Review of "The Secret Keeper of Jaipur: The Henna Artist # 2" by Alka Joshi

This is the sequel to The Henna Artist and revisits the characters from that novel. It's not necessary to have read The Henna Artist to enjoy this story, but I'd strongly recommend it.

*****

It's 1969 and Lakshmi Shastri and her now 20-year-old apprentice Malik, both of whom left Jaipur 12 years ago......





......are happily settled in Shimla, in the foothills of the Himalayas.



Lakshmi is married to Dr. Jay Kumar, who works at the Lady Bradley Hospital and directs the Community Clinic.....



......while Lakshmi runs the adjacent Lady Bradley Healing Garden, where she grows plants used to make natural medications.





Lakshmi and her helper Malik make the acquaintance of a young illiterate widow named Nimmi, a mother of two who gathers flowers from the Himalayan foothills and sells them on the side of the road.



Malik is attracted to Nimmi, which doesn't sit well with Lakshmi, who wants Malik to have a successful career and to (eventually) wed a well-educated woman.

For this and other reasons Lakshmi sends Malik back to Jaipur, to learn the construction trade. Malik becomes the apprentice to Lakshmi's friend Manu Agarwal, who oversees building projects for Jaipur's royal family.





The royals have commissioned the construction of a movie theatre called the Royal Jewel Cinema, and Ravi Singh (the rich teenage bad boy from The Henna Artist), who's now a Yale-educated architect, is in charge of the project.



The grand opening of the cinema is a HUGE big deal, attended by film stars and high society.



Tragically, a balcony collapses during the film's intermission, killing two people and injuring many others (not a spoiler). Malik's mentor Manu Agarwal is blamed for the disaster, but Malik is sure Ravi Singh used inferior building materials and skimmed the profits. Malik makes it his mission to prove this, but it's very hard to go up against the rich and powerful.

Meanwhile, back in Shimla, Lakshmi uncovers a gold-smuggling operation run by savage bandits. The smugglers conceal the gold in the fleece of sheep, which are guided to their destination by shepherds.



If a shepherd doesn't deliver the goods, the smugglers kill the shepherd's family. This threatens people Lakshmi knows, so Lakshmi takes it upon herself to fix things, which is a dangerous thing to do.

As the story unfolds, Lakshmi and/or Malik touch base with various characters from The Henna Artist. These include Ravi Singh's (now) wife Sheila - who disdained Malik when he was a barefoot child, but doesn't recognize him now; Ravi Singh's father Samir - who gave Lakshmi her big break as a henna artist and businesswoman; Lakshmi's sister Radha, who married a Frenchman and lives in Paris; Radha's biological son Nikhil, who she had at the age of 14 and (reluctantly) gave up for adoption; Maharani Latika - who was pulled out of a depression by Lakshmi's herbs and ministrations; the dowager Maharani Indira - who has terminal cancer; and more.

During the course of the story I learned a bit about Indian culture and food, and I enjoyed broadening my horizons. I wish I could have tasted snacks like chili peanuts, pani puri, and potato samosas;


Chili Peanuts


Pani Puri


Potato Samosas

and tried dishes like chicken tikka masala, lauki ki sabji, palak paneer, and palak gobi sabzi.


Chicken Tikka Masala


Lauki Ki Sabji


Palak Paneer


Palak Gobi Sabzi

For me, this book isn't quite as good as The Henna Artist, in large part because the plot isn't as engaging. In addition, there are long chapters about accounting practices in the building trade, which I found dull, and there are scenes where Sheila 'teases' Malik with her sexy body, which made me squirm (and want to push him out the door).

Nevertheless, I found the story interesting and look forward to the next novel in the trilogy.

Rating: 3.5 stars

Review of "Bones Behind the Wheel: A Haunted Guesthouse Mystery" by E.J. Copperman

In this 10th book in the 'Haunted Guesthouse' series, innkeeper/amateur sleuth Alison Kerby gets drawn into a buried car murder mystery. The book can be read as a standalone.



*****

Alison Kirby - mother of 13-year-old Melissa and newly married to paint store owner Josh - runs a small guesthouse on the New Jersey Shore.



After a bonk on the head Alison is able to see ghosts.....



.....and regularly hobnobs with the spirits in her house, especially former private detective Paul Harrison and erstwhile interior designer Maxie Malone.



Alison takes advantage of her resident specters by advertising her inn as a haunted house, and this attracts ghost-loving guests all year round. The ghosts oblige by putting on shows twice a day, and the guests marvel at objects flying around, their scarves being pulled, etc.



As the story opens, Alison is very annoyed. Repairs of the Jersey shoreline are ongoing after Superstorm Sandy, and backhoes are digging up the beach.



