Friday, August 24, 2012

Book Beginnings on Fridays - The Case of the Deadly Butter Chicken


Stripped down to his undergarments and tweed Sandown cap, Vish Puri stepped onto his wife's old set of bathroom weighing scales. He watched with apprehension as the needle jerked violently to the right and settled on 200 pounds.
"By God," the detective muttered to himself. "Two extra pounds are there. She is going to kill me - certainly if not totally."
He tried lifting one foot off the pressure pad and shifted his weight to see if it made a difference. It didn't.
"Well, nothing for it," he said with a sigh, stepping back onto the floor.
Puri checked that the bedroom door was locked, picked up the scales and turned them over. He removed the bottom panel, exposing the crude mechanism inside. Then he squeezed the pressure pad between his knees. When the needle reached 196, he jammed a wooden peg into one of the cogs.
The scales could now register only one weight: 196 pounds.

The Case of the Deadly Butter Chicken by Tarquin Hall

You may read more Book Beginnings at Rose City Reader.

30 comments:

  1. Ha! Great way to handle the weight....

    Thanks for sharing; here's MY FRIDAY MEMES POST

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  2. Hmmmm! Good idea. I'm off to "fix" our scales.

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    1. I thought it a very funny start! Have you read this series? I love it.

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  3. So that's what I need to do with the scales!! LOL!! Great beginnings!!

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  4. Well yeah, she’s going to kill him when SHE steps on the scale and it shoots to 196. Great beginning. Happy Friday, Nan.

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  5. The title makes sense after reading the first sentence. Of course the butter chicken is deadly because it is fattening and loaded with cholesterol. The fact that there's a detective throws an interesting twist in the mix, however.

    Here's my Book Beginning.

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    1. The Vish Puri series is a lot of fun. Great characters, and lots of info about living in India.

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  6. It's funny that he's less concerned about his weight gain than the way his wife will react. I love his solution to the problem. Sounds like a resourceful man.
    My Book Beginning is from Memories.

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    1. He loves his food! Especially the fried ones sold by street vendors. The Vish Puri series is really great.

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  7. I can't wait to get to this mystery. It sounds like another humorous one.

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    1. There are two before this one - and I actually wrote about them here.

      The Case of the Missing Servant: http://lettersfromahillfarm.blogspot.com/2009/11/case-of-missing-servant-by-tarquin-hall.html

      The Case of the Man Who Died Laughing: http://lettersfromahillfarm.blogspot.com/2010/09/case-of-man-who-died-laughing-by.html

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  8. Really like this beginning! I haven't read this series yet but it sounds interesting.

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    1. I really love these books. Witty, and lots of mentions of food.

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  9. I love useful things you find in books. Looking for a small wooden peg now...
    Hope you have a wonderful weekend, dear Nan!

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  10. This beginning makes me want to investigate this series. Not to mention that butter chicken is one of my favorite Indian dishes. Yum!

    Thanks for including your post in BBOF!

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    1. It's a wonderful series, really. And the recipe is at the end of the book!
      I'll join in as often as I can. It's a fun thing to do on Fridays! Thanks for offering it.

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  11. I have all in this series, and have been enjoying them....Also his non-fiction book about living in Brick Lane, in London is fascinating.

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    1. Aren't they just so much fun! I want to read the Brick Lane one.

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  12. I haven't come across Vish Puri, but he sounds like fun.

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    1. If you look above just a bit to my comment to Harvee, I gave the links to my book reports on the first two in the series. Pure pleasure these books. I think you'll like them.

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  13. What a brilliant idea. I need to try that. It's a great excerpt.
    Ann

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  14. Tarquin Hall is one of those author names I've got on hold in the back of my mind somewhere. I really have been meaning to read something by him for ages, Nan. My only excuse is that there are just so many books on my TBR list that I am always running running running and never catching up. Right now I'm in the middle of THE MOONSTONE, plus a Ngaio Marsh book, plus a very funny non-fiction animal book by Bob Tarte. It's a quandary. :)

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    1. This series is so much fun. The characters and setting are wonderful and then throw in a little mystery and all that food- they are perfect books!

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