On the verge of a four-billion-dollar deal, a tech entrepreneur from Shoreditch is found dead in a construction site, which leads to the discovery of three skeletons over a hundred years old.
But as fresh bodies turn up, can Detective Kamil - along with his friend Anjoli - prevent another murder?
Desperate to solve his first case for the Met, will Kamil put his reputation on the line... then cross it?
It's such a pleasure to be hosting the blog tour for The Detective by Ajay Chowdhury today. Many thanks to Mia Quibell-Smith from Penguin Random House for inviting me and for sending me a hardback copy of the novel.
The Detective is the third book in Ajay Chowdhury's Detective Kamil Rahman series. It's the first I've read and while I have no doubt that returning readers will enjoy the ongoing development of the characters, I'm happy to confirm it can also easily be enjoyed as a stand-alone.
Although set in the present day, the novel actually opens on New Year's Eve 1913; the world stands on the brink of war but a young immigrant Jewish family believe they have cause to celebrate their new lives in England. What then takes place here leads to a clever sub-plot which really helps to emphasise how the East End, around Brick Lane in particular, has long become home to immigrants. Properties which once belonged to Jewish residents are now owned by the South Asian community who live, work and worship there.
Racial tensions are sensitively explored throughout The Detective, whether through Kamil Rahman's personal experiences as a newly qualified detective in the Met or on a wider scale, looking at both Anti-Semitism and racism in this country, and the enduring conflict between Israel and Palestine. When the body of a tech entrepreneur is discovered on a building site, followed by further deaths, Kamil is initially excited to have his first case and convinced he will soon uncover the truth. Of course, it's not quite so straightforward and it's disheartening but not surprising to see some of his problems come about due to the attitude of his fellow officers. Although some of their behaviour can be explained as indignation and anger at a rookie being given a prime role in the investigation, there is definitely a racist element too. It's intriguing to see how Kamil deals with this, especially as despite being new to the Met, he is an experienced police officer who dealt with horrific cases back in Kolkata.
Meanwhile, the motive behind the increasing body count remains a mystery despite several leads and Ajay Chowdhury offers an authentically plausible examination of the potentially terrifying consequences of governments and other agencies using AI, algorithms and surveillance in the name of national security. The Detective is set in a slightly fictionalised UK but the hard-line, ambitious Tory Home Secretary will definitely seem familiar. The backdrop then is one of suspicion and pressure and as the novel progresses, it's never clear just what the break in the case will be – or what rules Kamil will end up bending...
His friendship with Anjoli is one of the most fascinating aspects of the book and not just because he gives her more information about an ongoing murder case than a civilian presumably should be privy to. They have a history of investigating together and it's Anjoli's interest in the discovery of the near-century old skeletons which results in the poignant and brilliantly contrived sub-plot. Anjoli's restaurant and Kamil's previous job as a chef means there are several mouthwatering descriptions of food which adds further colour to the story (and left me feeling very hungry!) Kamil is a superb lead character, not least because he doesn't always make the wisest choices and Anjoli's perceptive counsel and humour – often via the slogans on her T-shirts – ensures she is immensely likeable too. However, she isn't always easy to read and their will-they-won't-they relationship adds an extra dimension to the storyline.
The complex, exciting plot, exploration of a number of topical issues and the excellent, insightfully flawed cast of characters meant I raced through the pages of The Detective and I highly recommend this compelling, atmospheric and surprising mystery thriller.
The Detective is published by Harvill Secker, purchasing links can be found here.
Follow the blog tour, details are below.
About the Author
The Waiter, published in 2021, is the first in his warm, funny and spicy adult crime series about Kamil Rahman, an ex-policeman from Calcutta who has moved to Brick Lane in London. It has been optioned for television by Moonage Pictures. Follow up, The Cook, was published in May 2022 to critical acclaim and deals with the issue of homelessness. The third book on the series - The Detective - is about government surveillance and will be published in April 2023.
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