviously loves these characters and every one of them is beautifully delineated. They would have appeared wooden on the page if there had been any kind of condescension on his part, but instead, they are fully alive, and while Puri can indeed be a bit ridiculous, he gets his man via some very sharp investigation.
He’s also ably assisted by his incredibly observant mother who sees through him at every turn. Even his young cousin tells Puri to give her a break – she may irritate him (she’s his mother, after all) but she knows what she’s talking about. This concisely told tale is stuffed full of plot and wonderful characters. I had no problem starting with book six, but also now feel somewhat compelled to seek out the earlier books, with the worry that the delicious food described so vividly by Hall will make me want to order up too much Butter Chicken myself! — Robin Agnew