Until I read this book I had never heard of Vaseem Khan before. I picked it up because I needed a book for book club in a hurry and this was a short book so it appealed to me for that reason.

It had me interested from the beginning. I love everything about this book. The characters are well formed, the baby elephant is both helpful and mischievous (as is to be expected from a 1 year old animal). Inspector Chopra is very real, believable, and passionate about justice. The story is based in Mumbai, India and the reader is given little glimpses of the life in Mumbai both the wealthy side, and also the poorer side. Inspector Chopra has little love for the wealthy and he expresses this when necessary but it is always in context with what he is investigating. The way the author describes Mumbai and the wealthy and poor people it’s clear that he has experience of the area, which is not surprising when he was a management consultant in India in 1997. This really helps to bring an authenticity to story. The answer to the question of who stole the million dollar car was not at all what I expected.

This is a book that is written primarily for adults but it is also aimed at those who aren’t avid readers hence the short length of the story. It’s a book that can be read by young adults as well. I can’t recommend it highly enough.
( )