Another adventure of the Indian detective Vish Puri, “a man as fussy as Poirot and every bit as clever” (AudioFile).

Murder is no laughing matter. Yet a prominent Indian scientist dies in a fit of giggles when a Hindu goddess appears from a mist and plunges a sword into his chest.

The only one laughing now is the main suspect, a powerful guru named Maharaj Swami, who seems to have done away with his most vocal critic.

Vish Puri, India’s Most Private Investigator, master of disguise and lover of all things fried and spicy, doesn’t believe the murder is a supernatural occurrence. But proving who really killed Dr. Suresh Jha will require all the detective’s earthly faculties. To get at the truth, he and his team of undercover operatives—Facecream, Tubelight, and Flush—travel from the slum where India’s hereditary magicians must be persuaded to reveal their secrets to the holy city of Haridwar on the Ganges.

How did the murder weapon miraculously crumble into ash? Will Maharaj Swami have the last laugh? And, perhaps more important, why is Puri’s wife, Rumpi, chasing petty criminals with his own mother when she should be at home making his lunch?

Stopping only to indulge his ample Punjabi appetite, Puri uncovers a web of spirituality, science, and sin that is unique in the annals of crime.