A murdered museum employee. A missing pearl necklace. A family secret that has survived for generations.
When a prestigious heritage exhibition brings the legendary Pearl of Baroda into the spotlight, Mira Joshi expects a busy day for her family bookshop, Pustak & Pakwan. Instead, the exhibition becomes the centre of a murder investigation.
Ramesh Kaka, a trusted museum employee, is dead, and the history of the necklace is far more complicated than its display label suggests. Missing pearls, old photographs, concealed records and long-buried family loyalties lead Mira into a mystery stretching back to 1958.
With her sharp-witted best friend Riya, her inquisitive young assistant Kinjal and Samosa, her opinionated dog, Mira follows a trail of clues through Vadodara's neighbourhoods, historic buildings and family homes.
But every answer raises another question, and the people who know the necklace's history are not necessarily telling the truth.
Can Mira uncover what happened before another life is lost?
A Murder of Pearls is an engaging cosy mystery featuring an amateur sleuth, a much-loved bookshop, a colourful cast of characters and a puzzle woven from murder, inheritance and secrets of the past.
The first book in The Baroda Bookshop Mysteries.