Ajay Chowdhury

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The Guardian Top Crime Books of the Year 2022 

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Someone's hungry for revenge

Kamil Rahman used to be a detective in Kolkata. Now he’s a cook in London’s East End.

Yet trouble still knows where to find him…

Kamil Rahman thought his crimefighting days were behind him. But when a woman he knows is murdered and the police arrest the most convenient suspect, he hangs up his apron and employs his detective skills once more to find the true killer.

Meanwhile, restaurant manager Anjoli is volunteering with a homeless charity, where she notices a sudden troubling increase in unexplained deaths among people sleeping rough in and around Brick Lane. With the council and police uninterested, she starts an investigation of her own.

Kamil and Anjoli’s cases seem unrelated, but as the duo dig deeper, they discover connections that stretch from London to Lahore. Together they take on the indifference of the authorities . . . If the Met won’t find the murderers, then they will.

PRESS AND AUTHOR REVIEWS

‘Chowdhury makes the murder mystery feel like a brand new invention’ Christopher Fowler

‘Thrilling…This is a terrific series and a vivid portrait of the East End’ Sunday Times

“Compelling and Compassionate” The Times

‘Chowdhury’s portrayal of multicultural London is as effective as his portrayal of the mixed feelings of his characters.’ Literary Review

‘Ajay Chowdhury and Ian Rankin are among the authors of this year’s standout novels’ The Guardian

‘A heady mix of murder, intrigue and all things Indian’ Vaseem Khan 

‘Characterisation and plotting are Chowdhury’s strengths. All the characters, even the ones who are given bit parts, live and breathe on the page. The pace rarely flags. It is always full throttle. Chowdhury grabs the reader by the scruff of the neck on the opening page. He floors the accelerator and never lets his foot off the pedal, right until the very end.’ The Asian Age

‘Ajay Chowdhury is a refreshingly different voice in the crime genre and I can’t wait to read more’ Emily Koch 

READER REVIEWS

Lagoon

Rated 5 out of 5

Curry and crime. A winning combo.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 7 May 2022

Verified Purchase ✅

Kamil Rahman, chef and unofficial detective returns, and this second offering highlights his sleuthing skills. A young student has been murdered. As if one mystery to solve isn’t enough, some homeless people are dying. This story covers a lot of ground. Muslims and their daily routines, family honour, homelessness and the melting pot of London that provides their home; such as is.

I have a feeling that the lure of detective work will pry Kamil away from the kitchen and I’d welcome that. Kamil operates with compassion and a keen eye on what brings out our inner demons.

The story was pulled together particularly well and stayed focused throughout. A very strong follow up.

S RIAZ

Rated 5 out of 5

THE COOK

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 5 May 2022

I really enjoyed the first novel featuring ex-detective, turned waiter (now promoted to cook) at Tandoori Knights, so I was thrilled to receive the second to review. Kamil is still working in Brick Lane, alongside Anjoli, who featured in the first novel. Anjoli is now managing the restaurant, while Kamil is discovering a new talent for cooking delicious food. The banter, and friendship, between these two give the characters depth, while they are joined by a third, the beautiful Naila, studying , a nursing at Kings and who has definitely caught Kamil’s eye.

When Kamil and Naila find her fellow student, Salma, murdered, they are again plunged into an investigation. Labelling themselves, ‘The Three Duskyteers,’ they set out to discover who – and why – Salma was killed. DS Tahir Ishmael is another fun character, a detective who tends to drop fictional characters into his speech and make fun of Kamil while admiring his tenacity. Meanwhile, of course, Kamil still hankers after ‘real’ police work, after being forced to leave Kolkata to come to London.

Although Chowdhury has a light, comedic touch, to his writing and dialogue, this is an intelligent mystery which deals with some dark topics, from controlling marriages and the expectations on women from the Pakistani and Bengali community that Rahman writes about, through to the plight of London’s homeless. For alongside the murder of Salma, is the fact that so many of the homeless around Anjoli and Kamil’s restaurant, seem to be dying suddenly. Add to the excellent characters and plot, is the intriguing ending of this novel, which offers both the author and his central character, the loveable Kamil, a chance to extend his investigative role. I look forward to reading more of his adventures, wherever the author decides to take Kamil in future. I received a copy of this book from the publisher, via NetGalley, for review.

