Stars: 5 out of 5
Pros: Strong characters, fun and complicated mystery
Cons: I didn’t hunt up any serious cons
The Bottom Line:
Jaya’s next treasure
Has family connection
Book’s fast paced and fun
Jaya’s Second Treasure Hunt Hits Very Close to Home
I’ve been making a point over the last couple of months to
go back to series I have started but not continued. When I was looking at the list, I realized
that I somehow let two years go by since reading the first book in Gigi
Pandian’s Jaya Jones Treasure Hunt series.
I had to fix that, and I’m glad I finally read Pirate Vishnu.
As this book opens, it’s only been a few days since Jaya, a
history professor specializing in the history of India, has returned from the
trip that was her first adventure. The resulting
news articles have made her a bit of a celebrity, although she is expecting her
15 minutes of fame to die down soon.
What she doesn’t expect is for a man to walk into her office
with another treasure map and a wild tale about a treasure hidden in Jaya’s San
Francisco by her great-granduncle. Even
though Jaya never met the man, who died in the 1906 San Francisco earthquake,
she has heard many stories about him from her mother, who learned about him
from her own grandfather. But none of
those stories involve a treasure. What
is the truth of her family’s past? A
dead body only makes Jaya more determined to find out what is going on.
Time and time again, I talk about enjoying breaks from the
traditional murder mystery formula, and this book is a perfect example. Yes, there is a murder, and who did it and
why plays a significant part in the plot.
Yet the treasure and the sudden mystery from Jaya’s own past takes up
just as much if not more page time.
The result is a fast-paced story that kept me engaged and
the pages turning. The further I got
into the book, the more hooked I was as we got several surprising and fun
twists. I will say one twists stretched
believability for me, but it was a minor point, and everything made logical
sense by the time we reached the climax.
The book is filled with fully realized characters, which
help pull us into Jaya’s world. Her love
life takes some unexpected turns this time around, and I’m very curious to see
how things are going to shake out as the series progresses. The suspects are very strong, and the series
regulars are lots of fun.
Anyone looking for adventure will be glad they picked up Pirate Vishnu. Time spent with these characters is fun as
they navigate another great adventure. I
need to make sure I visit Jaya again soon.
Here are the rest of Jaya’s adventures in order.
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