The Malabar House
3 total works
Bombay, 1950
The monsoon has started and as Bombay grapples with rain-induced chaos, a new case arrives at Malabar House. A man has been found frozen in the foothills of the Himalayas, near the town of Dehra Dun, his face crushed. The case is handed to the unflappable Inspector Persis Wadia and the man is christened 'The Ice Man' by the national media. Who is he? How long has he been there? Why was he killed?
As Persis and Metropolitan Police criminalist Archie Blackfinch investigate the case, they uncover a trail left by the enigmatic Ice Man that leads directly into a decades-old conspiracy. Meanwhile, two new murders send ripples of fear through Bombay. Is there a serial killer on the loose?
Dark, immersive, and full of Vaseem Khan's trademark wit, this is historical fiction at its finest. Book one in this series, Midnight at Malabar House, won the CWA Sapere Books Historical Dagger and was an international ebook bestseller.
Praise for the Malabar House series:
'This is a crime novel for everyone; for those who love traditional mysteries there are clues, codes and ciphers, but it also had a harder edge and a post-war darkness' Ann Cleeves
'Outstanding. I've always been a fan of Vaseem Khan but this latest offering is something special and something new' Imran Mahmood
'This is historical crime fiction at its best - a compelling mix of social insight and complex plotting with a thoroughly engaging heroine. A highly promising new series' Mail on Sunday
'This is historical crime fiction at its sharpest, set on the brink of independence and during a dramatic period of the subcontinent's history' Sunday Times
*** A Guardian BOOK OF THE YEAR 2023 ***
In the fourth rip-roaring thriller in the award-winning Malabar House series, Persis and Archie travel to the old colonial capital of Calcutta, where they collide head-on with the prejudices and bloody politics of an era engulfed in flame.
'Beautifully written and a fascinating insight into the turbulence of post independence India' PETER MAY
'Another exuberant thriller in his award-winning Malabar House series ... as usual with Khan, an entire era and community are conjured with quiet panache' FINANCIAL TIMES
Can a white man receive justice in post-colonial India?
Bombay, 1950
James Whitby, sentenced to death for the murder of prominent lawyer and former Quit India activist Fareed Mazumdar, is less than two weeks from a date with the gallows. In a last-ditch attempt to save his son, Whitby's father forces a new investigation into the killing.
The investigation leads Inspector Persis Wadia of the Bombay Police to the old colonial capital of Calcutta, where, with the help of Scotland Yard criminalist Archie Blackfinch, she uncovers a possible link to a second case, the brutal murder of an African-American G.I. during the Calcutta Killings of 1946.
Are the cases connected? And if Whitby didn't murder Mazumdar, then who did?
'Great stuff' MAIL ON SUNDAY
A sumptuous, brutal, heart-stopping thriller. Vaseem Khan writes with charm and wit, and an eye for detail that transports the reader entirely. I couldn't love this series more' CHRIS WHITAKER
'Post-partition India is subtle, intriguing and dynamic; the hero, Persis, is brave, intelligent and charming; the plot is complex and rewarding. I loved Death of a Lesser God' GREG MOSSE
'Blends a grippingly modern plot with gritty and unvarnished history. A vibrant thriller about belonging - and who gets to decide who belongs. A superb book and his best yet' WILLIAM SHAW
Breathless and brilliant, Death of a Lesser God propels Persis Wadia into dangerous and deadly new territory. Highly recommended!' D.V. BISHOP
'Crime fiction is a brilliant way of tackling social issues and, in Death of a Lesser God, Vaseem Khan delivers a masterclass in how it's done. Full of tension and political conflict, Khan brilliantly weaves in history and a deft portrait of post-Raj life in Bombay and Calcutta. The result is an immensely rich book' ALIS HAWKINS
'Tense, gripping and impressively plotted; Death of a Lesser God is historical fiction at its finest' WILLIAM RYAN
'Vaseem Khan writes with charm and wit, and an eye for detail that transports the reader entirely. I couldn't love this series more' CHRIS WHITAKER
'Historical fiction at its finest' MAIL ON SUNDAY
From the award-winning author of MIDNIGHT AT MALABAR HOUSE and THE LOST MAN OF BOMBAY comes a brilliant new mystery featuring the inimitable Persis Wadia.
Bombay, 1951. A political rally ends in tragedy when India's first female police detective, Persis Wadia, kills a lone gunman as he attempts to assassinate the divisive new defence minister, a man calling for war with India's new post-Independence neighbours.
With the Malabar House team tasked to hunt down the assassin's co-conspirators - aided by agents from Britain's MI6 security service - Persis is quickly relegated to the sidelines. But then she is given a second case, the burned body of an unidentified white man found on a Bombay beach. As she pursues both investigations - with and without official sanction - she soon finds herself headed to the country's capital, New Delhi, a city where ancient and modern India openly clash.
Meanwhile, Persis's colleague, Scotland Yard criminalist Archie Blackfinch, lies in a hospital fighting for his life as all around him the country tears itself apart in the prelude to war...