Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line

Summary

Nine year old Jai, obsessed with television detective shows, sets out with two friends to investigate when children begin vanishing from their sprawling Indian basti. Anappara narrates largely through the eyes of children, balancing humor and wonder against the harsh realities of poverty, religious tension, and official indifference. Drawing on her years as a journalist covering child welfare, she turns a missing persons mystery into a piercing portrait of life on the urban margins.