The Cook
Published on 19. January 2023
Book
Paperback/Softback
384 pages
978-1-5291-1539-0 (ISBN)
Description
'Thrilling . . . a terrific series' Sunday Times
Someone has an appetite for murder...
Kamil Rahman used to be a detective in Kolkata. Now he's a cook in London's East End. Yet trouble still knows where to find him.
Kamil Rahman thought his crimefighting days were behind him. But when a woman he knows is murdered and the police arrest the most convenient suspect, he hangs up his apron and employs his detective skills once more to find the true killer.
Meanwhile, restaurant manager Anjoli is volunteering with a homeless charity, where she notices a sudden troubling increase in unexplained deaths among people sleeping rough in and around Brick Lane. With the council and police uninterested, she starts an investigation of her own.
Kamil and Anjoli's cases seem unrelated, but as the duo dig deeper, they discover connections that stretch from London to Lahore. Together they take on the indifference of the authorities.
If the Met won't find the murderers, then Kamil and Anjoli will.
'A rip-roaring mystery that's engrossing from start to finish... a refreshing and welcome addition to the world of detective fiction' Abir Mukherjee
Someone has an appetite for murder...
Kamil Rahman used to be a detective in Kolkata. Now he's a cook in London's East End. Yet trouble still knows where to find him.
Kamil Rahman thought his crimefighting days were behind him. But when a woman he knows is murdered and the police arrest the most convenient suspect, he hangs up his apron and employs his detective skills once more to find the true killer.
Meanwhile, restaurant manager Anjoli is volunteering with a homeless charity, where she notices a sudden troubling increase in unexplained deaths among people sleeping rough in and around Brick Lane. With the council and police uninterested, she starts an investigation of her own.
Kamil and Anjoli's cases seem unrelated, but as the duo dig deeper, they discover connections that stretch from London to Lahore. Together they take on the indifference of the authorities.
If the Met won't find the murderers, then Kamil and Anjoli will.
'A rip-roaring mystery that's engrossing from start to finish... a refreshing and welcome addition to the world of detective fiction' Abir Mukherjee
Reviews / Votes
A real surprise... It is not just the descriptions of food that leave you hungry for more -- Mark Sanderson * The Times * Thrilling... This is a terrific series, a vivid portrait of the East End where a thriving economy is overshadowed by the effects of inequality -- Joan Smith * Sunday Times * Chowdhury's portrait of multicultural London is as effective as his portrayal of the mixed feelings of his characters, who may enjoy aspects of their lives but still long for the pleasures they have left behind -- Natasha Cooper * Literary Review * Kamil and Anjali are a terrific team. Chowdhury makes the murder mystery feel like a brand-new invention. His second thriller is chockfull of authentic flavours and tasty surprises that will leave readers wanting more. -- Christopher Fowler, author of the Bryant and May Mysteries Marvellous! A vivid romp through the Londoner's London, seen through the sharp eyes of a recent arrival. The only thing that induced me to put it down was the fact that it made me so hungry... * Alex Marwood * A real page-turner * Waitrose Weekend * The Cook is an ideal summer read... [a] dazzlingly clever plot * Sunday Times, *Summer Reads of 2023* *More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Vintage Publishing
Product notice
Paperback (UK-B)
Dimensions
Height: 195 mm
Width: 129 mm
Thickness: 28 mm
Weight
306 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-5291-1539-0 (9781529115390)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
05/2022
Vintage Digital
€8.99
Available for download
Person
Ajay Chowdhury is the inaugural winner of the Harvill Secker-Bloody Scotland crime fiction award. He is a tech entrepreneur and theatre director who was born in India and now lives in London where he builds digital businesses, cooks experimental dishes for his wife and daughters and writes through the night. His children's book, Ayesha and the Firefish, was published in 2016 and adapted into a musical.
The Waiter, published in 2021, is the first in his warm, funny and spicy adult crime series about Kamil Rahman, an ex-policeman from Calcutta who has moved to Brick Lane in London. It has been optioned for television by Moonage Pictures. Follow up, The Cook, was published in May 2022 to critical acclaim and deals with the issue of homelessness. The third book on the series - The Detective - is about government surveillance and will be published in April 2023.
The Waiter, published in 2021, is the first in his warm, funny and spicy adult crime series about Kamil Rahman, an ex-policeman from Calcutta who has moved to Brick Lane in London. It has been optioned for television by Moonage Pictures. Follow up, The Cook, was published in May 2022 to critical acclaim and deals with the issue of homelessness. The third book on the series - The Detective - is about government surveillance and will be published in April 2023.