#BlogTour #Review : Barnabas Tew and the Case of the Enlightened Cow (Barnabas Tew #4) by Columbkill Noonan @rararesources @columbkillnoon1 / Books Teacup and Reviews

Hello Readers! Today is my stop during the blog tour for Barnabas Tew and the Case of the Enlightened Cow by Columbkill Noonan, organized by Rachel’s Random Resources. Please check out book details and my review of this book in this post.

Previous Book I read in the series-

1) Barnabas Tew and the Case of the Missing Scarab
2) Barnabas Tew and the Case of the Nine Worlds
3) Barnabas Tew and the Case of the Cursed Serpent

Barnabas Tew and the Case of the Enlightened Cow by Columbkill Noonan
4th in series
Publication Date: September 18th 2019
Publisher: Darkstroke
Genre: mythology / cozy mystery / humor
Pages: 205
Stars: ★★★★★

Rama, the Hindu god who maintains dharma, or the balance of all things, is in terrible trouble, and only Barnabas and Wilfred can save him!
Private detectives to the gods, Barnabas Tew and Wilfred Colby, believed they’d discovered the secret to taking charge of their destinies. Unfortunately, they’re about to be taught a hard lesson: nothing is as it seems and taking control is easier said than done.
Fresh off their most challenging case to date, the two detectives step into a cenote: an otherworldly portal that connects worlds and can take them anywhere if they how to use it. Each is hoping to be reunited with someone he left behind, but they soon realize that something has gone terribly, disastrously wrong. Instead of being reunited with their lady-loves, they find themselves in a Hindu temple, together with Kamadeva, the Hindu god of desire.
Kamadeva asks them to save his friend Rama, who is in grave danger. It seems an innocent enough request, but Barnabas and Wilfred have learned that not everything is at it seems, and the right thing to do is not always so obvious. It doesn’t take long to discover that not all the gods want Rama saved, leaving the two detectives to make a terrible choice.
The detectives have faced dangerous deities before, but the Hindu gods are different. Otherworldly, wise, and full of shadowy motivations, they all seek to manipulate the hapless detectives to suit their purposes.
Can Barnabas and Wilfred see through the illusions and the lies to uncover the truth of the matter? Or will they fail, and choose the wrong side?

*** Note: I received e-copy from the author, as a part of Blog tour, in exchange for an honest review. Many thanks to Rachel and author. ***

Barnabas Tew and the Case of the Enlightened Cow, fourth in Barnabas Tew series, was entertaining, humorous cozy mystery that revolved around two bumbling Victorian detectives plunged into Indian mythology with another mystery to solve for Indian God. It was about enlightenment on Karma, Dharma, eternal life and death cycle that of course, these two detectives had hard time to understand.

Characters–

What do I tell you about characters that I haven’t said before in review of first 3 book?! Once again they were fun to read. They were lovable and cutest detectives I ever read.

Barnabas was his usual bumbling, over-reactive, he might call himself ‘master of diversion and subterfuge’ but actually is ‘master of blunders’. However, at heart he was pure and courageous and his conscience was on right side. And he loved his assistant whom he gave credit time to time and even gave promotion in this book.

Wilfred was wise, clever, and perceptive one who could understand situation better, always knew how to correct his master’s blunder, knew Barnabas better than himself and yet so very humble. He loved Barnabas enough to follow him anywhere.

What I liked-

Writing was great, I loved British Victorian style in dialogues, expression of characters, situations and third person voice. All were described vividly. I said this before and I’m saying again, I want to see these books in movie. I loved setting and mythical part. As it was Indian mythology I knew about the God and their appearance and stories but the way author blended it with the current story was mind-blowing.

Book started with confusion and arguments between Barnabas and Wilfred over which world they have landed after plunging into cenote (that argument was almost 2-3 pages long! I tell you only these two can perform such lengthy arguments. They are quite expert in it and making you laugh over it). After solving a case for Mayan Goddess, they were shown how to travel between worlds by plunging into cenote focusing on the place they want to go. First time they were given a choice, but ended up in totally different world than they thought, India.

And to make situation even more hilarious that turned Barnabas redder than tomato, they were landed in home of Kamadeva. This time the case was to sop the death of Prince Rama. It looked quite simple, go to Rama’s abode, stop people from bringing any harm to him but well no case is as simple as that when it is in hands of Barnabas and Wilfred.

On the journey of solving the case, they got tangled into series of unfortunate events. They were turned into fish, forced to solve another case, made unlikely friends and ally, faced the sea monster, and met an enlightening cow, Ganesha, and Shiva-the Destroyer.

Enlightening cow and crabby enlightened our two detectives about Karma, Dharma, incarnations, cycle of birth and rebirth, importance of death and personal and spiritual growth. But of course, it all was indecipherable for Barnabas and so any such enlightening topics were followed by long discussions, arguments, tantrums, emotional outburst, and his signature style ‘Good day’, more than often.

There were many laugh out loud moments, howlers, funny situations and characters’ funny questions and dialogues. Most of the time imagining Barnabas’ expressions, temper, and his obstinacy itself was hilarious. I so enjoyed their diversion tactics. Best hysterical moment was Barnabas’ reaction to Ganesha’s story and the way he perceive ‘Dal’ (it was spelled ‘Dhal’ in book) as doll.

Coming to the mystery, it was most unusual than previous three books. They were given the task but on their way of solving the case, they got to know about surprising facts which were shocking for our detectives and ended up into doing exactly different, and messing it as well. They learned many things and the most important lesson for them was, results are not important it’s the journey you should enjoy.

Climax was fun and entertaining. I laughed so much at double j’accuse moments. End was blunderful and messy, but enlightening. Now I can say this series ended here because they are not going anywhere this time or are they? It was great installment of the series.

Overall, it was fun, comical, cozy, fast paced mystery with amusing dialogues and characters. I definitely recommend this book.

Purchase Links:

US – https://www.amazon.com/Barnabas-Tew-Case-Enlightened-Cow-ebook/dp/B07VN5MT8C

UK – https://www.amazon.co.uk/Barnabas-Tew-Case-Enlightened-Cow-ebook/dp/B07VN5MT8C

Affiliate Link: Book Depository

Author Bio:

Columbkill Noonan is the author of the bestselling “Barnabas Tew” series, which features the bumbling-yet-lovable Victorian detective Barnabas and his trusty sidekick, Wilfred. Columbkill combines her love of mythology and her affinity for period fiction to craft unique cozy mysteries that will leave you guessing (and chuckling!) till the very end.

Social Media Links: Facebook | Twitter

Let’s discuss!

What do you think about the book and review? Have you read this book or any books in this series? Have you read any book with Indian mythological setting? What are your favorite books in this genre?