A Mystery of Lili Villa is a wonderful cosy mystery for Middle Grade age children set in Elathoor, Kerala, India, which has wonderful world building and characters that are excellently written by author, Arathi Menon.

Whilst the book is set for middle grade, I do think older children would enjoy it too as the mystery itself is continually engaging and like any good book that needs twists and turns at every step of the journey we as the reader are on with the children.  It's a fun read, and the reader will remain on the edge of the seat as the three little heroes of the tale, cousins Arj, Tam, and Mira take on their roles as young detectives.

I loved how the story is written and the attention to detail with the inclusion of Hindi words, descriptions of food that the family enjoys, and little acknowledgements of the world the story is in. You can feel the heat of the sun, the tickling sensation of dust of a building that's rarely used, and of course, the luscious smell of the food that's mentioned. Everything about A Mystery of Lili Villa is immersive, and I really loved this story.

I would recommend this for the mystery itself, for a tale set elsewhere and for the overall wonderful storytelling for any child who loves to be kept waiting for the successful conclusion.