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Murder, he wrote
Updated On: 12 September, 2020 07:41 AM IST | Mumbai | Dalreen Ramos
In his latest title, best selling British novelist Vaseem Khan, has Indias first female police detective investigating a sensational case in 1950s Bombay
In the book, the investigation is assigned to the police station in Malabar Hill, and locations such as Jinnah House also get a mention
It's December 31, 1949. Persis Wadia, India's female police inspector, is seated in her office at Malabar House, when she gets a call informing her that Sir James Herriot, an English diplomat, has been murdered at his home, Laburnum House on Marine Drive during an New Year's Eve party. But more importantly, the murder weapon is missing, and so are Herriot's trousers. But Midnight at Malabar House (Hodder & Stoughton), Vaseem Khan's latest novel, goes beyond the "whodunit"; it enmeshes the reader in drift nets bound by partition, colonialism and independence. Amidst the drama, though, are bits of nostalgia: the concept of 'Bombay Time' or a dining compartment in an outstation train.
Khan is best known for his five-part Baby Ganesh Detective Agency series and his new title is only the first of Inspector Wadia series that will comprise three novels. He also works at the Department of Security and Crime Science at University College London. Edited excerpts from an email interview:
How would you best describe your relationship with Bombay, and how has that defined this book?
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