The Case of the Elusive Bombay Duck, Tarquin Hall
The Case of the Elusive Bombay Duck, Tarquin Hall
List: $19.95 | Sale: $13.97
Club: $9.97

The Case of the Elusive Bombay Duck

Author: Tarquin Hall

Series: Vish Puri Mysteries #6

Narrator: Vikas Adam

Unabridged: 7 hr 57 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 03/04/2025


Synopsis

Portly, perceptive, and spectacularly moustachioed, India’s finest private detective, Vish Puri, tackles his most difficult case to date, in Tarquin Hall’s delightfully humorous whodunit series set in New Delhi.“Vish Puri is the Indian Poirot.” —Financial Times (London)“Vish Puri [is] a Punjabi Sherlock Holmes.” —The Guardian (London)For Vish Puri, India’s most private detective, the news that he has won the long-coveted International Detective of the Year award, to be presented in a glitzy ceremony in London, makes this the best day of his life.But to his deep dismay, a senior bureaucrat from the Ministry of Finance gives him a secret mission he can’t refuse: to track down India’s most-wanted fugitive. Dr. Bhatt’s medicines caused the deaths of hundreds, and the billionaire fraudster—code named the Bombay Duck—fled for the United Kingdom before he could be arrested.Puri is only spending a week in London. He has never set foot in the UK before. And most important of all, he has already promised his wife that he won’t do any work while they’re away.There’s only one solution: lie, lie, lie.Puri dives headfirst into the case, in between visiting all the tourist sites, aided and abetted by his formidable, meddling Mummy-ji, whom Puri definitely did not invite to join them. But can Puri hook the Bombay Duck and bring him to justice before the fugitive’s many enemies get to him first?Packed with the sights, sounds, and flavors of both New Delhi and London, this is an irresistible listen for fans of Alexander McCall Smith, Harini Nagendra, and Jesse Sutanto from an author who divides his time between India and the United Kingdom.

About Tarquin Hall

Tarquin Hall is the author of numerous books, including the Vish Puri mysteries, set in India. The first in the series, The Case of the Missing Servant, was named by the New York Times as a Notable Crime Book and given starred reviews by Kirkus Reviews, Library Journal, and Booklist. The second book in the series, The Case of the Man Who Died Laughing, won an AudioFile Earphones Award and was named a best mystery book of the year by the Seattle Times.

About Vikas Adam

Vikas Adam is a classically trained actor with numerous credits in stage, film, commercials, and television, in addition to his hundreds of recorded audiobooks. In 2025 he was named a Golden Voice, AudioFile magazine’s lifetime achievement honor for audiobook narrators. His narrations have garnered numerous other awards and nominations, including more than twenty-five AudioFile Earphones Awards, various Best of the Year lists, and the prestigious Audie Award. He was an inaugural inductee into the Audible Narrator Hall of Fame.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Ivonne on December 24, 2024

Author Tarquin Hall had not released a Vish Puri novel in five years, so I had given up hope. How thrilled I am to discover the release of No. 6 in the series featuring the rotund, self-admiring head of Most Private Investigators in New Delhi. In The Case of the Elusive Bombay Duck, Puri’s ego is fu......more

Goodreads review by Kate on January 09, 2025

3.5 This is the first of Tarquin Hall's Vish Puri series that I've read (leaving me way behind everyone else I assume). The story follows Puri as he heads to London, ostensibly to pick up a prestigious award but, as appears to be normal, taking on the case of Harilal Bhatt, a dodgy businessman who ha......more


Quotes

“Vikas Adam steps to the mic for a gloriously convincing sixth book. He seamlessly embodies the beloved characters, proving utterly convincing…Adam effortlessly adjusts between ages, genders, (diverse) accents, countries, and even continents, reprising and bestowing personalities throughout.” Booklist (starred audio review)

“Watching Puri navigate this secret mission in the face of [his wife’s] fierce desire to visit every tourist trap in the UK makes this outing a joy…The trip turns into the adventure of a lifetime, and solving the mystery is only part of the fun.” Kirkus Reviews

“Vikas Adam brings Puri and his family alive with aplomb, successfully creating believable characters, including the women. He particularly excels at delivering dialogue ranging from Puri’s rich Indian intonation to Jags’s London teen speak. He also highlights the humor peppered throughout the mystery.” AudioFile

“Hall adeptly enriches the story’s humor with real stakes for his nuanced characters.” Publishers Weekly


Awards

  • Booklist Editors’ Choice