Watch out Alexander McCall Smith! Here comes the first novel by the highly acclaimed writer Tarquin Hall in an entrancing new mystery series set in India.

The portly Vish Puri is India’s most accomplished detective, at least in his own estimation, and is also the hero of an irresistible new mystery series set in hot, dusty Delhi. Puri’s detective skills are old-fashioned in a Sherlock Holmesian way and a little out of sync with the tempo of the modern city, but Puri is clever and his methods work.

The Case of the Missing Servant shows Puri (“Chubby” to his friends) and his wonderfully nicknamed employees (among them, Handbrake, Flush, and Handcream) hired for two investigations. The first is into the background of a man surprisingly willing to wed a woman her father considers unmarriageable, and the second is into the disappearance six months earlier of a servant to a prominent Punjabi lawyer, a young woman known only as Mary.

The Most Private Investigator novels offer a delicious combination of ingenious stories, brilliant writing, sharp wit, and a vivid, unsentimental picture of contemporary India. And from the first to the last page run an affectionate humour and intelligent insights into both the subtleties of Indian culture and the mysteries of human behaviour.


From the Hardcover edition.

 Back to top | e-mail or print this page

"Great fun — a seething slice of the sub-continent."
— The Times

"A clever and witty little story."
— Globe and Mail

"The narrative tension brought to the tracking of the rogue is exquisitely riveting, climaxing in a movingly sorrowful scene. . . . [Tarquin's] readers will not regret one vicarious moment spent with the author on this trip."
— Booklist

"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


From the Hardcover edition.

 Back to top | e-mail or print this page

"What an interesting story. It kept my attention throughout the entire book. I had a hard time putting it down. I wanted to finish it, but I didn't really want it to end. It was full of wit, wisdom and had a great plot."
—Gertrude R, Ontario

"I enjoyed this funny mystery. The dialogue was engaging and there were some wonderful descriptive phrases."
— Margaret N, Ontario

"This was one of the most pleasant reads that I have had in a long time. Not only did this book hold my attention, it was humorous and entertaining. What a total delight. I recommend it to everyone that enjoys a light hearted mystery."
— Vernon D, Manitoba


From the Hardcover edition.

 Back to top | e-mail or print this page

Visit Tarquin Hall's website.

 Back to top | e-mail or print this page

Tarquin Hall is a British writer and journalist who has reported extensively on S.E. Asia and the Middle East for the British press. He is also the author of the highly acclaimed non-fiction books Salaam Brick Lane and To the Elephant Graveyard. The Vish Puri series is his first venture into fiction. He lives in London, England.


From the Hardcover edition.

 Back to top | e-mail or print this page