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3.59 AVERAGE
3.59 AVERAGE
I expected to like this a lot more based on the description. I found the names hard to follow in the beginning and I was surprised by the descriptions of Indian society, particularly the role of women. The main character was definitely easy to like and root for but I do not think I will continue the series.
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I think this book might have suffered a little from the reading slump I've been in, but it ended up just being ok for me. I liked reading a mystery set in another country and Mumbai as the backdrop of this story was really interesting. But, I also got really annoyed with how dumb so many of Inspector Chopra's decision were. He's supposed to be this incredibly experience police officer, essentially forced into retirement, but yet he doesn't ever seem to communicate with anyone so if anything had happened to him no one would have ever known. For how long he and his wife have been married they don't really seem to communicate well at all. No one in this book really talks to anyone else.
Ganesh was a bright spot in the story, but there's still a lot about the little elephant that really never gets explained. Still I enjoyed him as a part of the story.
The mystery here was simple and really wasn't all that difficult to figure out. But Chopra's determined effort made him a sympathetic character. I wanted him to figure it all out.
Ganesh was a bright spot in the story, but there's still a lot about the little elephant that really never gets explained. Still I enjoyed him as a part of the story.
The mystery here was simple and really wasn't all that difficult to figure out. But Chopra's determined effort made him a sympathetic character. I wanted him to figure it all out.
Very enjoyable. Not a cosy mystery but little gore or suspense.
I have always loved mysteries, especially solved by novice detectives (Sherlock Holmes, Nancy Drew). They are honestly my guilty pleasure except I don’t feel guilty. Such a light and charming read, will definitely continue with the series!
I enjoyed this story—I almost always enjoy a mystery—but the edition I read had bad editing and awkward phrasing throughout. The story would really benefit from another editing pass to fix obvious errors, and some general tightening of the prose.
Not gonna lie I enjoyed the idea of an elephant helping to solve crimes and gobble up chocolate. Looking forward to reading the rest of the series.
It started off a bit slow, but it developed into an interesting mystery and I enjoyed it. An elephant who assists in solving mysteries is an interesting premise!
*3.75 stars*
(For the record; when I grumble about India, I speak with the exasperated affection of a person who was born and raised in the country.)
Okay look, I appreciate the accuracy of a lot of the lines about the sheer weirdness that is India, I really do. But I have to stress that even here, it's really bloody hard to walk in the streets with a baby elephant and not be stared at. They don't exactly grow on trees and they are too adorable to not draw attention. I mean, granted- they are probably not the most significant thing you see that day, but it's definitely something you notice. You're not likely to remember the face of the guy who was with the elephant but you would notice it if he was tailing you.
Which, really, sums up my issue with Vaseem Khan's debut. It's an excellent novel about quirky characters (POPPY my love!), shitty Indian politics, the sheer chaos that is Mumbai and the weirdness of the Indian psyche. It's a pretty decent novel about villain motivations and methods, as well as the care and feeding of baby elephants. It's also a very questionably constructed novel about both investigating a mystery and vaguely hinted reincarnation theory.
Synopsis: Inspector Chopra, a police officer in his forties, is retiring early from the police because of health issues. His date of retirement coincides with his uncle sending him a baby elephant to take care of, as well as him encountering a woman at the police station demanding justice for her son, who she claims was brutally murdered. A policeman to the bone, Chopra deals with his retirement by having an existential crisis and investigating the alleged murder on his own. In the process he starts to uncover what seems to be a villainous plot on a much larger scale than what he anticipated...
Chopra is a pretty likable character- he fits the "Honor is Everything" mold, a lone knight of justice fighting for the poor and the downtrodden in a city of so many millions that lives are valued at a pittance, and I am unreasonably fond of that archetype (I blame Sam Vimes of the Discworld books). He functions as both the protagonist and the relatable everyman, a sane anchor people can latch on to while the author delights in showing us the sheer weirdness that is India. I could perfectly imagine most of the situations mentioned in the book (the unexpected monsoon floods which leave the roads with feet-deep waters oh my god- I HAVE BEEN THERE) and easily fit even the quirkiest of characters into archetypes. It was very different from most of my primarily Western-Hemisphere based reading choices, and that was a welcome change.
With Chopra as the anchor, the stage is set to introduce characters who exemplify various levels of eccentricity. The eyepatch wearing mother-in-law with the mean streak, the dragon lady building super, the cheerfully matter-of-fact vet, the drama queen wife (I will not lie; I am very fond of Poppy and all her theatrics, and I am constantly charmed by how well she and Chopra fit together.) and of course, the depressed baby elephant. I would also argue that the city of Mumbai is yet another quirky as hell character. All of them form little points of interest around Chopra, swirling near him in multicolored hues till I can't look away.
