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3.59 AVERAGE
3.59 AVERAGE
We appear to be entering a new trend — The Guardian says a nice thing about a book (in this case "utterly charming") and I find this to be utterly not the case.
It's not that TUIoIC is not without charm, it's that it is more sweet than charming. At times unbearably so.
Not necessarily a bad thing, if overly twee books are your thing, but I was after a nice crime story.
And while there is a crime to be investigated here (a boy's body has been found and there are hints of a cover-up, just as Inspector Chopra is hanging up his hat), it's buried underneath layers of narrative that either needs trimming or hiving off into a separate book.
We have the inspector's home life, his backstory, the elephant — all of which could make an interesting tale on their own (or tail - no, you shut up).
Instead we have to wade through endless passages of the bit we don't want to find the stuff we do (I'm assuming others will have the same issue, with the crime stuff getting in the way of how Chopra met his wife and ended up living with his mother-in-law).
To be fair, for a debut novel Vaseem Khan has created engaging characters and a world you can believe in — and the streets and suburbs of Mumbai are colourfully brought to life — so the book has its plus points.
But on the downside, there are passages that are over-written (which is more of an editing issue to be fair) and you can find yourself skim-reading large chunks as you try to wade through to the next engaging passage.
Despite such negatives, however, the closing chapters are heartwarming and surprisingly moving, showing that Khan knows what he's doing and the future adventures of Insp Chopra (Rtd) are more than a little tempting.
It's not that TUIoIC is not without charm, it's that it is more sweet than charming. At times unbearably so.
Not necessarily a bad thing, if overly twee books are your thing, but I was after a nice crime story.
And while there is a crime to be investigated here (a boy's body has been found and there are hints of a cover-up, just as Inspector Chopra is hanging up his hat), it's buried underneath layers of narrative that either needs trimming or hiving off into a separate book.
We have the inspector's home life, his backstory, the elephant — all of which could make an interesting tale on their own (or tail - no, you shut up).
Instead we have to wade through endless passages of the bit we don't want to find the stuff we do (I'm assuming others will have the same issue, with the crime stuff getting in the way of how Chopra met his wife and ended up living with his mother-in-law).
To be fair, for a debut novel Vaseem Khan has created engaging characters and a world you can believe in — and the streets and suburbs of Mumbai are colourfully brought to life — so the book has its plus points.
But on the downside, there are passages that are over-written (which is more of an editing issue to be fair) and you can find yourself skim-reading large chunks as you try to wade through to the next engaging passage.
Despite such negatives, however, the closing chapters are heartwarming and surprisingly moving, showing that Khan knows what he's doing and the future adventures of Insp Chopra (Rtd) are more than a little tempting.
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I wanted Ganesh to be a bigger part of the story!! I wanted him to be a Character but it was very nice all the same.
I thought the author did a good job of evoking what life was like in Mumbai, but the mystery plot was very standard. Also, while I thought Ganesha was sweet, he was effectively the Indian equivalent of Mr Rex. The cuteness of that element jarred rather badly with the grim nature of the crime.
Ну… нет. Скучноватый детектив под яркой обложкой, которая сбивает с толку. Я думала, будет что-то с юмором и яркой атмосферой Индии, но эта книга написана в слишком умеренных тонах. В отзывах подчеркивают, что изюминка — сеттинг, но мне он показался так себе. Возможно, кого-то он и заинтересует, если об Индии вы никогда не слышали.
Сюжет примитивный, главный персонаж — усредненный собирательный образ справедливого мента на пенсии в самом безликом смысле этого слова. Возможно, в следующих книгах его хоть как-то раскроют, но в этой он особо не отличается от пейзажа на фоне.
Про слоненка были милые кусочки, но их так мало, что и оценить трудно. А конец о том, что главный герой открыл ресторан специально для ментовки… Извините… Это вызывает только смех.
Сюжет примитивный, главный персонаж — усредненный собирательный образ справедливого мента на пенсии в самом безликом смысле этого слова. Возможно, в следующих книгах его хоть как-то раскроют, но в этой он особо не отличается от пейзажа на фоне.
