The Secret Keeper of Jaipur is the follow up book to The Henna Artist. I greatly enjoyed The Henna Artist and was looking forward to continuing their stories. This book is mostly about Malik and Lakshmi.
Once again the author totally transported me to India. Her description of setting is wonderful. While The Henna Artist’s plot revolved around personal intrigue and gossip, this story has gold smuggling, embezzling and a little more action centered plot along with the continuing battle with the Singh-Sharma clan. Malik is sent to Jaipur to learn the business trade and to separate him from a girlfriend that Lakshmi deems inappropriate. While Malik seeks to discover why a building collapses, Lakshmi and his girlfriend start to bond and have to deal with gold smuggling. Lakshmi and Malik find their problems intersecting and they need the help of their old friend the elder Maharani to solve the puzzle. Well devised plot and fast pace with great characters made this a very enjoyable read.The book was filled with old and new characters. The backstory was explained so this book could be read on its own- but then you’d miss out on The Henna Artist !