Kiss Of Salt by Smita Bhattacharya

Kiss of Salt (Darya Nandkarni’s Misadventure #1)

AUTHOR : Smita Bhattacharya

GENRE : Cozy Mystery/ Mystery

AGE CATEGORY : Adult

PAGES : 264

Blurb

It was crazy really, for Darya to think she could have some peace and quiet at Heliconia Lane. Yes, it was located in a beautiful corner of South Goa—by the beach, no less—but after her Aunt Farideh disappeared twenty years ago—from this very place—nothing has been the same again. And now her uncle was dead under bizarre circumstances as were two of the neighbours on his street.

What was happening? Was there a murderer on the loose? Why were people dying? Was it connected to her aunt’s disappearance in some way?

And most importantly, was Darya going to be next?

A cosy, atmospheric whodunnit, Kiss of Salt introduces Darya Nandkarni, an amateur, and accidental detective, who is clever, spirited, resourceful, yet troubled and vulnerable. Her adventures will make you laugh, cry, gape, and marvel, and you won’t be able to put down the book until you’ve solved the mystery along with her on the beautiful beaches of Goa.

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Review

Rating – ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I received a free copy of the book from Lola’s Book Tours and the author in exchange for an honest review.

Kiss Of Salt turned out to be a fabulous end to my reading list of 2020. A wonderful mixture of mystery, self-discovery and revelation, Kiss Of Salt was an appropriate end to my year.

The story is set in picturesque Heliconia Lane in South Goa. The lane consists of three houses Casa De Primavera, Constellation and Sea Swept. The smallest house and the last one in the lane, Sea Swept,, lived Mr, Paritosh and his wife, Farideh. The people of the colony lived like one big family and cared for each other to the extent of even covering each other’s mistakes.

However, tragedy struck when Farideh went missing years ago. Paritosh was devasted and found it too difficult to cope with the loss and gave p on life and lived only in pursuit of his wife. Despite an extensive search by the families of Heliconia Lane, she could not never be found. Years later, Uncle Paritosh is dead, and the house is in shambles due to his neglect after his wife’s’ disappearance. So Darya is sent by her father(Parithosh’s brother) to take care of the paperwork and the house for a few weeks. However, she stumbled upon a whole bundle of family history and secrets that the people of Heliconia Lane wanted to keep secret with their life.

The book is written in a lucid style which is not at all boring. It is not like most murder mysteries but has a cosy homely feel to it as we are introduced to the beautiful Heliconia Lane in South Goa.

The twist at the end really fooled me, and I definitely did not see it coming. The book kept surprising me with its many twists and turns at every page, and it was a pleasant surprise.

Overall, a great ‘whodunnit’ and I would definitely recommend it.

Author

Smita Bhattacharya is an author based in Mumbai. She has been published in prestigious international magazines such as The Ascent, Lit Up, Litro, The Fem Lit Mag, and eFiction. She is an avid traveller and has solo-travelled to over forty countries. Thus, her books have a strong element of travel in them. She loves to read, watch, and write atmospheric mystery thrillers. Her heroines are weird and wonderful, just how she likes to think she is.