The Unexpected Inheritance of Mr Chopra by Vaseem Khan has been on my TBR pile for some time. I can’t believe it’s taken me this long to get round to it.
Can you ever imagine being left an elephant in a relative’s will? This is what happens to Inspector Chopra, when, at the same time he is due to retire from the police force, he is delivered the surprising news that his uncle has left him a baby elephant. But according to his uncle, the elephant is special, although Chopra certainly doesn’t see this right away. Chopra is at a loss to understand how he can care for an elephant while living in an apartment. But this new addition to Chopra’s family isn’t the only problems he is facing.
Chopra is struggling to come to terms with the fact that he will no longer be a serving police officer, much to the dismay of his wife, Poppy, who is hoping they may now finally be able to spend more time together. As Chopra is due to step down, the body of a young boy is discovered. Chopra’s peers quickly rule the death as suicide, but Chopra isn’t convinced that suicide is the answer here. He is amazed at how willing his colleagues are to forget the case, as though the boy means nothing to them, which makes Chopra even more determined to get to the bottom of what happened to him, even though he is no longer a police officer.
Vaseem Khan has written a really entertaining story with a good dose of humour, even though this is a story that explores some tough themes. I loved how Vaseem explored Indian culture, which I found fascinating. The characters really come to life and I thought this was particularly the case with Poppy. You can see just how frustrated she is as Chopra, as he still focuses all his time and energy on solving a case that he has no need to. But this is what I really liked about Chopra. He is determined to stand up for those whose voices, otherwise, wouldn’t be heard, and he is determined to fight for them. But as Chopra delves into the case of the murdered boy, it takes him down some very dark avenues and it also brings him into contact with his nemesis, who he hoped never to see again.
Vaseem Khan’s writing is so addictive and I flew through this book. I will definitely be catching up on the rest of the books in this series as soon as I can. I highly recommend this book.
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There are 5 books in this series.
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From the Publisher
The first book in the hugely popular Baby Ganesh Agency series
On the day he retires, Inspector Ashwin Chopra discovers that he has inherited an elephant: an unlikely gift that could not be more inconvenient. For Chopra has one last case to solve...
About the author
Beautifully Written
This book piqued my fascination as I was browsing a tiny book shop in the Yorkshire Dales. The protagonist, Inspector Chopra, is set to be retired and inherits a baby elephant around the same time. It is beautifully written and describes the Indian towns in rich detail which brings about the colourful images in your mind. The story in general is quite slow and the main storyline isn’t even about the baby elephant, Ganesha, but it is a heart-warming easy read with a last line that will take your breath away. I recommend this book. It picks out some issues based around poverty in India which is educational as well as a base for an interesting story. There is a sequel to this, which I will probably look into buying (when I’m out of my book ban!). 4/5 from me. In the twilight zone of Dharavi, where even auto-rickshaws could not enter; where houses were constructed from anything available to hand – corrugated tin, plywood, pukkah bricks, asbestos and cardboard sheets – where a billion cockroaches played tag with a million rats; where black smoke from the potters kilns created an artificial cloudbank overhead; where hundreds of thousands of shopkeepers, street vendors, ragpickers, tinkers, tailors, black marketeers and miniature moguls operated beyond the reach of the municipal authorities; where the sound of hammering from the metalworker’s smithies was a constant background noise…the human spirit still flourished.’
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- Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 22 August 2023
- Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 11 October 2017
Top reviews from other countries
- 🐭 Miki101.MichaReviewed in Italy on 9 November 2018
Very nice and interesting first part in a new crime book...
... series about Inspector Chopra (retired) and his strange inheritance in form of a baby elephant. Which is named - after the Elephant God Ganesh - Baby Ganesh. Because he is still a baby but not a normal elephant.🐭 Miki101.MichaVery nice and interesting first part in a new crime book...
Reviewed in Italy on 9 November 2018
Mumbai - the Gate to India - is a very densely populated metropolis, and a very violent one, too. Murders happen every hour of the day. And when some are committed in a way to appear as a suicide, the more than willing - and often heavily bent and always underpaid - Officers of the Mumbai Police Department close the case. Our hero Inspector Chopra is on his last day of service. Retirement because of a heart damage at less than 50 years - that does not go to well with this special and absolutely loyal Inspector. Who sees his hand-picked squad fall into the hands of a disloyal and inebriated successor. So he takes the case of a young man - who has apparently drowned himself in 15 centimeters of muddy slum water - very seriously. But other surprises are awaiting. In his case a very dead man is very well alive and that for 9 years. And his Uncle sends him and elephant, a small nice beautiful - and deeply depressed and in what seems a hunger strike. Poppy, Chopra's loyal wife for 24 years, is more and more confused. And thinks very bad thoughts about the nocturnal absences of her husband...
Everything will come out fine. And that without the often grotesquely exaggerated violence I happen to find much to often in the crime books of today. And I personally think that often less is more - in a crime story too. And it was a relatively fast read, the curiosity overcame the will to sleep. So I finished it with very much pleasure in something like 5 hours. This book can easily be given to a teenager too, because there are no sexual contents or open violence in it.
I will follow this series, having read now the 4th book "Murder at the Grand Raj Palace", which is at a special price of 99 Eurocent. But it is always better to read the books in their order of release. I have right now bought all the other books and will review them, too.
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