After having had one collection of brisk and lively and completely, almost irresponsibly, unrealistic thriller adventures when on holiday in London (https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4444385180), Sindhu and Jeet get to have three more here. First up it’s the incredibly poorly named Mr Lingam reading out a will on behalf of a deceased neighbour of theirs – until her only living relative contests its validity. The middle drama can easily be solved by people older than the target audience, meaning the bulk of what they get is the well-intentioned moral tacked on as a reason for it all happening. It’s fine otherwise. We close with a bride-to-be realising a prized heirloom jewel is missing on the morning of her wedding.

Once again the dramas are purely for the very young and reluctant readers, once again they have a mildest tang of spice but even if we learn where they’re set (Chennai, India) they feel a lot more universal than you might fear, and once again the achievement is in the breathless aspect of the way the clever (but not clever-clever) kids sort out what needs sorting out. So once again then four stars are accurate reflections on how the entertainment here is provided, even if I did end up thinking some vocab like “intimidated” and “pretext” was a bit too high a level.

Sindhu and Jeet are friends with an unusual hobby - they are detectives and solve mysteries. This book has three stories where their expertise is called upon: solving which will is the most recent, finding a missing actor and locating a precious ring at a wedding.
Chitra Soundar writes so well. These stories appear simple, but are jam packed with luscious vocabulary, brilliant descriptions as well as explaining various customs and family arrangements (I loved the Aunty diagram!)
These stories would be perfect for confident Year Two or Three children to read independently. I would also use them as a class read to spark lots of interesting discussions including comparisons between Indian and UK customs, mental health and being able to say no to people.
I’m very glad to have had an opportunity via NetGalley to read this book pre publication, but I will definitely be buying a copy for my Year 3 classroom.