Vish Puri is India’s “Most Private” private investigator. With a team of delightfully nicknamed employees (the driver goes by “Handbrake;” the firm’s female agent is known as “Facecream”), a network of contacts in high (and low) places, and even a few sleek new modern technologies, the plump, middle-aged gentleman is Delhi’s master of respectability, confidentiality, and discretion. But despite being the proud recipient of the Super Sleuth Award from the World Federation of Detectives for solving the Case of the Missing Polo Elephant in 1999, most of Vish Puri’s clients are mamas and papas wanting their prospective sons-and-daughters-in-law investigated. So when a lawyer comes to Puri with a tale of a missing housemaid, false accusations, and bureaucratic corruption, the dapper detective jumps at the chance to get back to some real sleuthing. But Puri faces several complications, including a baffling request from a famous war hero, a doctor’s orders to diet (and a wife eager to comply), and an overly-inquisitive mother (“Mummy-ji”) who refuses to accept that elderly ladies are simply not cut out to be detectives. Despite the challenges, it will never be said that Vish Puri, Indian’s acclaimed “Most Private Investigator,” failed to solve the case. British author Tarquin Hall has made Delhi his second home, and he does credit to modern India’s fabulously chaotic atmosphere. Lively, clever, and with a charming cast of unforgettable characters, The Case of the Missing Servant (and its 2010 sequel, The Case of the Man Who Died Laughing) is a new mystery series well worth keeping an eye on.

posted Sep 14, 2010 at 9:17AM

If you like Alexander Mccall Smith’s The No 1 Ladies Detective Agency series you will love Tarquin Hall. This is not just a detective novel, it looking glass into the North Indian society. It deals with social issues, from class, caste, arranged marriages, to the corrupt law order system. Some readers might find the book difficult at first as there are a lot of Indian words that are used in the text, make sure to check out the glossary provided at the back.

posted Sep 29, 2010 at 11:52AM

In the finest traditions of the consulting detective, It is my honor and pleasure to introduce Vish Puri.

posted Sep 3, 2011 at 4:38PM

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