Dru’s Short Musing:
Convinced that her friend’s death was murder, Neeti starts investigating for the person responsible.
This was a nicely executed whodunit with crisp writing and a comfortable tone making it easy to follow the path the author has staged. This multi-plot storyline had elements I look for in a mystery: a despised victim, a slew of potential suspects who have motive with one having a strong reason to want the victim dead, a few plot twists that filled the story with intrigue and suspense and clues steeped throughout the telling of this tale. With visually descriptive narrative, engaging dialogue and interspersing India culture in the mix created an authentic atmosphere that made this drama come alive. The pacing was on par with how well this story was being told and it was fun watching it all play out, especially when the killer’s identity and motive were revealed. Overall, an enjoyable read.
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Release: July 21, 2026
Format: Print, Digital, Audio
Purchase Link
Book Synopsis:
Suspects abound when a much-despised neighbor is killed, perfect for fans of Only Murders in the Building and Richard Osman’s The Thursday Murder Club.
Retired librarian Neeti Shah was hoping for a restful life with her chai-loving friends, but when the body of a neighbor, a childhood friend of Neeti’s, turns up dead and the killer’s MO is similar to that of Neeti’s most recent book club read, things start to get out of control.
When Neeti hears a commotion at a neighbor’s house, she finds Rohit’s body sprawled across the bottom of the staircase with Agatha Christie’s Dumb Witness nearby. Blackmailing his neighbors, threatening them with lawsuits, and calling them by nasty nicknames were only some of the hateful things that made him so disliked. But were they angry enough to kill?
Neeti is indebted to her old friend, and she’s determined to find his killer. But she can’t do it alone, so she enlists her mystery-loving friends, the Masala Chai Mystery Club, to get to the bottom of the murder.
But Neeti and her club members need to be careful. As more bodies turn up and more suspects start to appear, they’ll need to find the killer before they end up in hot water!
FTC Full Disclosure – I received a digital ARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley.