The Tender Coconut Tamasha

A 2022 PAGE TURNER BOOK AWARDS FINALIST

"★★★★★ Funny and fast-paced crime caper..."

"★★★★★ India's answer to Alexander McCall Smith's Mma Ramotswe."

"★★★★★ Couldn't put it down."

"★★★★★ The future of light crime fiction is Inspector Chatpati."

Inspector Hari Chatpati is under pressure.

Being the head of India's first Specialist Minor Crime Squad is tough. The streets are full of illegally dumped garbage. Public urination is rife. And there's a flasher lurking in the park.

When the Civil Nuisance Unit is ordered to investigate the case of a foreign tourist with food poisoning, it seems a distraction from proper police work. But there's more than meets the eye.

The investigation exposes a series of inexplicable deaths, all linked (inexplicably) to coconuts.

When the media gets wind, Chatpati is caught unawares. The florid headlines spark a social media storm. Demonstrations ensue, orchestrated by vested interests. The public brays for blood, preferably the Inspector's.

Bowing to pressure, the authorities suspend the Inspector and disband his Civil Nuisance Unit.

Chatpati and a small corps of loyal officers must work undercover to expose the sordid truth.

Can they restore order to chaos? And bring the perpetrators to justice?