First published 1981
Inspector Ghote begins his career with the Bombay Police facing an impossible assignment. The Perfect Murder case lands on his desk, forcing him to navigate the treacherous waters of investigating a cunning and powerful tycoon named Lala Varde. The crime baffles everyone involved, but Ghote must press forward despite the obstacles. His troubles multiply when he receives another assignment that seems almost insulting by comparison. Someone has stolen exactly one rupee from the desk of the Minister of Police Affairs and the Arts, another Very Important Person who demands results. Ghote finds himself juggling both cases while wading through layers of incompetence and corruption that plague the system. He wishes people would simply act in simple, reasonable, logical ways, but discovers that human nature refuses to cooperate. The inspector struggles to make sense of these peculiar crimes while learning hard lessons about police work in Bombay.
Genres: mystery, crime, thriller, detective
Vibes: suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: fish-out-of-water, incompetent-authority-figures
Setting: Bombay
Period: 20th-century
Hardcover · HarperCollins Publishers