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Bangalore Civil Nuisance Unit #0
The Really High Tea
Sub-Inspector Vasanth Nair is in deep. Up to his neck.
Nair should have listened to his parents. He should have stayed at home instead of joining the Kerala Police. It’s not working out.
Nair’s boss, Inspector Kurien, is lazy and corrupt. And he hates Nair. Because Nair doesn’t know how to shut up. Or keep his head down.
The yoga-loving, pure vegetarian Nair is made for action. And action is his downfall.
It begins with an outbreak of delirious dancing amongst guests attending the fabulous Saturday afternoon High Tea at a luxurious 5-star hotel.
It progresses as a mad chase across the coastal city of Cochin, from waterfront, to beach, to warehouse.
There is subterfuge, conspiracy, criminality and chaos.
All to answer the question of what made the High Tea quite so high?
This standalone novella is a prequel to 2022 Page Turner Award finalist ‘The Tender Coconut Tamasha’ by Joe Chacko.
Nair should have listened to his parents. He should have stayed at home instead of joining the Kerala Police. It’s not working out.
Nair’s boss, Inspector Kurien, is lazy and corrupt. And he hates Nair. Because Nair doesn’t know how to shut up. Or keep his head down.
The yoga-loving, pure vegetarian Nair is made for action. And action is his downfall.
It begins with an outbreak of delirious dancing amongst guests attending the fabulous Saturday afternoon High Tea at a luxurious 5-star hotel.
It progresses as a mad chase across the coastal city of Cochin, from waterfront, to beach, to warehouse.
There is subterfuge, conspiracy, criminality and chaos.
All to answer the question of what made the High Tea quite so high?
This standalone novella is a prequel to 2022 Page Turner Award finalist ‘The Tender Coconut Tamasha’ by Joe Chacko.
209 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 1, 2022
1 person is currently reading
2 people want to read
About the author
Joe Chacko
2 books7 followersJoe Chacko is a doctor turned writer.
The near-death experience of working in Intensive Care during the COVID pandemic convinced him it was time to find another career: one that was less likely to kill him.
He signed up for an online writing course and completed his first book, "The Tender Coconut Tamasha", in between Intensive Care shifts.
That book has garnered an average of 4.5/5 stars on Amazon and made the longlist of the 2022 Page Turner Awards.
In the same year, he appeared at the Bloody Scotland, Scotland’s international crime writing festival, as 'support act' to Anthony Horowitz.
He's working on the next instalment in the Bangalore Civil Nuisance Unit series.
He lives and works in Scotland.
Visit his website to find out more and to sign up to his (infrequent) newsletter: https://www.joechacko.co.uk
The near-death experience of working in Intensive Care during the COVID pandemic convinced him it was time to find another career: one that was less likely to kill him.
He signed up for an online writing course and completed his first book, "The Tender Coconut Tamasha", in between Intensive Care shifts.
That book has garnered an average of 4.5/5 stars on Amazon and made the longlist of the 2022 Page Turner Awards.
In the same year, he appeared at the Bloody Scotland, Scotland’s international crime writing festival, as 'support act' to Anthony Horowitz.
He's working on the next instalment in the Bangalore Civil Nuisance Unit series.
He lives and works in Scotland.
Visit his website to find out more and to sign up to his (infrequent) newsletter: https://www.joechacko.co.uk
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
November 29, 2022
This story is based in Cochin and it’s Nair’s story. A prequel. Crime and comedy.
It starts off with a half dressed elderly matron undulating in a posh hotel. And it gets funnier.
A mixture of crime and laugh out loud moments. Koshy the daredevil, a very curious and valuable Dr Eapen, Vishnu, the boy who serves extra strong stuff and few villainous characters all make for a light interesting read.
I’m looking forward to next instalments.
It starts off with a half dressed elderly matron undulating in a posh hotel. And it gets funnier.
A mixture of crime and laugh out loud moments. Koshy the daredevil, a very curious and valuable Dr Eapen, Vishnu, the boy who serves extra strong stuff and few villainous characters all make for a light interesting read.
I’m looking forward to next instalments.
January 5, 2023
I loved The Tender Coconut Tamasha and thought Inspector Chatpati was brilliant, so it was great to get the opportunity to read The Really High Tea and get to know Sub-Inspector Nair better. What an absolute gem of a book. The beginning is so funny that I couldn't see for laughing and the rest was just an absolute joy to read. Joe Chacko's characters really come to life, and he describes Cochin so well you almost feel you're there. Brilliant book. Can't recommend it highly enough, and can't wait for the next one.
December 23, 2022
I was eagerly awaiting Joe Chacko’s new book after reading The Tender Coconut Tamasha.
The Really High Tea came and it turned out to be a delight. A prequel to the first book and hence “Book Zero”, it is the adventure of Sub-Inspector Vasanth Nair in Cochin as he sets off on the trail of smugglers.
The book is a high adrenaline page turner infused with Chacko’s wacky sense of humour. Vasanth and Koshy are on the trail of smugglers after they find that khat has been mixed with tea. Ofcourse this results in high jinks that are perfect for Chacko on which to build his narrative. It is a high octane pursuit that draws the reader into its core.
Being from Kerala, Chacko has a familiarity not only with Cochin, which he describes intimately with its food and its flavours, but also the quirks of its citizens including the police.
This book was well worth waiting for. Can’t wait for more from Joe Chacko!
The Really High Tea came and it turned out to be a delight. A prequel to the first book and hence “Book Zero”, it is the adventure of Sub-Inspector Vasanth Nair in Cochin as he sets off on the trail of smugglers.
The book is a high adrenaline page turner infused with Chacko’s wacky sense of humour. Vasanth and Koshy are on the trail of smugglers after they find that khat has been mixed with tea. Ofcourse this results in high jinks that are perfect for Chacko on which to build his narrative. It is a high octane pursuit that draws the reader into its core.
Being from Kerala, Chacko has a familiarity not only with Cochin, which he describes intimately with its food and its flavours, but also the quirks of its citizens including the police.
This book was well worth waiting for. Can’t wait for more from Joe Chacko!
March 5, 2023
This book tells the story of sub-inspector Nair who caused a bit of a furore before coming good in the book The Tender Coconut Tamasha (which I also liked).
The story starts with the odd sight of an elderly matron dancing in a fairly frenetic way during high tea at a very exclusive hotel. From there we move on to the smuggling of illegal substances.
Nair is working with his rather amusing colleague, Koshy, who shows Nair a more interesting and involving side to policing.
Nair really is both a naive and a bit of a prude. He has bright ideas but gets bogged down with more mundane policing, also his superior does not like him at all as he is incorruptible. Koshy brings him into the world of undercover policing where he finally gets to do some important work.
The book is quite amusing but also fairly realistic in its violence. I know it was in extreme circumstances but I didn’t like that Nair, a decent type, struck a woman (she was up to no good but it jarred).
The story starts with the odd sight of an elderly matron dancing in a fairly frenetic way during high tea at a very exclusive hotel. From there we move on to the smuggling of illegal substances.
Nair is working with his rather amusing colleague, Koshy, who shows Nair a more interesting and involving side to policing.
Nair really is both a naive and a bit of a prude. He has bright ideas but gets bogged down with more mundane policing, also his superior does not like him at all as he is incorruptible. Koshy brings him into the world of undercover policing where he finally gets to do some important work.
The book is quite amusing but also fairly realistic in its violence. I know it was in extreme circumstances but I didn’t like that Nair, a decent type, struck a woman (she was up to no good but it jarred).
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews