The Secret Keeper of Jaipur: A novel from the bestselling author of The Henna Artist (The Jaipur Trilogy Book 2)

Quite often a sequel is a little disappointing if you really enjoyed the first in the series, but this one is maybe even better than the first book. Set partly in Simla as well as Jaipur, and having been to both places I almost felt as if I were in the story too. The plot is gripping and the individual characters are strong and believable. Highly recommended .

Having so much enjoyed the Henna Artist I hoped the sequel would be as good. It is - a good story and well drawn characters again Will be ordering the third book in this series.

A excellent book, highly recommend reading this book and the first book, The Henna Artist.Loved how the characters passions, love and challenges unfolded across the three books.

Perfect story

Wow, what a fantastic book! I really felt like I'd been transported to both the illusive city of Jaipur with its royalty and high society as well as the simple and traditional day to day life in Shimla.Alka Josh's writing evokes such brilliant imagery that I feel as though I have visited both places.I loved the descriptions of the tribal people in the himalayas as well as the illegal gold trade that took place at this time. It was fascinating!The story begins in Shimla where twenty year old Malik has formed a relationship with a widower called Nimmi. Nimmi is helping Lakshmi (who helped to raise Malik) in the hospital gardens and has two young children.As the story begins Malik has just agreed to temporarily leave his life with Nimmi in Shimla, to start an apprenticeship that Laksmi has organised for him in Jaipur. His apprenticeship is centered around a project to build a brand new royal cinema.Unfortunately the balcony of the cinema collapses on the opening night. Malik starts to suspect it was more than an accident. Events in Jaipur tie in to those in Shimla in an intricate and fascinating plot driven and narrated by these three main characters.Alka Josh creates brilliant characters with such great depth. I loved Lakshmi's determination to uncover the truth whatever the consequences, Malik's loyal and trustworthy personality and Nimmi's determination to protect her family at any cost. I read this book so quickly and found myself thinking about the characters when I wasn't reading it.I haven't read The Henna Artist and although this is a stand alone book I really wish I'd read it first so I knew what had happened to the characters beforehand. There is a very useful list of characters at the start of the book but I wish I'd read them in order!I have since ordered myself a copy of The Henna Artist and plan to read it before getting the final book when it is published next year. I'm excited to have found such a great new author. I would highly recommend this to any fans of historical fiction.

Loved this book - great read

I couldn't put this book down... much like the first book in this trilogy ("The Henna Artist"). The storyline interesting - sidebar: I liked the storyline of "The Henna Artist" better as I found it to be more unexpected. Nevertheless I found "The Secret Keeper of Jaipur" enjoyable. I especially like the cultural references, the recipe's and the glossary.

Every bit as good as the first book looking forward to reading the next one

This book is hands down one of the best books I have ever read. Wonderful content, could not put it down.

good read , loved all 3 books

Honestly, with all the hype around the first book, I was not too surprised to like it myself. But, I genuinely never expected for the second part to fare better than the first!Although I am a generous reviewer, I only give five stars to stories which tend to linger long after I'm done with them. This is definitely one of those! I'm so gonna be lost in this perfectly imperfect world created by the author - for a really, really long time, if I may!Unlike the first book - which was more descriptive of the setting, characters, environment, the art and the artists - this book is more progressive in terms of the plot and the turn of events. Also, loved to read the story from multiple POVs - which was again something different from the first book. Inevitably, I was engrossed from the get go.There were a lot (most) of things I loved about it. But, I really have a few complaints - and, not with the author, but with the characters, lol. There are so many amazing Hindi proverbial (translated in English) exchanges in the story - it's amazing. But, what was really disappointing was that this was something personal between Samir and Lakshmi. Couldn't Lakshmi just find some other game for Dr. Kumar and herself! (I know, that's not a real complaint, but I felt it, so!)Coming to Samir: idk what's it about him (or, rather the chemistry between him and Lakshmi) that I just have a smile plastered on my face when I'm reading his parts. There's something really mischievous and charming about him that keeps me wanting to read more of him (and, he's 52 - what's wrong with me, dayum!)To add to all this, both the places mentioned in the story - Rajasthan and Shimla - are really close to my heart. Rajasthan has my Alma Mater of three years, and Shimla - well, I have had the best workation there, while living the life as a local, going around The Mall Road, passing by Bishop Cotton and the amazing mountains, ha. If this was not enough to make me feel home while reading the book what could ever be?Overall, much recommended - no matter what genre fan you are, it's a world absolutely worth living!

I enjoyed the Henna Artist and was excited to know there were twofollow up novels. I couldn't put The Secret Keeper of Jaipur down andread it in a couple of days.

This book is the second in a trilogy set in India in 1969. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed the Henna Artist which is the first book in the series. This book picks up 12 years after the Henna Artist, and it includes many of the same characters. You really should read the Henna Artist before you read this book, but it is a very good story so reading it will not be a hardship. After the 12-year gap, Malik is now a young man instead of a child, and his life has center stage. These are books that sweep you away into the pages and the stories. The author has done a wonderful job creating characters that you can care about. And, then she places them in a rich complex plot inside of a well-detailed setting. In these books, India is a land of great contrasts between nomadic shepherds and an incredibly privileged and powerful upper class and between rural Himalayan mountain passes and teeming great cities. All these elements are woven into the story. I won’t retell the plot here because it is better if you learn it as intended by the author. Bottom line: Very good. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and I will be looking forward to the final book in the trilogy.