Book Excerpt: Children of the Hidden Land by Mandira Shah

An exclusive excerpt from Children of the Hidden Land by Mandira Shah (Speaking Tiger, 2022)

Young Sherlock Holmes

April had almost finished reading Children of the Forgotten Land for the third time. Was Henthoiba trying to tell her something by asking her to borrow the book from the library?

The Community Centre doubled as a library. It was buzzing with activity and April was quite grateful for the distraction as she waited for Shalini to walk in. She looked around. There were some couples at the coffee shop and drinking coffees. At another table there were some younger children learning how to make a bamboo basket. At the corner was a young boy with a guitar, belting out a song, reminding everyone not to forget the victims of fake encounters. April shuddered as her thoughts veered towards fake encounters. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. No. It couldn’t be. Not Henthoiba.