Blog Tour: Mrs Sidhu’s Dead and Scone – Suk Pannu

Mrs. Sidhu – unofficial Aunty to everyone, caterer, and amateur sleuth from Slough – spices up the lives of Berkshire’s elite with both her mouth-watering dishes and her sharp detective skills. But when she stirs up trouble among the rich and ruthless, she finds herself an outsider in her own community.

Banished to the kitchen by her boss and sentenced to an endless loop of aubergine bhajis, Mrs. Sidhu seizes the opportunity to whip up a new recipe for success – getting a job as a private chef at an exclusive celebrity rehab retreat. But when a therapist is found dead in the quiet village, Mrs. Sidhu’s appetite for mystery is rekindled.

As the plot thickens, it becomes clear that the killer is picking victims through a twisted raffle at the village fete. Is a vengeful spirit returning to exact a horrifying revenge, or is there an impostor among the residents hiding a deadly secret?

Suk grew up along the M4, the draughty corridor that connects London to Slough. The son of immigrants, his upbringing was filled with discipline, love and aunties. At an early age, he got his head stuck into books and escaped into other worlds. He has long believed that one of his aunties would be the perfect crime solver.

Suk Pannu has written for some of Britain’s best-loved Asian shows including Goodness Gracious Me and five series of the award-winning The Kumars at No 42. He has also contributed to radio shows like The News Quiz and Armando Iannucci’s Charm Offensive, and he has had several successful series and pilots of his own. This is his debut novel.

My thoughts: first of all it took me ages to get the pun in the title because I say scone with an ‘e’ like stone not gone. But that’s a me issue (me and a lot of other people!)

Anyway, I didn’t know this series from the radio, but my mum did, so I now need to seek it out online and listen. But I thought the book was hilarious and I loved Mrs Sidhu, she reminded me of a lot of my friends’ mums and aunties, always feeding everyone, always worrying and a lot smarter than you might think.

Mrs Sidhu knows people, and that’s her secret talent, she can read them, she’s sure everyone else is looking in the wrong place, at the wrong suspect, and missing the clues. And of course, she’s right.

But even her detective friend overlooks her theories, and lets others lead him the wrong way. They’re all fascinated by the “Dr” who runs the rehab centre, and celebrities in recovery, missing the quietly odd cult still existing in their midst. But not Mrs Sidhu, who follows her own path, solves the murders, and a few other mysteries along the way. All the time cooking up a storm and producing perfect scones for the fete. More please!

*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in the blog tour but all opinions remain my own.