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‘Brooklyn Masala’ centers Indian cuisine in crime mystery
The novel builds its plot around a spice business that becomes a front for a diamond smuggling network.
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Malvika Choudhary - Mon, 13, Apr 2026
- 17:35 EDT
- 24
Book's cover / Amazon
A newly released mystery novel, Brooklyn Masala, places Indian cuisine at the center of a crime storyline, using spice-making, food entrepreneurship, and a guru-led network as key plot elements.
Written by Brooklyn-based author Sophie Schiller, the book follows Bella Bloom, a Brooklyn housewife and former newspaper editor, whose personal life unravels after discovering her husband’s affair.
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She seeks guidance from a guru, Maharishi Krishna Ram, who advises her to focus on “garam masala,” a commonly used Indian spice blend.
The narrative develops around Bloom learning Indian cooking, creating spice mixes, and launching a small business under the name “Brooklyn Masala.” She is directed to distribute her products through a network of Indian grocery stores linked to the guru.
According to the plot, the spice jars are used to conceal smuggled diamonds, drawing Bloom into an international smuggling operation without her knowledge.
“The Guru tells her to learn all she can about ‘garam masala,’ and the jars of spices she creates become the repository for smuggled diamonds,” Schiller said in a press release.
The story introduces Dolly Parton Patel, a former Bollywood actor turned cooking content creator, who partners with Bloom to expand the venture into a frozen food and spice business. The operation becomes entangled in a criminal network, with a death connected to the smuggling ring prompting an investigation.
“With hijinks involving smugglers, shady gurus, and loads of curry, Brooklyn Masala is the story of two women who get caught up in a criminal enterprise while trying to whip up the perfect spice blend,” Schiller said.
The novel falls within the culinary cozy mystery genre, where food practices such as cooking and small-scale food businesses serve as central settings for crime narratives. The use of Indian cuisine – including spice blends and grocery distribution networks – forms the core of the storyline.
Schiller said the idea for the book originated during the COVID-19 pandemic, when she observed high demand for frozen Indian meals in grocery stores. “I took out my notebook and wrote the names of all the most popular dishes and decided that when I got back to Brooklyn, I would learn to cook them,” she said.
The book was released April 1 in paperback and digital formats and is the first in a planned series.
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