The investigation, however, a lot less spectacular than the setting and characters. It's a fairly straightforward story and is really more of a thriller than a mystery- there are no clues which tease the reader and allow them to draw their own conclusions; instead there are multiple attack sequences, multiple confrontations with antagonists and twists of events rather than facts, if it makes sense. The investigation parts of the thriller/mystery were a lot less interesting that the fight ones, sadly. Particularly since Chopra tails a villain in (a) a Bullet, a motorbike with a very distinctive and easily recognizable sound and (b) with, and I reiterate, a baby elephant in tow; and does not get caught for an unbelievably long period of time. I mean, I can suspend my disbelief about uncles possibly reincarnating as elephants, but this? Too unrealistic.
Verdict: An uneven book, but one that was interesting nevertheless. I would like to see more of the characters
(For the record; when I grumble about India, I speak with the exasperated affection of a person who was born and raised in the country.)
Okay look, I appreciate the accuracy of a lot of the lines about the sheer weirdness that is India, I really do. But I have to stress that even here, it's really bloody hard to walk in the streets with a baby elephant and not be stared at. They don't exactly grow on trees and they are too adorable to not draw attention. I mean, granted- they are probably not the most significant thing you see that day, but it's definitely something you notice. You're not likely to remember the face of the guy who was with the elephant but you would notice it if he was tailing you.
Which, really, sums up my issue with Vaseem Khan's debut. It's an excellent novel about quirky characters (POPPY my love!), shitty Indian politics, the sheer chaos that is Mumbai and the weirdness of the Indian psyche. It's a pretty decent novel about villain motivations and methods, as well as the care and feeding of baby elephants. It's also a very questionably constructed novel about both investigating a mystery and vaguely hinted reincarnation theory.
Synopsis: Inspector Chopra, a police officer in his forties, is retiring early from the police because of health issues. His date of retirement coincides with his uncle sending him a baby elephant to take care of, as well as him encountering a woman at the police station demanding justice for her son, who she claims was brutally murdered. A policeman to the bone, Chopra deals with his retirement by having an existential crisis and investigating the alleged murder on his own. In the process he starts to uncover what seems to be a villainous plot on a much larger scale than what he anticipated...
Chopra is a pretty likable character- he fits the "Honor is Everything" mold, a lone knight of justice fighting for the poor and the downtrodden in a city of so many millions that lives are valued at a pittance, and I am unreasonably fond of that archetype (I blame Sam Vimes of the Discworld books). He functions as both the protagonist and the relatable everyman, a sane anchor people can latch on to while the author delights in showing us the sheer weirdness that is India. I could perfectly imagine most of the situations mentioned in the book (the unexpected monsoon floods which leave the roads with feet-deep waters oh my god- I HAVE BEEN THERE) and easily fit even the quirkiest of characters into archetypes. It was very different from most of my primarily Western-Hemisphere based reading choices, and that was a welcome change.
With Chopra as the anchor, the stage is set to introduce characters who exemplify various levels of eccentricity. The eyepatch wearing mother-in-law with the mean streak, the dragon lady building super, the cheerfully matter-of-fact vet, the drama queen wife (I will not lie; I am very fond of Poppy and all her theatrics, and I am constantly charmed by how well she and Chopra fit together.) and of course, the depressed baby elephant. I would also argue that the city of Mumbai is yet another quirky as hell character. All of them form little points of interest around Chopra, swirling near him in multicolored hues till I can't look away.
The investigation, however, a lot less spectacular than the setting and characters. It's a fairly straightforward story and is really more of a thriller than a mystery- there are no clues which tease the reader and allow them to draw their own conclusions; instead there are multiple attack sequences, multiple confrontations with antagonists and twists of events rather than facts, if it makes sense. The investigation parts of the thriller/mystery were a lot less interesting that the fight ones, sadly. Particularly since Chopra tails a villain in (a) a Bullet, a motorbike with a very distinctive and easily recognizable sound and (b) with, and I reiterate, a baby elephant in tow; and does not get caught for an unbelievably long period of time. I mean, I can suspend my disbelief about uncles possibly reincarnating as elephants, but this? Too unrealistic.
Verdict: An uneven book, but one that was interesting nevertheless. I would like to see more of the characters
A whimsical mystery that takes place in Mumbai and has the delightful element of a baby elephant.