Vish Puri, India's Most Private Investigator, returns to solve The Case of the Man Who Died Laughing. In this second mystery by Tarquin Hall, Vish Puri, or "Chubby" as his wife calls him, is a private investigator who has a large family and a large appetite for fried and spicy food. The cases he takes on are often the result of the conflict between India's traditions and the new modern Indian generation. Puri's new case is just such an example of this conflict, and as well as his own belief of the mystical versus rational.

Dr. Suresh Jha, the famous Guru Buster, while in a fit of giggles, appears to have been murdered by Kali, the four armed goddess of destruction. Having occurred in a very public place with many witnesses it quickly becomes a public battle between superstition and rationality. Inspector Jagat Prakash Singh of the Delhi police is the man in charge of the investigation and as with many of the more difficult and sophisticated cases has called on the help of Vish Puri. With the help of his team of operatives—Handbrake, Tubelight, Facecream, and Flush -- Puri will use all of his resources to prove that the murder is most certainly not a supernatural occurrence.

Tarquin Hall takes us on a mystery to the slums of Shadipur, occupied almost entirely by street entertainers, to the holy city of Haridwar on the Ganges. As with Hall's first Puri book, The Case of the Missing Servant, we are submerged in the intricacies of India's culture and society. Blend that with the wonderfully descriptive tastes, smell, and heat of India you feel as if you are right there in the thick of it with Vish Puri "India's Most Private Investigator." ~Mara