I wasn't sure what to expect with this book, The Case of the Deadly Butter Chicken but I quite liked it. I received the book unsolicited but was intrigued by the idea of a book series about a private eye in India and so agreed to interview the author about his book and career.
Tarquin Hall, a British author and journalist, has crafted an engaging, fascinating novel, easily mixing a plot involving cut mustaches and corruption in cricket games with cultural information and slang. There is even a helpful glossary in the back of the book along with recipes for Indian dishes mentioned in the novel.
If you enjoy being educated and entertained at the same time--and who doesn't?--than be sure to check out this novel.
Author Alexander McCall Smith summed it up well with this quote on the front book cover: "These books are little gems. They are beautifully written, amusing and intensely readable."
Hall, who lives in Delhi, has a blog as does his protagonist, Vish Puri. Hall's past books include The Case of the Missing Servant, The Case of the Man Who Died Laughing and Salaam Brick, a memoir about a year spent living above a Bangladeshi sweatshop in London's notorious East End.
Where did the storyline for this particular book come from?
I thought it would be interesting to have a plot with a Pakistani killed on Indian soil. And I thought it would be especially interesting if the motivation for the murder was rooted in the events surrounding the partition of India in 1947. There was a lot of inter-communal and inter-religious violence when Pakistan was created, something like a million people died. So the murder was always going to be about revenge. At any rate, those were the bare bones of the plot. But when I started writing it became immediately obvious that for the whole thing to work, Puri was going to have to travel to Pakistan. And of course he hates the place. Pakistan’s his number one enemy, the country from where his mother’s family came and numerous relatives died.
Can you summarize what this book is about for those who haven't read it?
I guess the description above probably makes the book sound pretty dark. And there’s some serious stuff in there. The back story is tragic–no two ways about it. But I don’t write terrifying thrillers set in deepest, darkest Bombay. What goes on in the minds of, say, serial killers just doesn’t interest me. The idea is that you get to learn about India as well as reading a good mystery. And there’s a healthy dose of humour as well. You have Puri’s Mummy off on her own, secretly investigating the murder of the Pakistani. Typically, she’s convinced she’s the only one who can solve the case. Plus Puri is chasing a thief whose been breaking into the houses of men with long moustaches and shaving them off.
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