Nicole

Rated 5 out of 5

I really enjoyed this read, it is unique in what it offers

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 5 May 2022

I will start by saying I have not read Chowdhury’s first novel starring detective-turned-cook Kamil Rahman, The Waiter. However, after finishing The Cook, it is most definitely going onto my ‘To Read’ list!

Kamil Rahman is a cook in an Indian restaurant in London. He has left his old life behind, in Kolkata, India. No longer a detective, he has fully immersed himself into the simple joys of cooking excellent food. His friend and the restaurant manager Anjoli is trying to build the reputation of the restaurant, and Kamil is doing his part by making the food shine. Kamil is happy with how life is going, and has an almost girlfriend in Naila, which he is still trying to figure out.

But then a friend of Naila’s is found murdered. Unfortunately found by Kamil. It should be easy enough to let the police get to the bottom of it. But there are complications. So with Anjoli encouraging him, and Naila and Anjoli as his sidekicks, Kamil gets pulled into investigating the death. Meanwhile Anjoli is trying to convince Kamil and the London Detectives that there is something suspicious happening with the rise in deaths of homeless men in the area. As Kamil starts to uncover more in his investigation the threads become more tangled and finding the killer is not quite as simple as it seems.

I really enjoyed this read, it is unique in what it offers. It really paints a picture with words of the areas the action takes place in, and the characters are beautifully developed. Then the food – do not read if you are hungry! The attention to detail in all aspects is wonderful. It was brilliant to read a crime drama where there were so many multicultural elements, such a diverse cast of characters, seeing a mosque and Imam framed in such a positive community support manner, and working with the Catholic church to help those less fortunate.

Overall it was a wonderful read, and I look forward to seeing the next steps in Kamil’s career. Perhaps an accompanying cook book would be great?

GLINDA NORTH

Rated 5 out of 5

Brilliantly plotted mystery

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 9 May 2022

The Waiter was one of my favourite crime novels of last year and I was really excited to see that Ajay Chowdhury had written a new story about the ex-detective Kamil Rahman. Kamil is now a cook in The Tandoori Knights restaurant on Brick Lane in London and is feeling almost content with his new life. Then he discovers a customer of the restaurant murdered in her flat. The girl was a fellow student of his girlfriend and he is persuaded to begin his own investigation into her death. At the same time, there is a mysterious spike in deaths among the homeless men in their area. The two things seem to be completely unconnected but things are definitely not as they seem.
The previous novel was set both in Pakistan and London but this one is very firmly based in London and we get a vivid picture of the area around Brick Lane and the other parts of the city that Kamil visits as part of his investigation. I loved the attention to detail in the settings and the double plot works brilliantly. The depiction of the homeless men really brings home their situation although it doesn’t overpower the narrative. It’s also great to have such a positive role for the mosque and the Imam and to see the part that these play in the lives of many people.
Kamil is a really likeable character who wants to do the right thing and is unsure what his path in life is. Anjoli, his friend and manager of the restaurant is also a brilliantly vivid character who definitely knows her own mind and will not let the issue of the homeless deaths be ignored.
Amateur detectives who get members of the public to talk to them are always a bit dubious but the author deals with this well by Kamil using his status as a detective in Pakistan and also his friendship with one of the police officers actually investigating the crime.
I thoroughly enjoyed this novel and can’t wait to find out what happens to Kamil next.

Books

 Coming November 2026

Sunday Times Top Book April 2024

Longlisted for Wilbur Smith Adventure Prize

Sunday Times Crime Book of the Year 2023

Guardian Top Crime Books of the Year 2022 

Times/Sunday Times Best Crime Books of 2021

A free interactive ebook in partnership with Google

Amazon Children’s Bookshelf Selection

Coming July 2026

Ajay Chowdhury

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