The Case of the Missing Servant

By Tarquin Hall (Random House, RRP $37.99)

A delightful cross between Agatha Christie and the Kumars.

This is the story of how Vish Puri, India's most private investigator, always gets his man or, in this case, a girl, known only as Mary, who has disappeared among India's population of more than 1 billion and who holds the key to this modern Punjabi whodunnit.

Puri's bread-and-butter work is screening prospective marriage partners in a culture where couples rarely marry for love, but all his modern techniques must now be combined with detection principles established in India more than 2000 years ago, to save his friend, an honest public litigator, from standing trial for murder.

Fast-paced, clever and witty, this thriller will have you sitting on the edge of your tasselled cushion, takeaway butter chicken forgotten, popodom crumbs scattered on the Persian rug beneath you.

Even if you don't like your curries hot, you'll love this spicy feast of top Anglo-Indian crime writing. So jaldi karo, beta, and be putting the kettle on for a nice cup of chai, this book is badiya! Namaste.

- © Fairfax NZ News