Ajay Chowdhury, the inaugural winner of the Harvill Secker-Bloody Scotland prize, is a tech entrepreneur and theatre director. His children’s book – Ayesha and the Firefish, was published in 2016 and adapted into a musical which premiered in San Francisco. Eden Falls, his first standalone thriller, was published in July 2026.The Waiter (Sunday Times Crime Book of the Month), was published in 2021, and is the first in his critically-acclaimed crime series about Detective Kamil Rahman, an ex-policeman from Kolkata who has moved to Brick Lane in London. It is being adapted for television by Moonage Pictures. The Patriot is the latest book in the series.

Ritual killings, a generational curse … This book is a riot. Chowdhury’s depiction of India is visceral and real, blending old and new. A narrative woven tightly, twisting and turning, it leaves you constantly looking behind and sideways, at what you may have missed. A highly enjoyable and hugely entertaining read.

Ajay Chowdhury, the inaugural winner of the Harvill Secker-Bloody Scotland prize, is a tech entrepreneur and theatre director. His children’s book – Ayesha and the Firefish, was published in 2016 and adapted into a musical which premiered in San Francisco. Eden Falls, his first standalone thriller, was published in July 2026.The Waiter (Sunday Times Crime Book of the Month), was published in 2021, and is the first in his critically-acclaimed crime series about Detective Kamil Rahman, an ex-policeman from Kolkata who has moved to Brick Lane in London. It is being adapted for television by Moonage Pictures. The Patriot is the latest book in the series.

Ritual killings, a generational curse … This book is a riot. Chowdhury’s depiction of India is visceral and real, blending old and new. A narrative woven tightly, twisting and turning, it leaves you constantly looking behind and sideways, at what you may have missed. A highly enjoyable and hugely entertaining read.