About the Author

Ajay Chowdhury was 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 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. Follow-up The Cook was published in May 2022 to excellent reviews and deals with the issue of homelessness. The third book in the series - The Detective - is about government surveillance and AI. The Spy is the fourth book in the Detective Kamil Rahman series.

Reviews

A real surprise... It is not just the descriptions of food that leave you hungry for more
*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
*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
*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**