Janet Laird is Jana Bibi, the local fortune teller. She lives w/ Mary (the ayah), Tilku (the orphan), Mr. Ganguly (the fortune telling parrot), Lal Badhur Pun ( night watchman & bagpiper), & Munar (the sweeper) in the Jolly Grant House, built by her Scottish grandfather situated on top of a crest in the Himalayas.

When Jana receives notice that her son, Jack & his Hungarian born fiancée, Katherine Esterházy are coming to visit, she knows she must repair & update the house; including new plumbing, hot water heaters, & new toilets. To do so, Jana Bibi takes a loan against her fabulous emeralds.

Soon it becomes apparent that not all is well w/ Katherine and Mary has taken an intense dislike to her.

As the story progresses Jack & Katherine decide to get married at the Jolly Grant House and Jana decides that Tilku should attend.

Tilku has been sent off to boarding school & has problems w/ his studies and is being bullied. When Jana calls the headmaster in order to bring him home for the wedding, she finds that Tilku has been expelled for another's crime and is no longer at the school.

Once again the neighbors & town rallies and everyone goes home happy!

Another easy-to-read feel-good story! ( )

This book is the third in the Jana Bibi series. This book is set in the 1960s in India and the author does a great job of really giving the reader a sense of the time period and place. The story revolves around Jana's son's impending visit and wedding. The book is more character than plot driven and the characters are well-developed and mostly likeable. I really enjoyed this tale of ordinary life in a small Indian town. It was sweet and hopeful and funny and populated with kind people. The details were done well and I learned something about Indian culture, which is always a plus to me. I will be looking for other books in the series to read! ( )

I have read the previous books in this series and this is my favorite so far. Now that all of the characters have become fully established, I find that I have come to really care about them. In this latest outing Jana Bibi's son brings his fiance to India to meet her, Tilku is having problems at his new school, and Mary has a possible love interest. Of course Mr. Ganguly the parrot makes regular appearances to steal the show. As for Jana Bibi, her big heart does not allow her to say no to anyone's needs, which has left her in a bit of financial straits. It all works out in the end though, just in time to celebrate Jack's wedding. As this series goes on I find that I am enjoying it more and more. The gentle characters are endearing and there always little gems of wisdom interspersed through out the story. It's refreshing to read about a lady in her 60's who may have snow on the roof but there is still fire in the furnace ( )

This is a quaint book about a woman who's son is getting married and the whole lot that goes with it. The writer is like that of the Mitford Series and makes you want to curl up with a cup of tea and read. Thank you for letting me review this one. ( )

I love Indian fiction. This was a little more light hearted than my normal reads by Indian authors like Jhumpa Lahiri, and Thrity Umrigar. I found it a little slow paced and I wanted more action. However, I eventually started to enjoy the characters and may even try the first two books in the series! ( )