TARQUIN'S BLOG

A Takeaway Story

Tarquin Hall — Thu, 03 May 2012 16:41:33 +0000

This is Peter Lim (right) owner of the Shanghai Restaurant in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh with ‘Mama’, a servant who was bought by Peter’s mother’s family and given away as part of her dowry. Peter now refers to Mama as ‘uncle’. Neither of them have ever been to China, despite being pure ethnic Chinese. Mama is unlikely to ever go as he is not entitled to Indian citizenship (despite the fact that he was born in Calcutta) and lost his Chinese papers ‘long ago.’

‘Evidence’ – A Short Story I Wrote For BRUNCH

Tarquin Hall — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 06:46:43 +0000

THE HANDWRITING WAS BARELY LEGIBLE, THE WORK of a harried, inattentive clerk. And there were four punctures in the middle of the page – wounds left by staples driven through the lip of the envelope in which the summons had been delivered…

TO READ ON CLICK THIS LINK: Evidence – A Short Story by Tarquin Hall

Indian Easter Eggs Under Tight Security

Tarquin Hall — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 09:43:19 +0000

Planning an easter egg hunt in India requires special considerations. Leave the eggs unattended and the crows and chipmunks will get them in a shot. One of my neighbours reports that the local aunties are quick to swoop, too! Last year she hid the eggs, went inside to get the kids and came out to find a couple of ladies chomping away!

FT lists ‘Died laughing’ in Recommended Summer Reads

Tarquin Hall — Mon, 04 Jul 2011 14:05:54 +0000

Christopher Fowler Writes:

‘Vish Puri, Delhi’s epicurean “Most Private Investigator”, is trying to find out how an apparition of the goddess Kali could have stabbed a man during an open-air laughter therapy session in a crowded park. Life is complicated by a family that’s a cross-section of modern Indian society. Sweet-natured and hilarious.’ FINANCIAL TIMES

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/757242e6-9ced-11e0-8678-00144feabdc0.html#axzz1R8qMUFMI

Died Laughing Paperback Now Available in US

Tarquin Hall — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 10:49:05 +0000

‘The Case of the Man Who Died Laughing’ is now available in paperback in the US. Published by Simon & Schuster.

‘Delightful…Hall splendidly evokes the colour and bustle of Delhi streets and the tang of contemporary India.” SEATTLE TIMES, A Best Crime Novel of the Year

AN AMAZON BOOK OF THE MONTH

A LIBRARY JOURNAL BEST AUDIO BOOK

‘Opening a Tarquin Hall Vish Puri mystery is like suddenly setting foot in New Delhi, India without transition. All the sights, sounds, smells assail your senses. You are not told what it is like, you are transported there and the feeling remains throughout the book through the setting, the characters and even the plot which could not happen anywhere else.” REVIEWING THE EVIDENCE

Great ‘Daily Mail’ Review

Tarquin Hall — Sat, 26 Mar 2011 03:30:41 +0000

“When a 20ft apparition of the Goddess Kali appears before a group of professionals at their therapeutic laughing club in Delhi and strikes one of their number dead, the crime, bizarre even by Indian standards, sets off a frenzy of excited speculation. The Goddess, needless to say, disappears without trace, but she leaves behind a very real, very dead, celebrated sceptic and rationalist Dr Suresh Jha, the arch enemy of all gurus and mystics. This is the second outing for the wonderfully comic ‘most private investigator’ Vish Puri, a portly local detective who realises that behind this preposterously staged event, powerful forces are at work. So brilliantly does Tarquin Hall capture the sights, smells, sounds and foibles of modern India, not to mention the nuances of English-Indian speech, that it is hard to believe he is not himself Indian. He also serves up fabulous descriptions of the Indian cuisine much favoured by Puri, a sort of Indian Poirot whose lunch will always come before his crime-solving.” DAILY MAIL

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/books/article-1369567/CRIME.html#ixzz1Hfl8obC8

Yorkshire Evening Post Review

Tarquin Hall — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 09:56:27 +0000

“The Case of the Man Who Died Laughing is a really great read. It is a whimsical look at life in India, the characters are easy to like, and it is incredibly enjoyable.” YORKSHIRE EVENING POST

“Died Laughing” Published in the UK – The Times verdict: “A Joy to Read”

Tarquin Hall — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 14:36:52 +0000

“Vish Puri…[is] a wonderfully engaging PI… [A] funny, entertaining novel… The characters – including members of Puri’s complicated family – are splendid, and it’s a joy to read.” Marcel Berlins in The Times

AVAILABLE NOW IN HARDBACK

Library Journal Best Audio Books 2010

Tarquin Hall — Fri, 31 Dec 2010 08:27:32 +0000

LIBRARY JOURNAL has selected “The Case of the Man Who Died Laughing” as one of its best audiobooks for 2010.

Hall, Tarquin. The Case of the Man Who Died Laughing. 7 CDs. library ed. unabridged. 8½ hrs. AudioGO (formerly BBCAA). 2010. ISBN 9780792764533. $79.95; Playaway digital; digital download. F
Hall follows up The Case of the Missing Servant (2009), also available from AudioGO and read by Bombay-born actor Sam Dastor, with this second novel to feature PI Vish “Chubby” Puri. Here, Puri’s friend dies in a fit of giggles during a yoga class, apparently killed by an apparition of the Hindu goddess Kali. The mystery itself is engaging, but it is the fascinating characters and setting and Hall’s rich presentation of the many complexities of modern Indian life and culture that are this series’s biggest strength. Dastor has thoroughly mastered the Indian voice and vernacular, and his wonderful narration is critical to the success of this title on audio. Essential for anyone liking mysteries in international settings. ["Hall provides appealing characters, a strong sense of place, a complex plot, and mouth-watering Indian cuisine," read the review of the S. & S. hc, LJ Xpress Reviews, 6/3/10.—Ed.]—Kristen L. Smith, Loras Coll. Lib., Dubuque, IA

The book was also voted No.5 amongst the top mysteries and thrillers for 2010 on Audible.com

Seattle Times Best Crime Novels of 2010

Tarquin Hall — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 05:37:12 +0000

“The Case of the Man Who Died Laughing” by Tarquin Hall (Simon & Schuster). The colorful streets and pungent language of Delhi jump off the page as Vish Puri, Most Private Investigator, investigates the apparently supernatural murder of a “Guru Buster” famed for exposing occult trickery. SEATTLE TIMES