This one was even better then book 1 in the series, Jaya is a kickass heroine. In book 1 she kicked a guy with her high heeled shoe and punctured his leg, in this book she finds out she's related to a Barbary Pirate. Good mystery but I'd figured out the murderer Grace just by the elimination.

I love the way that the author used real history and her own family's personal legend to craft this book. ( )

Jaya Jones, a college history professor has a reputation of making great discoveries and she is still trying to live it down. An older man, shows up at her office to ask for her help. He had a treasure map and wants her help. He leaves the map with her to see what she can find out. It appears the treasure was hidden by an ancestor of Jaya's. The map is of San Francisco and is in Tamil, so Jaya needs to find some help solving the map. It is shortly after this meeting, that the man who owned the map, Steven Healy, is found dead and Jaya's messenger bag, containing the map, her laptop and phone, are stolen by a mugger. Can Jaya find the treasure? Can she stay alive long enough to learn what is going on? Will trip to India will help her solve the riddle?

I am enjoying the Jaya Jones Treasure Hunt series. The murder is part of the mystery, but finding the treasure is just as much, if not more of the story. I love seeing how she goes about putting together the clues with the help of her friends, Sanjay, Nadia and Lane. The twists get bigger the further into the book we get. There are some points where you have to suspend reality, but overall, the happenings are believable. The characters are strong, even the secondary ones. I wonder what is going to happen between Jaya and Sanjay, it seems his feelings for her are more than just friends. I like the way the book was written with alternating chapters between the present and Jaya's search and the past, where Jaya's Great-Uncle Anand is telling his story. I also enjoyed learning some of the history surrounding the San Francisco Earthquake and some information about Indian independence. This was a fast paced story with a spunky and smart protagonist who can't resist a puzzle and treasure hunt. I am looking forward to reading the rest of this series. ( )

Jaya is back at home hiding from reporters who want to talk to her about treasure hunting. She's working on her paper and fretting over Lane's distance. Then Steven Healy comes into her office with a treasure map. She tries to turn him away until he tells her that the map was drawn by her greatuncle Anand, a family legend. He leaves the map with her and tells her they can talk the next day. Only they can't, because that night he was murdered. The next day Jaya is mugged and the map is stolen. Needless to say this makes Jaya even more determined to figure things out.

The book starts with a chapter about Greatuncle Anand, himself, dying at the age of fifteen. But he revived and decided, then and there, to explore all the world had to offer. His travels and skills as a shipbuilder take him through India (and the fledgling Indian independence movement), to Europe, and finally to the United States where sometime before his death he drew the treasure map, and we following along with him as his adventure is interspersed with Jaya's.

Once again, I had very little idea about the mystery. There was one big clue I picked up on but it wasn't long before Jaya caught up to me. As for most of the rest, including the mystery of who killed Steven Healy and why, I had no idea. I liked Sanjay playing a bigger part in this book--same for landlady Nadia--and I enjoyed meeting more of the people who populate Jaya's world.

I can't wait for Pandian to write more in this series.

(Provided by publisher) ( )

I received a review copy of this title from NetGalley. Thank you to NetGalley and Henery Press!

Are you a grad student wanting to unwind from hours devoted to serious academic research? If so, this light and entertaining mystery is tailor-made for you.

Jaya Jones is an associate professor of history, hoping to gain tenure at a San Francisco college. But she gets distracted from work on her latest paper when a stranger arrives, asking her for help researching a century-old treasure map. The document may have been drawn up by her great-granduncle Anand, a character whose revolutionary politics and emigration to America during the Gold Rush have become a family legend.

What historian could resist an offer like that? It's fascinating to find out more about family history, and possibly make a significant historical discovery along the way! But Jaya soon realizes she may have gotten in over her head, when a body is found by the police, and suspicion begins to fall on Jaya herself...

There are a few infodump-y parts where the writing feels a little inexperienced - but overall, the story moves along at a good pace, and I found the characters engaging and entertaining. Jaya's Indian-American heritage (which I believe the author shares) adds flavor to the story in an organic way. As a librarian and archivist myself, Tamarind the punk librarian was simply awesome, and I also loved the depiction of the archivist in India. Especially the part where they suspect him of having sold letters from the archive, and his response is "What do you think of me? The archives must not leave the property." Of course not! You can take bribes, lie to researchers... but you maintain the integrity of the archive!

This is the second in the Jaya Jones series, but it works perfectly well as a stand-alone. ( )

(I received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.)

I've pre-ordered this book in paperback form, but after reading Artifact I was dead eager to read the next book in the series, so I quickly requested the ARC from NetGalley and Henery Press was nice enough to approve me.

The good news is that it's an entertaining, fun read full of adventuring from start to finish. I really liked it and I'm already anticipating a third Jaya Jones mystery. The not-so-good news is that it isn't as good as the first book. At least it wasn't for me. And it really could be just my personal tastes getting in the way. Allow me to elucidate.

I quite like Jaya Jones; she is absolutely a Main Character I can get behind. She's smart (PhD), she's independent, she's resourceful. In spite of her protestations to the contrary she's a little bit like another Jones - Indiana - only an historian instead of an archeologist.

Her father is American and her mother was Indian (the India Indian, not the Native American kind). Indian culture plays a very large part in the story line and Jaya’s historical research centres on the British East India Company. The author herself comes from a strong Indian-culture background, so she’s writing what she knows. But here I have to confess: I don't find Indian to be in my top 5 cultures/histories of interest. I don't find it dull or disinteresting, but I am not fascinated enough to immerse myself in it. The first book, Artifact, while about an Indian treasure, actually took place in Scotland and also involved Scottish history and fae mythology; I found all of it combined to be really fascinating. The plot for Pirate Vishnu was 100% all Indian; Jaya is researching a great grand-uncle whose reputation has just come under fire. It’s all really well written and if Indian culture/history makes your top 5 list (assuming you have a list), you’ll absolutely love it. There are scenes that take place in India that are so vivid, I felt like I should shower off the dust from the streets when I finished reading them.

My second confession: I’m not a huge fan of alternating POV/time lines. If forced to explain why, I’d have to say, after about 15 seconds of deep deliberation, that in most, the reader is taken back in time far enough that you know how it’s all going to end: someone is going to die, and the alternate POV/story-line-in-the-past is usually about how that someone dies. So I dread reading them, because I don’t want to become attached to a character whose time is neigh. I dread it even when it's written as well as it is here - especially when it’s done as well as it is in Pirate Vishnu. I liked her uncle Anand and his friends, and would have preferred not to bear witness to their story, even though it’s used extremely effectively in tandem with Jaya’s modern day search.

Last, but definitely not least - Ms. Pandian has set the stage for a possible love triangle. Now, the first two things I mentioned above are, on the whole, rather trivial. Together they really only brought my appreciation for this book down 1/2 a star. But this one is a killer. Just the possibility of a love triangle and there goes a full star. I hate them. See, in Artifact, Ms. Pandian got me thoroughly hooked on Lane; he’s cool, mysterious, handsome; he’s well educated, he’s a reformed jewel thief! He’s dangerous without being a thug. Hell, I want to date him!

But now she’s gone and threatened to bring Jaya’s best friend Sanjay onto the scene as a romantic rival. No. Please no. Sanjay makes a great best friend; he’s a magician, so he’s resourceful in his way but well, he just makes a better sidekick/partner in crime than a love interest. He does nothing for me romance wise. Sorry, I just can’t get behind it.

So, these are the things that keep me from liking Pirate Vishnu as well as I liked Artifact. If none of these things, or few of these things are points you’d take exception to, you’ll love this book. It’s excellently written, and it’s fast paced with lots of action. The murder plot itself (oh yeah! there’s a murder!) was really setup well. The suspects were many, the clues were varied and the murderer ultimately comes a bit out of left field. I know some people don’t like that, but I find it refreshing - I never saw the ending coming.

I’d recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a treasure hunt-type mystery (there's even a treasure map!) without reservation. Although I’d give fair warning about the love triangle setup. ( )