Death of a Lesser God

In the fourth rip-roaring thriller in the award-winning Malabar House series, Persis and Archie travel to the old colonial capital of Calcutta, where they collide head-on with the prejudices and bloody politics of an era engulfed in flame.

’Beautifully written and a fascinating insight into the turbulence of post independence India’ PETER MAY

’A sumptuous, brutal, heart-stopping thriller. Vaseem Khan writes with charm and wit, and an eye for detail that transports the reader entirely. I couldn’t love this series more’ CHRIS WHITAKER

Can a white man receive justice in post-colonial India?
Bombay, 1950

James Whitby, sentenced to death for the murder of prominent lawyer and former Quit India activist Fareed Mazumdar, is less than two weeks from a date with the gallows. In a last-ditch attempt to save his son, Whitby’s father, arch-colonialist, Charles Whitby, forces a new investigation into the killing.

The investigation leads Inspector Persis Wadia of the Bombay Police to the old colonial capital of Calcutta, where, with the help of Scotland Yard criminalist Archie Blackfinch, she uncovers a possible link to a second case, the brutal murder of an African-American G.I. during the Calcutta Killings of 1946.

How are the cases connected? If Whitby didn’t murder Mazumdar, then who did? And why?

’Post-partition India is subtle, intriguing and dynamic; the hero, Persis, is brave, intelligent and charming; the plot is complex and rewarding. I loved Death of a Lesser God’ GREG MOSSE

’Blends a grippingly modern plot with gritty and unvarnished history. A vibrant thriller about belonging - and who gets to decide who belongs. A superb book and his best yet’ WILLIAM SHAW

Breathless and brilliant, Death of a Lesser God propels Persis Wadia into dangerous and deadly new territory. Highly recommended!’ D.V. BISHOP

’Crime fiction is a brilliant way of tackling social issues and, in Death of a Lesser God, Vaseem Khan delivers a masterclass in how it’s done. Full of tension and political conflict, Khan brilliantly weaves in history and a deft portrait of post-Raj life in Bombay and Calcutta. The result is an immensely rich book’ ALIS HAWKINS

’Tense, gripping and impressively plotted; Death of a Lesser God is historical fiction at its finest’ WILLIAM RYAN

Vaseem Khan is the author of two crime series set in India: the Baby Ganesh Agency series, and the Malabar House historical crime novels.

His first book, The Unexpected Inheritance of Inspector Chopra, was a Times bestseller and has been translated into 16 languages. Midnight at Malabar House won the CWA Historical Fiction Dagger in 2021 and was shortlisted for the Theakston’s Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year.

Vaseem was born in London, but spent a decade working in India as a management consultant.