LONGLISTED FOR THE THEAKSTON CRIME NOVEL OF THE YEAR

SHORTLISTED FOR THE CWA GOLD DAGGER

SELECTED AS A BOOK OF THE YEAR 2022 BY THE FINANCIAL TIMES, DAILY EXPRESS AND THE GUARDIAN*

‘Hugely entertaining … history and mystery mixed with brutal slapstick, thwarted romance and sly humour… If only all period procedurals were as good as this’ THE TIMES

‘The latest of Khan’s excellent thrillers set in post-war Bombay is a vivid portrait of a society remaking itself in the new era of independence’ MAIL ON SUNDAY

‘A delightful book, well-researched, complex and hugely entertaining’ ANN CLEEVES

‘A twisting plot and an intriguing cast of characters, together with vivid glimpses of the vibrant, complex world of post-Independence Bombay – and a narrative that thunders along with the pace and drama of an elephant on the rampage’ ANDREW TAYLOR

Bombay, 1950

When the body of a white man is found frozen in the Himalayan foothills near Dehra Dun, he is christened the Ice Man by the national media. Who is he? How long has he been there? Why was he killed?

As Inspector Persis Wadia and Metropolitan Police criminalist Archie Blackfinch investigate the case in Bombay, they uncover a trail left behind by the enigmatic Ice Man – a trail leading directly into the dark heart of conspiracy.

Meanwhile, two new murders grip the city. Is there a serial killer on the loose, targeting Europeans?

Rich in atmosphere, the thrilling third chapter in the CWA Historical Dagger-winning Malabar House series pits Persis against a mystery from beyond the grave, unfolding against the backdrop of a turbulent post-colonial India, a nation struggling to redefine itself in the shadow of the Raj.

‘Khan writes with a charming formality and brings his characters and their dilemmas to life in this intelligent and intriguing series’ LITERARY REVIEW

‘A rip-roaring adventure with a formidable woman at its heart’ AMBROSE PARRY

‘A stunning, richly imagined and downright thrilling mystery. Vaseem Khan has that rare ability to transport you wholly to a bygone time, and he does so with such skill and charm. I loved it’ CHRIS WHITAKER

‘One of my top reads this year. A peerless portrait of early independent India through the eyes of new crime fiction star, India’s first police detective, Persis Wadia’ BARBARA NADEL

“The brilliant Persis Wadia is one of the most electrifying figures in crime fiction today. Vaseem Khan keeps getting better and better’ WILLIAM SHAW

‘Outstanding’ IMRAN MAHMOOD

‘This is historical crime fiction at its sharpest’ SUNDAY TIMES

Author Biography

Vaseem Khan is the author of several award-winning crime series including the Baby Ganesh Agency adventures, set in modern Mumbai, and the Malabar House historical crime novels, set in 1950s Bombay.

His first book, The Unexpected Inheritance of Inspector Chopra, was selected by the Sunday Times as one of the 40 best crime novels published in 2015-2020, and has been translated into 17 languages. Midnight at Malabar House, the first in the Malabar House series, won the Crime Writers’ Association Historical Dagger.

Vaseem has won numerous awards for his work, including, most recently, the Fingerprint Award for Historical Crime Novel of the Year for City of Destruction, the fifth in the Malabar House series. Vaseem is also the author of The Girl in Cell A, a psychological thriller set in small town America, and Quantum of Menace, the first in a series featuring Q from the world of James Bond.