The Case of the Reincarnated Client: From the Files of Vish Puri, India’s Most Private Investigator

In Hall’s lively, amusing fifth mystery featuring Delhi PI Vish Puri (after 2013’s The Case of the Love Commandos), Puri’s mother (aka Mummy) insists that he investigate the case of Riya Kaur, who disappeared during the 1984 anti-Sikh riots. Mummy says she has a witness to what happened: the reincarnated Riya Kaur herself. Puri reluctantly agrees, though he’s preoccupied with a money-laundering scheme and the threat of a ruinous lawsuit from Ram Bhatt, a dissatisfied client who holds Puri responsible for not uncovering Bhatt’s new son-in-law’s thunderous snoring during the pre-wedding investigation. It’s little wonder that the cases enter Puri’s dreams, leaving him oblique yet ultimately helpful messages. As he says, “not every solution in crime fighting involved proof and reason and logic. Sometimes... the unexplained—the miraculous—did indeed play a part.” Hall creates delightful characters and provides illuminating glimpses of contemporary Indian life. Readers will hope they won’t have to wait another seven years for Puri’s next outing. Agent: Emma Parry, Janklow & Nesbit Assoc. (Feb.)