The Case of the Deadly Butter Chicken

 

by Tarquin Hall (read by Sam Dastor)

Book 3: Vish Puri

 

 

 

 

Wherein Vish Puri faces his prejudices

I found this series a few years ago but did not rush to finish it. With the help of the library, I have now read the first four of five and will wait until the fifth becomes available at the library. The writing is good. The characters are interesting and developing over time. Hall is taking his time, letting us know what we need to know when we need to know it, not rushing like some insecure speed-dater trying to tell everything in three minutes. Character development is more like peeling an onion, one layer at time, and we are now beyond the pompous middle-aged detective we met in the first case.

For a cozy mystery series, the stories have a bit of a hard edge. In this episode, the author delves a bit into the India-Pakistan situation and the discontent sown when Pakistan separated from India and became an independent country. Vish Puri must confront his own fears, prejudices and misconceptions when a case requires him to make his first trip to Pakistan. I can't say much more without spoilers--and I don't want to spoil the book for anyone.

Three and half stars for this one, I think, because of the way Hall was able to weave a history lesson into the story without being preachy or judgemental.

 

Halloween Bingo:  Genre: Mystery, Lethal Games, Cozy Mystery,  Murder Most Foul

 

< Fade to black as music swells 𝅘𝅥𝅮 "He Had It Coming"𝅘𝅥𝅮 >

The Case of the Love Commandos

 

by Tarquin Hall (read by Sam Dastor)

Book 4: Vish Puri 

Library loan

 

 

 

Necessary Roughage*

Not great literature but certainly an entertaining read, Vish Puri is good choice when I need a palate cleanser.  The characters are fun and the plots are complicated enough to keep me interested.

Solidly three stars.

 

 

 

* -- See https://peregrinationsbooksand.blogspot.com/2021/04/bookish-quote-of-day.html

The Siamese Twin Mystery

 

by Ellery Queen (read by Fred Sullivan)

An Ellery Queen mystery

Necessary roughage

The Queens, pere et fils, are returning from a vacation when a forest fire side-tracks them and traps them with a bunch of loonies -- one of whom is a murder. Well done for an Ellery Queen story. Creepy, too.

The downside, unfortunately, of this edition is the narrator. Whoever reads this book needs to have the overtones of a New Yorker, not of a TV announcer. This book is about two New Yorkers, it needs to sound New York. I blame it on the editors, not the narrator; they chose the wrong voice to begin with.

Three stars

Low Country Boil

 

by Susan M. Boyer (read by Loretta Rawlins)

First in the Lowcountry /Liz Talbot series

Necessary Roughage (see https://peregrinationsbooksand.blogspot.com/2021/04/bookish-quote-of-day.html)

I may talk about it but I won't go out on a limb to recommend it; this is one you will have to decide for yourself.

Think: if Kinsey Milhone were raised a southern belle - hard drinkin', pistol packin', sweet talkin' private eye.

This one clocks in at just about 3 stars. I don't like the MC but the setting was delightful. The writing is tolerable, not distracting.