Eleven-year-old Neela dreams of being a famous musician, performing for admiring crowds on her traditional Indian stringed instrument. Her particular instrument was a gift from her grandmother-intricately carved with a mysterious-looking dragon. When this special family heirloom vanishes from a local church, strange clues surface: a tea kettle ornamented with a familiar pointy-faced dragon, a threatening note, a connection to a famous dead musician, and even a legendary curse. The clues point all the way to India, where it seems that Neela's instrument has a long history of vanishing and reappearing. Even if Neela does track it down, will she be able to stop it from disappearing again?Sheela Chari's debut novel is a finely tuned story of coincidence and fate, trust and deceit, music and mystery.

 

This book was recognised by the Edgar Allen Poe Award. The Edgars are presented annually by the members of the Mystery Writers of America to distinguished fiction and non-fiction works about crime, mystery and detection primarily by American authors. It was recognised by the Nene Award.

This book has been graded for interest at 8-12 years.

There are 318 pages in this book. This book was published 2011 by Hyperion Books .