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The Strange Disappearance of a Bollywood Star

the warm and witty cosy crime series from the acclaimed author of the Malabar House books

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The Strange Disappearance of a Bollywood Star

By: Vaseem Khan
Narrated by: Madhav Sharma
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The enchanting new Baby Ganesh Agency novel sees Inspector Chopra and his elephant sidekick investigating the dark side of Bollywood.

Mumbai thrives on extravagant spectacles and larger-than-life characters.

But even in the city of dreams, there is no guarantee of a happy ending.

Rising star and incorrigible playboy Vikram Verma has disappeared, leaving his latest film in jeopardy. Hired by Verma's formidable mother to find him, Inspector Chopra and his sidekick, baby elephant Ganesha, embark on a journey deep into the world's most flamboyant movie industry.

As they uncover feuding stars, failed investments and death threats, it seems that many people have a motive for wanting Verma out of the picture.

And yet, as Chopra has long suspected, in Bollywood the truth is often stranger than fiction...

(P)2017 Hodder & Stoughton Limited Asia Cosy Crime Fiction International Mystery & Crime Mystery Fiction Crime Suspense Elephant
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Critic reviews

Delightful
There have been many insipid imitators of the Alexander McCall Smith formula, grafting a cosy mystery into a depiction of a foreign culture dripping with local colour, but Khan has the quirkiness and hint of grit to make his portrayal of modern Mumbai memorable
Praise for THE UNEXPECTED INHERITANCE OF INSPECTOR CHOPRA
Keeps things heart-warming while tackling corruption at the highest levels and violent crime at the lowest. Endearing and gripping, it sets up Inspector Chopra - and the elephant - for a long series.
A sparkling debut with a zippy plot and an endearing set of characters
Enchanting
Chopra, diligent, incorruptible and not entirely at ease with shiny new India, is a delight, as is his redoubtable wife, Poppy - and Ganesha the elephant, once he has cheered up a bit, proves a very useful ally indeed. Utterly charming
A cast of intriguing characters that it will be a joy to see develop. But the greatest strength is the setting in the teeming city of Mumbai, from which the colour and atmosphere flows out of every page in this enjoyable, whimsical tale
A quirky murder mystery... full of colourful characters and insightful details about human motivation
This mystery works on every expected level and on a couple of unique ones...A great warmth and wisdom infuse this and the other Baby Ganesh books.
All stars
Most relevant
When the world around you is stressful and chaotic listen to this and bring some calm into your life.

Another relaxing listen to a great story with an excellent reader

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I don't agree with everyone's criticism of the reader - I think he performed and read it well.
The story was OK. The characters were a little confusing to keep track of at times and there appeared to be two plots that didn't seem to contribute to each other at all, even as a useful contrast. Still enjoyable to listen to though and an interesting commentary on
eunuchs, gender politics and general life in India as a reader/listener from a 'Western' perspective. I really like the characters of Chopra and his wife Poppy and their elephant and will continue to listen to the series to follow their stories.

Well read, a little confusing at times but 👍

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I so loved the first two books in this series. The narrator, Sartaj Garewal, brought everything to life. Having been to India I could totally imagine the world that was being described. But oh, grief, this narrator, Madhav Sharma, makes hard work of what is a great story. Several times I was going to give up listening because it was so tiring. Such a shame because the books are well written and real page turners!

Bring back the original narrator please!!

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I loved the first 2 books especially the narration. No disrespect to this narrator but the voices were so superb on the first books that this a massive disappointment. Storyline fantastic but it really dragged on the way it was read. Hope they swap back or I'll give future books a miss

Shame they've swapped narrators

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Lovely story- this is equal if not better than the first two books in the series. The narrator is an odd choice- he frequently pauses in the middle of sentences and this makes him hard to follow sometimes (not great for an audiobook.) I found myself having to re-listen to sections at times to fully catch when was going on. This is a shame as the narrator for the first two books was amazing. This narrator does sound like a lovely man and I like the voices he does, but it’s just too stilted and slow for my liking.

Lovely story, didn’t enjoy narrator

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