Curious Secrets of Yesterday

Release Date: 1 June 2024

A woman’s ambitions clash with familial expectations in a captivating novel about generational secrets and self-discovery by the bestselling author of The Candid Life of Meena Dave.Raised by her mother and grandmother and tutored in the healing wonders of spices, Tulsi Gupta is expected to carry on the ancestral tradition from her family’s Salem spice shop. Restless and reluctant, Tulsi yearns to follow her own path—destiny has other plans.When Tulsi finds a letter written by her grandmother, addressed and never sent, that speaks of a long-ago betrayal, she decides to unravel the mystery as a distraction. But Tulsi stumbles into much more than she bargained for. With each new discovery, she learns there’s much more to her mother and grandmother than their expertise in the remedial aromas of coriander and cloves. When an attractive neighbor begins renovating the shuttered deli next door, Tulsi finds the courage to break her routine and chase the unexpected.As Tulsi digs into the past and secrets come to light, she’s determined to heal old family wounds and find her true purpose—and maybe even love—every step of the way.

Namrata Patel is the bestselling author of Scent of a Garden and The Candid Life of Meena Dave. She examines diaspora and dual-cultural identity among Indian Americans in her writing and explores this dynamic while also touching on the families we’re born with and those we choose. Namrata, who has been writing most of her adult life, has lived in India, New Jersey, Spokane, London, and New York City and currently resides in Boston. For more information, visit nampatel.com.