The Perplexing Theft of the Jewel in the Crown by Vaseem Khan, Book Review.

Once in a while you are lucky enough to come across a book so charming you immediately fall for it - a book with a cast of colourful characters so well drawn that you are immersed into the plot from the first page. How better to escape your every-day pressures, than a trip to Mumbai, India where you participate in the hunt for the famous Koh-i-Noor diamond, stolen in a brazen heist?

‘The most honest man in India’ is a hard label to live up to, but Inspector Ashwin Chopra (Retd) more than deserves it. Forced to take early retirement due to complex political machinations in the police force, Chopra sets up a private detective agency. When the Queen permits an exhibition of a selection of the British Crown Jewels with the famous Koh-i-Noor diamond as its centrepiece all of Mumbai is buzzing. Some Nationalists use this exhibition to advocate the return of the famous diamond to India, its country of origin. So who is to blame when the famous diamond is stolen? In a change from his usual small cases, Chopra gets involved in the hunt for the diamond and the thieves.

Chopra not only has to deal with this perplexing case though, his extended family makes demands on his already busy life. He is either aided - or hindered - by Team Chopra: a little elephant, a street urchin, a bitchy mother-in-law, an unfairly disgraced former colleague and a lively wife. How can Chopra succeed when the might of the entire police force fails to find the perpetrator and recover the diamond?

The author Vaseem Khan works at University College London in the Department of Security and Crime Science. However, he previously lived in Mumbai for ten years and his love for the city comes alive on every page. The Perplexing Theft of the Jewel in the Crown, the second in the Inspector Chopra Series, was first published by Hodder & Stoughton on May 5^th. Price £12.99, Ebook at £12.99 and Digital Download £19.99.

Indiana Brown