The Detective is the 3rd book in the excellent series from Ajay Chowdhury featuring Kamil Rahman, previously a detective in the Indian Police and now a D.C. in the Met Police, following time as a waiter and then a cook on Brick Lane.

A tech boss is found dead on a construction site at a local mosque and a search of his home turns up sale documents for his company for £4 billion. Alongside him are the skeletons of two adults and a child from the turn of the 20th century.

As Kamil gets stuck into his his first murder investigation since joining the Met, it isn’t long before the victims start to stack up and Kamil finds himself fretting about whether his actions have endangered the probity of the investigation. Meanwhile Kamil’s friend Anjoli proves not only a worthy sounding board for Kamil to test out his theories but also takes it upon herself to identify the older skeletons with surprising results.

Ajay Chowdhury has a fantastic blend of plot, fabulous characters (it was a treat to be back with Kamil and Anjoli in Tandoori Knights) and twists. The ride isn’t quite as ‘strap yourself in’ as the previous books, but I really enjoyed this change of gear.

All 3 of the books would be great as a stand alone but it really is worth reading the set.

Thanks to Netgalley and Random House, Vintage for an ARC. Hugely looking forward to the next instalment.