Book Review: The Unexpected Inheritance of Inspector Chopra

Book: The Unexpected Inheritance of Inspector Chopra (Baby Ganesh Agency Investigation book #1) by Vaseem Khan

Source: Borrowed from Publisher/NetGalley for an honest review

Publication: Available now

Description:

On the day he retires, Inspector Ashwin Chopra inherits two unexpected mysteries.

The first is the case of a drowned boy, whose suspicious death no one seems to want solved. And the second is a baby elephant.

As his search for clues takes him across the teeming city of Mumbai, from its grand high rises to its sprawling slums and deep into its murky underworld, Chopra begins to suspect that there may be a great deal more to both his last case and his new ward than he thought.

And he soon learns that when the going gets tough, a determined elephant may be exactly what an honest man needs...


Rating: 5 stars

Review:

You ever finish reading a book and immediately wish the sequel was available. That's how I felt after reading this. Initially, I thought this was going to be one of those slow moving and quiet cozy mysteries but this was a fast-paced exciting story.

This very intriguing and well-written mystery follows Police Inspector Ashwin Chopra, an upstanding and honorable man, who was forced into early retirement due to his health. On his last day of service, Inspector Chopra couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't right about the accidental drowning of a young man, especially when higher ups were very insistent that this was an open and shut case.

Nagging doubts aside, Chopra was now retired and hoped that his predecessor will follow up on the case. However, that wasn't the only thing that concerned him because he was also now in care of a baby elephant named Ganesha. And he had no idea what to do with it or how to take care of it.

Something about the young man's death wasn't sitting well with Chopra so he decided to pursue the case. While Chopra was out trying to find clues to the murder, his wife Poppy was trying to fill a void that she perceived was missing from their life. And due to Chopra's secretive behavior (he hadn't told her he was out investigating) she was starting to wonder if perhaps he had met someone else.

As the story moved along, Chopra was starting to get better acquainted with little Ganesha and he was starting to see how wonderful the little elephant was.

Chopra's unofficial investigation had him tangling with some of Mumbai's underworld and uncovering a very seedy side of his beloved city that had bigger connections that he could have never even imagined.

As a main character, Ashwin Chopra is very likeable and interesting. I like that retired or not he just couldn't sit back and let an injustice stand. I also like how Poppy had an interesting subplot to the story. This mystery has a good mix of drama and suspense coupled with many lighthearted scenes. Despite some of the cozy and humorous moments, I wouldn't categorize this as a cozy mystery, it has a hard hitting sometimes gritty feel to it.

I'm so glad I read this because I enjoyed reading every page of this and now I can't wait for the second book.