Про слоненка были милые кусочки, но их так мало, что и оценить трудно. А конец о том, что главный герой открыл ресторан специально для ментовки… Извините… Это вызывает только смех.
3.25 stars rounded down. Wanted to love from the premise but didn’t connect with the main character.
I like it when you get to know your characters first and then the action ensues. The book is an easy read and charmingly entertaining.
hugely disappointing. a cozy mystery set in India. i know not to expect cozy to have an edge, but it doesn't need to be flaccid either. seems to me this tried to be a knock off of The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series, but where the Ladies series is charming the Inspector is decidedly not.
It’s going to be impossible to talk about THE UNEXPECTED INHERITANCE OF INSPECTOR CHOPRA without comparing the style of writing with Alexander McCall-Smith and the central character with Poirot, but I’d also throw in Inspector Singh from Shamini Flint’s excellent Inspector Singh Investigates series. They are all written with a light touch, with affection for their location without pretending that everything’s perfect, and with a slightly eccentric, deeply committed to their own particular methodology of crime investigation (which is more cerebral than athletic) central protagonist.
Interestingly, these investigators are increasingly “of a certain age”, retirement and/or the freedom of age providing them with full rein to forge their own way, none more than Inspector Ashwin Chopra who retires from his full-time Police Position due to ill-health and promptly takes to the role of Private Investigator, starting with a case unlikely to be pursued by his colleagues that occurs on his last full day of work.
About the same time as he inherits a baby elephant. Now I will admit that for the longest time in this book I was increasingly concerned about the treatment and fate of what is obviously an unhappy and ill little elephant. Distracted to the point where I almost threw in the towel on the book at one point.
The book does centre mostly around Chopra and his efforts to discover the truth behind the drowning of a young boy initially written off as not requiring police attention. His dogged pursuit of the truth, and belief that there’s something not right about the death, and about the police force he left is characterised by his quiet determination and dogged persistence. Whilst he’s sticking with this task, his homelife is having it’s own ructions and his wife’s difficulties dealing with their ongoing childlessness, and his mother-in-law’s residence in his home create a bit of interest aside from a straight investigation story.
Nearly too late for my overall comfort, however, Chopra does get his act together with regard to that elephant and I could relax and enjoy the story for what it is. Charming, and even comical at points, THE UNEXPECTED INHERITANCE OF INSPECTOR CHOPRA turns out to be the start of a very big new adventure for Ashwin Chopra, his wife and that lovely little elephant.
http://www.austcrimefiction.org/review/review-unexpected-inheritance-inspector-chopra-vaseem-khan
Interestingly, these investigators are increasingly “of a certain age”, retirement and/or the freedom of age providing them with full rein to forge their own way, none more than Inspector Ashwin Chopra who retires from his full-time Police Position due to ill-health and promptly takes to the role of Private Investigator, starting with a case unlikely to be pursued by his colleagues that occurs on his last full day of work.
About the same time as he inherits a baby elephant. Now I will admit that for the longest time in this book I was increasingly concerned about the treatment and fate of what is obviously an unhappy and ill little elephant. Distracted to the point where I almost threw in the towel on the book at one point.
The book does centre mostly around Chopra and his efforts to discover the truth behind the drowning of a young boy initially written off as not requiring police attention. His dogged pursuit of the truth, and belief that there’s something not right about the death, and about the police force he left is characterised by his quiet determination and dogged persistence. Whilst he’s sticking with this task, his homelife is having it’s own ructions and his wife’s difficulties dealing with their ongoing childlessness, and his mother-in-law’s residence in his home create a bit of interest aside from a straight investigation story.
Nearly too late for my overall comfort, however, Chopra does get his act together with regard to that elephant and I could relax and enjoy the story for what it is. Charming, and even comical at points, THE UNEXPECTED INHERITANCE OF INSPECTOR CHOPRA turns out to be the start of a very big new adventure for Ashwin Chopra, his wife and that lovely little elephant.
http://www.austcrimefiction.org/review/review-unexpected-inheritance-inspector-chopra-vaseem-khan