The Secret Keeper of Jaipur

 I'm getting the hang of alternating reading and listening to a book which was perfect for Alka Joshi's The Secret Keeper of Jaipur. I loved listening to her earlier novel, The Henna Artist, so wanted that pleasure. But knew I didn't have the time to finish listening to this one within the library loan time. It's an old enough book that I was able to get both the e-book and the audiobook out of the library at the same time. I'm glad I did it this way, too. The Henna Artist was one of the best audiobooks I listened to and I would have been disappointed if I couldn't listen to The Secret Keeper of Jaipur. I didn't love the readers of this second in the series so was happy to be have heard enough to know I was okay with "just" reading the e-book.

Both those books are part of a trilogy. The third book is The Perfumist of Paris which has been added to be "to be read" list. I'll probably try to listen to that one, too. We are introduced to all the characters in The Henna Artist. Lakshmi and Malik from the first novel are the main characters of this second installment. It's 12 years later. Lakshmi is more established in Shimla, married to Dr. Jay. At 20-years old, Malik has finished private school and is ready to find his place in the world. He's started a relationship with a young widow, a tribal woman from the Himalayan mountains, and her 2 very young children, but Lakshmi, his guardian, thinks it's time for him to return to Jaipur and to learn the construction business. Off he goes. We learn about the multiple secrets that are being closely guarded.

The project that Malik works on, a big huge fancy movie theater, suffers a partial collapse on opening day. What could have caused this? And how is the tragedy related to what is going on back in Shimla? What's the connection?

Joshi does an excellent job of reminding you of the relationships between the characters in The Henna Artist in a way that's weaved into the storytelling. The only characters you need to have a better sense of - which would have come from reading the first book - were the maharanis. Knowing those characters from before made their actions in this novel make perfect sense.

I've heard The Perfumist of Paris, which tells the story of Radha, Lakshmi's younger sister, is the perfect wrap up to the series and I look forward to reading that one.