Book 1

The Perfect Murder

by H. R. F. Keating

Published 28 August 1980
It is just Inspector Ghote's luck to be landed with the case of The Perfect Murder at the start of his career with the Bombay Police. For in this most baffling of crimes there is the cunning and important tycoon Lala Varde to contend with, and as if this were not enough, Ghote finds himself having to investigate the mysterious theft of one rupee from the desk of another very important person, the Minister of Police Affairs and the Arts. The Perfect Murder won both an Edgar Special Award from the Mystery Writers of America and the Golden Dagger from the English Crime Writers Association. H. R. F. Keating is the author of many acclaimed mysteries.



Doing Wrong

by H. R. F. Keating

Published 28 January 1994


Dead on Time

by H. R. F. Keating

Published 26 June 1988

The Iciest Sin

by H. R. F. Keating

Published 4 October 1990

Cheating Death

by H. R. F. Keating

Published 23 January 1992

Inspector Ghote embarks on one of his strangest cases when he is ordered to prevent a murder - the killing of a precious flamingo in the Bombay zoo. And then there is the racehorse fancied to win the local Derby, which gets replaced by a donkey...Ghote finds things going disastrously as bit by bit he unearths the traces of a monstrous practical joker. But then the fun stops - and Inspector Ghote has a more serious murder on his hands.

In his proud new position in the prestigious Bombay Police Crime Branch Inspector Ganesh Ghote sees his career finally take off with the prospect of only the most high profile murders to investigate. Unfortunately the Assistant Commissioner of Police Mr. Ramprasade Divekar has other ideas and chooses to keep Ghote busy with the interminable paperwork of Bandobast Duty. Waiting to be given his first case, Ghote doesn't expect to find it planted in his waste bin. Wrapped in newspaper, which features the face of a prominent politician and stuffed into an old shopping bag, there is stark evidence of a murder fitted to his capabilities. But ACP Divekar dismisses the murder as plainly altogether unsuitable for a Crime Branch investigation, ordering Ghote to dispose of such evidence. Feeling that no murder should go overlooked, Ghote makes a promise to himself, and later to his steadfast wife, Protima, to investigate on his own, possibly risking his entire police career. His enquiries take him all over sprawling Bombay as he hunts for a man who has stolen just such an old shopping bag.
But then he is suddenly given that longed-for case, the murder of a young university researcher already inefficiently investigated by the local police. It may be only a small case, but can Ghote solve it and keep as well the promise he has made to himself?

Inspector Ghote has been transferred to the BATS - the Black-money and Allied Transactions Squad. The BATS officers should be working to arrest pickpockets and sneak thieves, but Ghote's tough mission is to root out corruption in his new fellow officers, as it seems that someone has been leaking information so that police operations fail. On this patch of coastal India, in a world of underground finance, stolen money can lead to a whole host of black market transactions, including gold-smuggling operations. In the course of his duties, Ghote acquires a torturing overwhelming suspicion of everyone and everything, and he resolves to resign from the Bombay Police Department - amid protestations from his wife...



Sheriff of Bombay

by H. R. F. Keating

Published 3 May 1984

Sent to a remote part of India to find out who could benefit from Judge Asif's death, Ghote can get no cooperation from the judge until it becomes evident that the anonymous threats are coming from someone in the judge's household.

Breaking and Entering

by H. R. F. Keating

Published 1 March 2001
Officially excluded from the most baffling murder case to occur in Bombay for many years, Inspector Ghote has only one option - to track down the killer unofficially instead.All Bombay is buzzing with news of the murder of Anil Ajmani. It is certainly a baffling case, for the millionaire was found stabbed to death in his tightly secure mansion. Every inspector in the Crime Branch hopes to nail the killer. Including Inspector Ghote. Unfortunately, he is the only officer not assigned to the case. Instead he has been given the less glorious task of tracking down a cat burglar. Aided - or perhaps hampered - by his old friend Axel Svensson, Ghote races to uncover Yeshwant's true identity. And in doing so unexpectedly finds that he may be the one to solve the murder of Anil Ajmani after all . . .

Asking Questions

by H. R. F. Keating

Published 27 September 1996

Bribery, Corruption Also

by H. R. F. Keating

Published 22 January 1999
Inspector Ghote is not a happy man. His wife has just inherited a big house in Calcutta and she is determined that they both move from his beloved Bombay to live a life of luxurious retirement in Calcutta. But when the couple arrive to view the property they find it in a state of terrible disrepair. Their lawyer advises them to sell it immediately - but Ghote detects a whiff of corruption and is determined to get to the bottom of it. The couple dig their heels in and refuse to sell - but the corruption extends way up the political ladder. And soon they are putting themselves in very great danger.

A grisly murder has plunged Bollywood, the film capital of India, into chaos. Ghote gets so caught up with giving an Academy Award-winning performance as a sleuth that the curtain almost comes down on his own life.

An American visitor to India meets death on the road from Bombay to Poona.