Spirit Play

A Malaysian Miss Marple examines a suspicious death following an exorcism in this mystery by the author of Shadow Play for fans of Alexander McCall Smith.

Mak Chik Maryam is by profession a market-trader: She sells the exquisite, hand-made fabrics for which her village is well known. But her true calling is as the Miss Marple of rural Malaysia, where her skills are badly needed. While the police-chief is a nice boy, everyone knows that no man can match a village “auntie” for coaxing out the gossip and separating rumor from the truth that shines like Maryam’s good gold jewelry. That discerning eye will come in particularly handy when one of Maryam’s fellow traders is murdered after a main puteri ceremony—essentially a ritual exorcism. Intoxicated by the “spirit play,” the villagers are eager to blame supernatural powers, but Maryam, ever the pragmatist, suspects some forces a little nearer at hand.

“For lovers of armchair tourism and detective stories, Barbara Ismail has created a winner in her series about Mak Chik Maryam.” —The Straits Times (Malaysia)