This makes it impossible for Alison's guests to enjoy a leisurely stroll on the sand. Things get even worse when a huge hole excavated behind Alison's guesthouse reveals the presence of a long-buried 1977 Lincoln Continental with a skeleton inside. The unfortunate bag of bones turns out to be a murder victim who disappeared 40 years ago.



The detective ghost Paul Harrison is THRILLED to have a new case to investigate, and - as usual - he tries to inveigle Alison into assisting with his inquiries.



Alison just wants to run her guesthouse but is nevertheless drawn into the search for the killer, as is her husband Josh, her daughter Melissa, and the other resident ghost Maxie Malone....who's the computer expert of the group.



Meanwhile, the aforementioned Maxie - at her own insistence - is also drawing up sketches to re-design the inn's kitchen, which is being renovated by Alison's contractor friend Tony due to bullet damage (from a previous case).



This results in a clash of wills, since Maxie wants the kitchen to look like a piece of modern art and Alison wants the room to be useable as a kitchen. (All this is very funny.)



The murder case is soon complicated by the theft and return of the Lincoln Continental as well as the discovery of a valuable gem, bullets, and a gun in Alison's torn-up kitchen. These incidents spur Alison to get very involved in the murder inquiry which seriously annoys police detective Anita McElone, who wants Alison to BUTT OUT of her case.



As all this going on Alison makes jokes and wisecracks a mile a minute, providing the reader with plenty of laughs.



The case turns out to be convoluted, but I enjoyed the story up until the (almost incomprehensible) denouement. Still, the book is enjoyable light reading.

Rating: 3 stars

Review of "Game of Mirrors: An Inspector Montalbano Mystery" by Andrea Camilleri

 

I like the Inspector Montalbano TV series, based on the detective novels by Andrea Camilleri, and I enjoyed this story, which has the same great characters.

In this 18th novel in the series, Montalbano and his team investigate a bombing in Sicily. The story works fine as a standalone.



*****

A bombing in Inspector Salvo Montalbano's town of Vigàta in Sicily puzzles the top cop and his detectives. The explosion did little damage, and the location of the bomb - between a warehouse and a residential building - makes the target unclear.



Montalbano and his investigators look into the owner of the warehouse as well as the people living in the apartment building, to determine a likely mark.



In any case, the Mafia seems to be implicated in the attack, as it's at the bottom of many major crimes in the region.

As Montalbano is probing the case he 'coincidentally' meets his gorgeous married neighbor, Liliana Lombardo, who's having car trouble.



Liliana's husband, who represents a computer company, is away on business, and Montalbano's 'white knight' instincts prompt him to offer assistance. So Montalbano drives Liliana to her job as manager of a clothing store and puts her in touch with a mechanic.

To express her gratitude, Liliana invites Montalbano to dinner at her house. Liliana then inveigles Montalbano into accompanying her to various stores around town.....where she acts like they're a couple. Montalbano is aware Liliana has an agenda, but he's still drawn into her web - despite the fact he has a long distance girlfriend named Livia.



Before long Montalbano gets a little too cozy with Liliana, and his indiscretion - with embarrassing photos -threatens to get him on the front page of the local newspaper, whose editor lives to smear the Inspector's name.

In the meantime, Montalbano's team does its part to investigate the bombings and do other police work. The squad includes:

Mimi Augello - Montalbano's second in command. Mimi is a seducer who could teach Casanova a few tricks. Mimi uses his wiles to get friendly with a saleswoman in Liliana's clothing store, to get information about the temptress and a co-worker she's having an affair with.



Giuseppe Fazio - a detective who specializes in data mining, acquiring useful contacts, and getting information. Fazio likes nothing better than reciting names, addresses, occupations, etc. of persons of interest.



Agente Catarella - the front desk man at the police station. Catarella is overly excitable, clumsy, and can never get a name straight. Catarella is endearing, funny, and a favorite character in the series.



As the story unfolds, the plot gets very complicated: rumors spread, shots are fired, people disappear, informers provide information, bodies are found, and Montalbano's own life is endangered before he solves the case.



Through it all, Montalbano enjoys meals at his favorite restaurant as well as food prepared by his housekeeper Adelina....which he eats on his veranda overlooking the beach.



I'm very envious of Montalbano's beautiful house in picturesque Sicily.


Sicily

In any case, we're treated to tempting descriptions of food like antipasto, arancini, pasta with squid, pasta with salmon, beef with hot sauce, and more.


Antipasto


Arancini (rice balls)


Pasta with squid


Pasta with salmon


Beef with hot sauce

In my view, the story is overly complex, but still enjoyable. I'd recommend the book to readers who enjoy detective novels in exotic settings, especially fans of Montalbano. I also want to give a shout out to the TV series, which is very well done.

Rating: 3 stars