Book Review: A Chest’s Tale (The Mystery Crackers Book 1) by Jinal Shailesh Doshi

Mystery thrillers are more fun to read when they are short and action-packed. One such riveting novella is ‘A Chest’s Tale’ by Jinal Shailesh Doshi. It is the first book in the series of ‘The Mystery Crackers’. In fact for the better understanding of other novels that followed in the series, this one is a must-read, it will make up for the backdrop automatically.

As the story opens up, we see a host of characters, who gradually get into the story and become critical at one point of time. The novella is placed against the beautiful backdrop of a small town called Jhiljila – this town has everything that fulfills a city’s requirement, such as bazaar, police, military, museums, etc.

Anyway, back to the story, the town recently was affected by the heavy flood. Prash and Nish are twin brothers. Their father, Mr. Viraj Dattani, is a scientist. Their friend Hriday’s father Yogesh Parikh is an antique merchant. In short, Mr. Parikh stumbles upon a chest that looked extraordinary and seemed locked since ages. Being an antique merchant, he keeps that with him and thought that it will be full of jewels, if not cash.

Mr. Parikh brings that chest to Viraj Dattani to get it opened. However, things didn’t turn out as per expectations. Next, the chest is gone, and Prash and Nish’s father is kidnapped. Even the police inspector Gulkand seems useless. Here onwards, the story gains momentum. Also, in the story mentioned one puzzle through a kind of prose. Understanding that puzzle will help the boys to some extent, but can they crack all puzzles.

Rest of the narrative is about the boys finding their father, and in that the mystery of that chest is also solved accidentally. It is not a treasure hunt story, but a different one. Since it is a kind of children’s literature book, the author has kept everything lucid. Despite simple language, the suspense is maintained till the last line.

It is a clean and interesting read for young children and many who like to enjoy light thrillers. The next book in the series is, Tattooed Music (The Mystery Crackers Book 2). Since the novel is short in length, it wouldn’t be fair to give too much. Jinal, as an author, has a good flair for writing thrillers. If she writes more books, the chances of becoming bestsellers are healthy.

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