--- title: Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line: 100 Must-Read Books of 2020 description: Find out why Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line by Deepa Anappara is on TIME's list of the must-read books from this year. canonical: https://time.com/collections/must-read-books-2020/5904323/djinn-patrol-on-the-purple-line/ article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2020-11-09T20:14:41.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-03-02T23:44:51.084Z og:title: 'Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line' Is One of the 100 Must-Read Books of 2020 og:description: Here's why it made the list og:url: https://time.com/collections/must-read-books-2020/5904323/djinn-patrol-on-the-purple-line/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7b1fe1a6d03fffae/698a13fc97cdff84fb6bb561/best-books-2020-Djinn-Patrol-on-the-Purple-Line.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: 'Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line' Is One of the 100 Must-Read Books of 2020 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 'Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line' Is One of the 100 Must-Read Books of 2020 twitter:description: Here's why it made the list twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7b1fe1a6d03fffae/698a13fc97cdff84fb6bb561/best-books-2020-Djinn-Patrol-on-the-Purple-Line.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- Nov 09, 2020 # Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line by Deepa Anappara by [TIME Staff](https://time.com/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff  When a classmate goes missing in his impoverished neighborhood on the outskirts of an unnamed city in India, nine-year-old Jai does what the police refuse to, even when bribed: he goes “detectiving” to find the boy. Journalist [Deepa Anappara’s debut novel](https://time.com/5773086/best-books-february-2020/) could have been depressingly grim as more children begin to disappear, a troubling complication based on actual incidents. But Jai’s positivity and can-do attitude, despite the challenges he sees in his neighborhood, proves an inspiration. Though his faith can only survive so much. **Buy Now:** _Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line_ on [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/4973/9780593129197) | [Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0593129199/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=time-books-20&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0593129199&linkId=87aeb00f3fb0a1819853d941a3f9c671) These are independent reviews of the products mentioned, but TIME receives a commission when purchases are made through affiliate links at no additional cost to the purchaser. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collections/must-read-books-2020/5904323/djinn-patrol-on-the-purple-line/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collections/must-read-books-2020/5904323/djinn-patrol-on-the-purple-line/"},"headline":"'Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line' Is One of the 100 Must-Read Books of 2020","datePublished":"2020-11-09T20:14:41.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-02T23:44:51.084Z","description":"","url":"https://time.com/collections/must-read-books-2020/5904323/djinn-patrol-on-the-purple-line/","keywords":["E-Commerce","Books","list"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7b1fe1a6d03fffae/698a13fc97cdff84fb6bb561/best-books-2020-Djinn-Patrol-on-the-Purple-Line.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"creator":"TIME Staff","articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7b1fe1a6d03fffae/698a13fc97cdff84fb6bb561/best-books-2020-Djinn-Patrol-on-the-Purple-Line.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collections/must-read-books-2020/5904323/djinn-patrol-on-the-purple-line/","name":"'Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line' Is One of the 100 Must-Read Books of 2020"}}]}] ```