Sam Dastor

Meet Vish Puri, managing director of Most Private Investigators Ltd, Delhi. He is cutting a determined swathe through India's swindlers, cheats and murderers. He has a moustache to rival Hercule Poirot and methods that resemble Sherlock Holmes.

Born into poverty, then trapped in the shackles of charity and gratitude, Mr Biswas is an outsider who refuses to conform to the customs of his grander in-laws whose house he lives in. Finally finding a house of his own, he triumphs over the smaller minds who try to repress him.

Kimball O’Hara, the orphaned son of an Irish soldier in India during the Raj, is adopted by his father’s regiment. His recruitment into the British Secret Service takes the reader into the intricacies of the ‘Great Game’ of espionage.

Former government minister Ralph Singh is the perpetual outsider: displaced, disillusioned, and now living in exile, Ralph reflects on his earlier life and the searing effects of colonialism. Born on the colonial island of Isabella, he is one of West India's many 'Mimic Men'.

Chaos, death and unbelievable destruction ensue when the Brighton Express derails just outside the Balcombe Tunnel. Could it simply be a case of driver error? Detective Inspector Colbeck thinks not, but digging deep to discover the intended target of the accident takes time and the killer is preparing to strike again.

When Adela Quested and her elderly friend arrive in the Indian town of Chandrapore they feel trapped by its Anglo-Indian community. Under the guidance of Dr. Aziz they start to explore the ‘real’ India but on a visit to the Marabar caves an incident occurs which results in Aziz becoming embroiled in a scandal.