Review Detail

The Golden Necklace: A Darjeeling Tea Mystery

Middle Grade Indie 376

Mystery and Daily Life in India

October 17, 2025 (Updated: June 21, 2026)

Overall rating

4.0

Plot

4.0

Characters

4.0

Writing Style

4.0

Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)

4.0

Sona, a Nepali girl, lives in the mountains near Darjeeling, India. Her father has passed away, and her mother picks tea for the greedy owner of a plantation, Banerji, to support Sona and her troublesome older brother, Samiran. Samiran has taken out loans to set up a food stand, since he is a good cook, but got into trouble. No one will buy from him, and he's finding it hard to get work to repay the loan. Sona is studying for exams so that she can further her education at the Darjeeling International School on a scholarship. Sona occasionally lurks outside the windows of Banerji's house to hear his son being tutored by Sir, and has made friends with Banerji's orphaned Bengali niece, Tara. Tara is older, but enjoys Sona's company. She confides in Sona that her Uncle is arranging a marriage for her, and using the gold jewelry her parents left her as her dowery. While Sona feels that arranged marriages can be good, she wants her friend to be able to make her own choices. When the gold goes missing, Sona works behind the scenes to try to find it for her friend. Her life is hard enough, since she must go every day to a broken pipe to get water, and Banerji is giving the workers a hard time. Getting involved with the local police, and having to sneak around town looking for clues is a tremendous challenge. When the head tea picker, Kaki, is accused of stealing, Sona knows that she must find a way to clear her name.
Good Points

Good Points

I'm an enormous fan of Perkins' work, since it often sheds light on the conditions of everyday life in other countries. (Tiger Boy , Bamboo People, and Rickshaw Girl.) Tweens often complain about "having" to go to school, and don't seem to understand how fortunate they are. Seeing Sona work so hard on her studies in order to have the opportunity to get more education is something that is helpful for my students to see, as is her hard work at getting water and caring for her family. The class differences between Sona and Tara are shown, but it's good to see that they are still friends. The mystery is rather light, so the book is a quick read. There's a very satisfying ending, with Banerji getting his comeuppance and a lot of improvements being made to the community that will benefit Sona and her family.

It would be helpful to have some more information about the different ethnic groups and why they are in India. We have a small population of Nepali students at my school, but many of my students won't understand why Sona and her family are in India, since they don't keep up with the US news, much less what is going on in other countries.

This is an excellent choice for Readers who enjoyed Saeed's Amal Unbound or Butterworth's Running on the Roof of the World, and had some similarities to Menon's A Mystery at Lili Villa. Upper elementary students, as well as middle school students who want an interesting, shorter book, will enjoy this slice-of-life mystery.