Mister Vish Puri, proud owner of Most Private Investigators Ltd, doesn't like to take vacations (he might miss out on the action), but reluctantly agrees to go with his family to visit relatives and go on a pilgrimage. Just as their train is ready to leave the station, Puri lets his family know that he truly has been called back to work for a real emergency and struggles past a fat man whose girth is his twin to get off the train to respond to this new situation.

Later and despite his wife's claims that they had found his wallet under the table on the train and so, he must have dropped it, Puri knows in all his being that it had been stolen by someone very skilled at pickpocketing wallets. After all, Puri as he tells everyone, is India's Most Private Investigator, the best in India and he would know. But, if anyone found out he had been hoodwinked by a common pickpocket, he would be most ashamed. His Mummy-ji knows her son well and when Vish claims it was stolen, she is determined to find the culprit and bring him to justice.

Meanwhile, back in Delhi, Facecream, one of his best assistants desperately needs his help. She had been helping Tulsi, a high caste university student, to escape from her father's control so she could marry Ram, her Dalit boyfriend. Laxmi (aka Facecream) is a volunteer member of the Love Commandos, a group whose purpose is to help true love find its course despite the caste system in India. They had carefully planned an escape for the star-crossed lovers, but things had gone very badly.

Ram's caste is the lowest of the low, an Untouchable, and the Love Commandos really had wanted to help them succeed, especially as Tulsi's father is none other than Vishnu Mishra, a Thakur or hereditary landlord who had already vowed to lock Tulsi up in their home and to kill Ram, "the loverboy dog", if he got his hands on him. Would Puri help her to find Ram?

Being in his mid-fifties and on the old-fashioned side, Puri had an arranged marriage, like 99% of most marriages in India, and isn't too keen on what the Love Commandos are doing, but with his strong belief in justice, he agrees to help. Realizing the only way they can find out of Ram is dead or alive or to get any information, Facecream needs to infiltrates Gorind, the small village where Ram's family lives. It could be very dangerous as powerful people's interests are involved. Can she do it without her identity being uncovered? Would the villagers help her or turn her in?

THE CASE OF THE LOVE COMMANDOS is the fourth book in Tarquin Hall's "From the Files of Vish Puri, India's Most Private Investigator" series and it truly is a wonderful and delightful gem of a story. As this book is my first experience with the series, I can fully attest to the fact that it reads exceptionally well as a stand-alone book and now I can't wait to read the earlier books in the series. I am sure fans who have already read Hall's previous books will find this a very welcome addition! Highlights and backcasting to the previous "files" are mentioned in THE CASE OF THE LOVE COMMANDOS, primarily to give a better sense to Puri's character as well as that of his arch rival, Hari Kumar, a more polished and modern detective who is comfortable with technology, but with fewer scruples than Puri.

Despite being a bit on the pompous side, Puri is a very likable and wonderful character and detective and I can hardly wait to read more about him. Even in the midst of a case, nothing compares to Puri's delight in his food and his mouth watering descriptions of his favourite culinary dishes. Readers will definitely relish and enjoy the breakfast meeting between Puri and Kumar, his favourite nemesis.

I am also very impressed with the balancing that Tarquin Hall does in the storyline and plot development between the wonderful humour and the discussion of some very serious challenges in Indian society, such as the pervasive and lingering effects of the caste system, illiteracy, corruption, and the questionable ethics of biological testing on rural populations. Hall gives a bit of comic relief with the names and descriptions of his characters as well as highlighting interesting juxtapositions and paradoxes as he authentically captures depictions of everyday life in modern day India. For example: "It had been a quiet month -- as quiet as it ever got in a nation of 1.2 billion people." With lines like this and the liberal sprinkling of Hindu words and English as spoken India- style, Hall definitely and authentically captures the wonderful sounds, sights and spirit of this tremendous and complex country. If this doesn't whet your appetite for this wonderful story, Hall has also included the recipes for some of Puri's favourite dishes and a glossary at the end of the book. A great treat you will not want to miss! So, grab a cup of chai and enjoy!

Book Summary

When Ram and Tulsi fall in love, the young woman’s parents are dead set against the union. She’s from a high-caste family, but her boyfriend is an Untouchable, from the lowest strata of Indian society. Young Tulsi's father locks her up and promises to hunt down and kill the “loverboy dog.” Fortunately, India’s Love Commandos, a real-life group of volunteers dedicated to helping mixed-caste couples, come to the rescue. They successfully free Tulsi, but Ram has gone missing.

The task of finding him falls to India’s “Most Private Investigator.” Unfortunately, Vish Puri is not having a good month. He’s already failed to recover the millions stolen from the First National Bank of Punjab, his wallet’s been stolen, and worst of all, his arch rival, investigator Hari Kumar, is also trying to locate Ram. To solve the case and reunite the star-crossed lovers, Puri and his team of misfit assistants must infiltrate Ram’s village and navigate the caste politics shaped by millennial-old prejudices.