A detective delves into a cold case; a ship that disappeared in the Bay of Bengal in the year 1913. A man is bludgeoned to death in an apartment and a piece of paper with the word 'STOP!' is nailed to his forehead. Six deaths under mysterious circumstances and the only common link is a box of arsenic-laced sweets. A soldier's homecoming dredges up memories of a murder that took place a decade ago in the family. And more... The first-ever anthology of its kind, The Hachette Book of Indian Detective Fiction compiles more than 30 compelling whodunits spread across two volumes. Hybrid, self-reflexive and experimental forms of writing that blur the boundaries between genres, with supernatural mysteries, serial murders and at times absurd crimes jostling for the attention of both amateur and professional detectives in these stories. Red herrings simmered in blood gravy, served up with family feuds, ancient curses, long-haired lady sleuths and many other typical subcontinental chutneys provide a rare feast for the avid reader of crime fiction!

The professionals meet the amateurs in this first–ever anthology of Indian detective fiction. Volume 1 An elite squad detective from the future travels back in time to hunt down a time escapee. Across the city of Tokyo, liquids are turning blue, and elsewhere a Tamil actress is kidnapped. The gruesome murder of an adult industry star spirals into a web of deceit and leads to a bizarre revelation. A journalist races against time to find the missing link between the deaths of a daily soap actress, a classical vocalist and a famous painter. And more... Volume 2 A detective delves into a cold case; a ship that disappeared in the Bay of Bengal in the year 1913. A man is bludgeoned to death in an apartment and a piece of paper with the word 'STOP!' is nailed to his forehead. Six deaths under mysterious circumstances and the only common link is a box of arsenic–laced sweets. A soldier's homecoming dredges up memories of a murder that took place a decade ago in the family. And more... The first–ever anthology of its kind, The Hachette Book of Indian Detective Fiction compiles more than 30 compelling whodunits, supernatural mysteries, serial murders and absurd crimes spread across two volumes. Through hybrid, self–reflexive and experimental forms of writing (including translations from Bengali and Tamil), this collection invites readers to unravel mysteries with every turn of the page, masterfully showcasing distinctive instances of the genre. Red herrings simmered in blood gravy, served up with family feuds, ancient curses, long–haired lady sleuths and many other typical subcontinental chutneys provide a rare feast for the avid reader of crime fiction! Featuring the works of: Volume 1 Satyajit Ray * Gopa Majumdar * Saradindu Bandopadhyay * Gopa Majumdar * Ambai * Gita Subramanian * Ankush Saikia * Meeti Shroff Shah * Suchitra Bhattacharya * Radha Chakravarty * Sujan DasGupta * Chandana Dutta * Anirudh Kala * Tamilvanan * Rabindranath Tagore * Shampa Roy * Anil Menon * Tanuj Solanki * Timeri Murari * Navin Weeraratne * Kehkashan Khalid * Sumit Bardhan * Kiran Manral * Shweta Taneja * Saad Z. Hossain Volume 2 Rajarshi Das Bhowmik * Arunava Sinha * Vikram Chandra * Giti Chandra * Swati Kaushal * Ajay Chowdhury * Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay * Debaditya Mukhopadhyay * Vish Dhamija * Salil Desai * Mahendra Jakhar * Sharatchandra Sarkar * Shampa Roy * Vaseem Khan * Nev March * Anuradha Kumar * Madhulika Liddle * Arjun Raj Gaind * Shashi Warrier * Avtar Singh For detailed content, please look inside the book. * Illustration continuity across covers and spine * 2–volume collectible (Royal 8vo hardback set) * A magnetic clasp box–wrap * Detective–element themed sprayed edges * Endpaper artwork by Manjula Padmanabhan

An elite squad detective from the future travels back in time to hunt down a time escapee. Across the city of Tokyo, liquids are turning blue, and elsewhere a Tamil actress is kidnapped. The gruesome murder of an adult industry star spirals into a web of deceit and leads to a bizarre revelation. A journalist races against time to find the missing link between the deaths of a daily soap actress, a classical vocalist and a famous painter. And more... The first-ever anthology of its kind, The Hachette Book of Indian Detective Fiction compiles more than 30 compelling whodunits spread across two volumes. Hybrid, self-reflexive and experimental forms of writing that blur the boundaries between genres, with supernatural mysteries, serial murders and at times absurd crimes jostling for the attention of both amateur and professional detectives in these stories. Red herrings simmered in blood gravy, served up with family feuds, ancient curses, long-haired lady sleuths and many other typical subcontinental chutneys provide a rare feast for the avid reader of crime fiction!

This unusual volume explores India s history of recurring communal violence through the feelings and emotions of poets and writers and of those who comment on society and politics. Poems, short stories, memoirs, essays and a panel discussion together probe how it feels when violence erupts, turning neighbours into enemies and home into an alien land. In a time when religious identities hardened in the public sphere (manifested in the form of communalism), and exploded time and again into riots, artists and writers sought to articulate the subtler truths of lived intercommunity experience. They also gave expression to the shock and outrage of the people at the barbarisms visited on the country. A plurality of voices, in different genres and languages, exists; this selection highlights some of the distinctive attempts to contend with the reality of modern-day communalism, juxtaposing translations with writings in English to allow a comparative perspective to emerge. In these writings, several ways of dealing with the communal predicament in imaginative terms become visible. Such literary efforts bear witness to the mutilation of our dreams, as well as to the struggle to keep the lamp of understanding and good sense burning. Secular India may be under siege, but, as these contributions indicate, it is certainly not yet dead. Contributors: Amitav Ghosh, Amlan Das Gupta, Anjan Sen, Ashis Nandy, Badiuzzaman, Bhisham Sahni, Bilquis Zafirul Hassan, D. R. Nagaraj, Deeba Zafir, Dileep Jhaveri, Dilip Simeon, Harish Trivedi, Hussain-ul-Haque, K. Satchidanandan, Ketaki Kushari Dyson, Mahasweta Devi, M. K. R. Nair, M. V. Narayanan, Nabaneeta Dev Sen, Naghma Zafir, Ranjit Hoskote, Ravikant, Shampa Roy, Shormishtha Panja, Sisir Kumar Das, Subha Dasgupta, T. P. Rajeevan, Vijay Dan Detha.

Singular visions of the future that will thrill, amuse, startle and intrigue. On an ordinary morning, the citizens of Karachi wake up to discover the sea missing from their shores. The last Parsi left on Earth must look for other worlds to escape to when debt collectors come knocking. A family visiting a Partition-themed park gets more entertainment than they bargained for. Gandhi appears in the present day under rather unusual circumstances. Aliens with an agenda arrive at a railway station in Uttar Pradesh. Two young scientists seek to communicate with forests even as the web of life threatens to collapse. A young girl's personal tragedy finds a surprising resolution as she readies herself for an expedition of a lifetime. These and other tales of masterful imagination illuminate this essential volume of new science fiction that brings together some of the most creative minds in contemporary literature. A must-have collectible, The Gollancz Book of South Asian Science Fiction offers fresh perspectives on our hyper-global, often alienating and always paranoid world, in which humanity and love may yet triumph.

A book that celebrates spices, and the integral ways in which they shape what we eat. Throughout a career spanning thirty years, well-known food critic and writer (and little-known collector of spice-grinders of eclectic origin), Marryam H. Reshii has had a relentless love affair with spices. Such has been her passion that she has travelled across the country and to various corners of the world ? crushing, grinding, frying and tasting ? in a bid to understand every aspect of these magnificent ingredients. The result is The Flavour of Spice, a zesty narrative that brings together stories about the origins of spices and how they evolved in the cuisines we know and love; colourful anecdotes gleaned from encounters with plantation owners and spice merchants; and beloved family recipes from chefs and home cooks. From the market yards of Guntur, India?s chilli capital, to the foothills of Sri Lanka in search of `true? cinnamon, and from the hillsides of Sikkim where black cardamom thrives to the saffron markets in the holy city of Mashhad, Iran - this heady account pulsates with exciting tales of travel and discovery, and an infectious love for the ingredients that add so much punch to our cuisines.

