Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line Paperback by Deepa Anappara

Best Bookstore

Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line Paperback by Deepa Anappara

Regular price $21.00
Unit price  per 
Shipping will be calculated at checkout.

Currently Available
Add to Wishlist

Product Details

  • Publisher: McClelland & Stewart (2021-05-11)
  • Language: English
  • Paperback: 384 pages
  • ISBN-13: 9780771001727
  • Item Weight: 272.16 grams
  • Dimensions: 8.0 x 5.2 x 0.8 cm

Winner of the Edgar Award for Best Novel
Shortlisted for the JCB Prize for Literature
Longlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction
A New York Times Editors' Choice and Notable Book of 2020
One of Time's Must-Read Books of 2020

"Warning: if you begin reading the book in the morning, don't expect to get anything done for the rest of the day." --New York Times

Three children venture into the darkest corners of a sprawling Indian city to find their missing classmate, in a stunningly original debut novel--based on a true story.


Nine-year-old Jai watches too many reality police shows, thinks he's smarter than his friend Pari (even though she gets the best grades), and considers himself to be a better boss than Faiz (even though Faiz is the one with a job). When a classmate goes missing, Jai decides to use the crime-solving skills he has picked up from TV to find him. He asks Pari and Faiz to be his assistants and together they draw up lists of people to interview and places to visit. But what begins as a game turns sinister as other children start disappearing from their neighborhood. Jai, Pari, and Faiz have to confront terrified parents, an indifferent police force, and their fears of soul-snatching djinns. As the disappearances edge ever closer to home, the lives of Jai and his friends will never be the same again. At times exuberant, at times heartbreaking, Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line traces the unfolding of a tragedy while capturing the fierce warmth and resilience of a community forged in times of trouble.

About the Author

DEEPA ANAPPARA grew up in Kerala, southern India, and worked as a journalist in cities including Mumbai and Delhi. Her reports on the impact of poverty and religious violence on the education of children won the Developing Asia Journalism Awards, the Every Human has Rights Media Awards, and the Sanskriti-Prabha Dutt Fellowship in Journalism. A partial of her debut novel, Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line, won the Lucy Cavendish Fiction Prize, the Deborah Rogers Foundation Writers Award, and the Bridport/Peggy Chapman-Andrews Award. She has an MA in Creative Writing from the University of East Anglia, Norwich, where she is currently studying for a PhD on a CHASE doctoral fellowship.


Spin to win Spinner icon