carireadsbooksandtarot 's review for:

The Unexpected Inheritance of Inspector Chopra by Vaseem Khan

3.0

adventurous funny mysterious medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

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In the first book of the Baby Ganesh Detective Agency series, Inspector Ashwin Chopra inherits an elephant on the same day he retires from the Mumbai police force. On his last day, he also learns of the possible murder of a poor young man, a case that the police don't intend to investigate. Despite his retirement, Chopra cannot allow the man's death to go unresolved. He decides to investigate it himself, which leads him into the seedy underbelly of Mumbai. 

This was recommended to me based on my enjoyment of Harini Nagendra's The Bangalore Detectives Club. This is indeed another cozy mystery series that places the readers right in the streets of India. It is wonderfully atmospheric. However, I didn't enjoy the characters in this one as much. Mostly, it is Chopra and his wife's relationship that bothers me. He spends the book running towards danger, telling his wife nothing, and not noticing her growing distress. She makes a plan to deceive him in a HUGE way. There's resolution in the end but its torturous in the meantime. 

Of course the baby elephant, Ganesh, is a delight as expected, and this little elephant shows that he is extra special by coming to Chopra's rescue when he's in a very bad spot. Its a good set up for a series but I wasn't gripped by the mystery and I didn't feel much sympathy or affection for Chopra as our lead character. I'm not sure yet whether I'll continue with the series