What is the title of your latest release?
THE MASALA CHAI MYSTERY CLUB
What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?
A retired librarian and her chai-loving friends delve into the investigation of their despised homeowner’s association president’s murder, which echoes the plot of their latest Agatha Christie book club read. It’s perfect for fans of Only Murders in the Building and Richard Osman’s The Thursday Murder Club.
How did you decide where your book was going to take place?
I live in a coastal New England town which is often represented in cozy mysteries with only White people. I wanted to represent the people of color who live in New England as well.
Would you hang out with your heroine in real life?
Absolutely! Neeti, my heroine, is inspired by my mom who was my best friend. She suffered from dementia and in the last few years of her life had forgotten who I was. I think I subconsciously wanted to recreate the person she had been.
What are three words that describe your hero?
Compassionate. Tenacious. Meticulous.
What’s something you learned while writing this book?
Writing a book means rewriting. I rewrote this book five times, admittedly each time it was to take out a point of view character. I started off with six and ended up with two, and it’s so much better for it.
Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done?
Unfortunately, I can’t help editing while I draft. I wish I had the discipline to get down the “crappy first draft” as Anne Lamott calls it.
What’s your favorite foodie indulgence?
Spicy-sweet peanut butter! Yes, it’s weird.
Describe your writing space/office!
A first-floor office with skylights, a very cluttered desk (but I assure you there’s method in my madness), and it faces a wall of photographs of my kids. And it’s far enough from the kitchen so I can’t snack too much.
Who is an author you admire?
Agatha Christie, her plots, her characters, and her murder weapons are so incredible.
Is there a book that changed your life?
JANE EYRE. I was fourteen when I read it and it taught me what true agency really was. In fact, it’s also my protagonist, Neeti’s, inspiration.
Tell us about when you got “the call.” (when you found out your book was going to be published). Or, for indie authors, when you decided to self-publish.
My agent sent the manuscript out and there were a few “I didn’t fall in love” and “Didn’t connect strongly” responses. But then Crooked Lane Books was interested but had a few questions. And then I got an email from my agent with the subject line “OFFER!!!!”
I was at home and literally ran around the house looking for my husband to share the news. It was such a vindication after so many rejections.
What’s your favorite genre to read?
Mysteries and psychological suspense. Although I love nonfiction like The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America’s Great Migration by Isabel Wilkerson.
What’s your favorite movie?
Fanaa is a 2006 Bollywood romantic thriller that follows Zooni, a blind Kashmiri woman who falls in love with her tour guide Rehan, unaware that he is hiding a dangerous secret. The leads are Aamir Khan and Kajol, and it captures the beauty of Kashmir, and also asks the question: would you choose your country over the love of your life. It’s available to view with English subtitles on Netflix.
What is your favorite season?
Spring, it’s so hopeful.
How do you like to celebrate your birthday?
A quiet dinner out with my husband.
What’s a recent tv show/movie/book/podcast you highly recommend?
I enjoy a podcast called Storied Account with Jen Jumba. She’s a librarian who loves uncovering the stories behind the storytellers.
What’s your favorite type of cuisine?
Indian vegetarian.
What do you do when you have free time?
I like to sew. In the past I’ve sewn my daughter’s prom dresses. But it takes time, which has suddenly become very scarce with my writing career taking off.
What can readers expect from you next?
Hopefully a follow up to THE MASALA CHAI MYSTERY CLUB.
THE MASALA CHAI MYSTERY CLUB by MJ Soni
Narrator: Deepa Samuel
Suspects abound when a much-despised neighbor is killed, perfect for fans of Only Murders in the Building and Richard Osman’s The Thursday Murder Club.
Retired librarian Neeti Shah was hoping for a restful life with her chai-loving friends, but when the body of a neighbor, a childhood friend of Neeti’s, turns up dead and the killer’s MO is similar to that of Neeti’s most recent book club read, things start to get out of control.
When Neeti hears a commotion at a neighbor’s house, she finds Rohit’s body sprawled across the bottom of the staircase with Agatha Christie’s The Dumb Witness nearby. Blackmailing his neighbors, threatening them with lawsuits, and calling them by nasty nicknames were only some of the hateful things that made him so disliked. But were they angry enough to kill?
Neeti is indebted to her old friend, and she’s determined to find his killer. But she can’t do it alone, so she enlists her mystery-loving friends, the Masala Chai Mystery Club, to get to the bottom of the murder.
But Neeti and her club members need to be careful. As more bodies turn up and more suspects start to appear, they’ll need to find the killer before they end up in hot water!
Mystery Cozy [ Crooked Lane Books, On Sale: July 21, 2026, Hardcover / e-Book, ISBN: 9798892426084 / eISBN: 9798892426107 ]
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About MJ Soni
MJ Soni’s first literary work that received an A+ was a sad essay about footprints disappearing on a beach when she was in high school in South Africa. This little flame of recognition burned bright for many decades while she worked as an eye surgeon and physician scientist. Decades later, after attending a writing class at her local community center, the flame roared back to life, and theresult was DEFYING APARTHEID, her memoir that captures her experiences as a young activist in South Africa. A lifelong fan of Agatha Christie, she now draws upon her love of the culture and cuisine of her diverse Indian, African, and American background, to write heartwarming murder mysteries set largely in coastal New England. Her short stories have appeared in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, Akashic Books, and the Best New England Crime Stories Anthology. She’s a recipient of the Leon B. Burnstein/MWA-NY Scholarship, and a runner up to the Eleanor Taylor Bland Crime Fiction Writers of Color Award, a Pitch Wars mentee and mentor, and amember of Crime Writers of Color, Sisters in Crime National, and Sisters in Crime-CT.
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