From sinister plans of xenocide to speciesists who have taken it upon themselves to Off-World those unlike them; from simulations that memorialize stories obliterated by a book-burning world to the Master Pain Merchant who is always at hand to administer a dose of long-forgotten sensations; from genetically modified Glow Girls who can kill with a touch to a droid detective actively seeking out justice - this stellar volume of cutting-edge science fiction showcases, in prose and verse, 32 of the most powerful voices in the genre from the Indian Subcontinent. Taking forward the formidable task achieved to critical acclaim by the first volume of The Gollancz Book of South Asian Science Fiction, the present collection masterfully transports readers to worlds strangely familiar, raises crucial questions about the place of humans in the universe, and testifies to the astonishing range and power of the imaginative mind.

Nominated for an Edgar Award for Best First Novel! In 19th century Bombay, Captain Jim Agnihotri channels his idol, Sherlock Holmes, in Nev March’s Minotaur Books/Mystery Writers of America First Crime Novel Award-winning debut. In 1892, Bombay is the center of British India. Nearby, Captain Jim Agnihotri lies in Poona military hospital recovering from a skirmish on the wild northern frontier, with little to do but re-read the tales of his idol, Sherlock Holmes, and browse the daily papers. The case that catches Captain Jim's attention is being called the crime of the century: Two women fell from the busy university’s clock tower in broad daylight. Moved by Adi, the widower of one of the victims — his certainty that his wife and sister did not commit suicide — Captain Jim approaches the Parsee family and is hired to investigate what happened that terrible afternoon. But in a land of divided loyalties, asking questions is dangerous. Captain Jim's investigation disturbs the shadows that seem to follow the Framji family and triggers an ominous chain of events. And when lively Lady Diana Framji joins the hunt for her sisters’ attackers, Captain Jim’s heart isn’t safe, either. Based on a true story, and set against the vibrant backdrop of colonial India, Nev March's Minotaur Books/Mystery Writers of America First Crime Novel Award-winning lyrical debut, Murder in Old Bombay, brings this tumultuous historical age to life.

From the world's #1 bestselling author comes a thrilling new standalone novel where a detective duo of sisters finds themselves in the crosshairs of a dangerous and lawless group. Attorney Rhonda Bird returns home after a long estrangement when she learns her father has died. There she makes two important discoveries: her father stopped being an accountant and had opened up a private detective agency, and she has a teenage half sister named Baby. Baby brings in a client to the detective agency, a young man who claims he was abducted. During the course of the investigation, Rhonda and Baby become entangled in a dangerous case involving a group of overprivileged young adults who break laws for fun, their psychopath ringleader, and an ex-assassin victim who decides to hunt them down for revenge.

"Radhi returns home to Mumbai to lick her wounds after a failed relationship and a bout of writer's block, but she soon gets caught up in the tangled mystery surrounding the death of her best friend's father. Radhi’s pregnant best friend Sanjana’s father is found dead in his study. Everyone says it’s suicide. And yet, just hours before, he was telling Sanjana that he couldn’t wait to hold his grandchild in his arms. Something feels off to Radhi. Her suspicions are further raised by the surly cook and timid young maid’s odd behaviour. And who did the second cup of tea on his desk belong to? Radhi is determined to uncover the truth. But the deeper she digs beneath the diamond-studded prayer meetings and the lavishly catered ‘pure-veg’ brunches, the faster she finds herself drawn into a web of festering grievances, hidden agendas and long-buried secrets. As the intense Indian summer draws to an end and the monsoon sets in, Radhi risks everything to find out the truth"--