A necessary evil - Abir Mukherjee

India, 1920. Captain Wyndham and Sergeant Banerjee of the Calcutta Police Force investigate the dramatic assassination of a Maharajah's son.

The fabulously wealthy kingdom of Sambalpore is home to tigers, elephants, diamond mines and the beautiful Palace of the Sun. But when the heir to the throne is assassinated in the presence of Captain Sam Wyndham and Sergeant 'Surrender-Not' Banerjee, they discover a kingdom riven with suppressed conflict. Prince Adhir was a moderniser whose attitudes - and romantic relationship - may have upset the more religious elements of his country, while his brother - now in line to the throne - appears to be a feckless playboy.

As Wyndham and Banerjee desperately try to unravel the mystery behind the assassination, they become entangled in a dangerous world where those in power live by their own rules and those who cross their paths pay with their lives. They must find a murderer, before the murderer finds them.

Praise for A Rising Man:

'A Rising Man is an exceptionally good, and original, historical crime novel' C.J. Sansom

'This vivid murder mystery moves at breakneck speeds' Sunday Times

'A Rising Man is a whodunit set in the social and political tinderbox of 1919 Calcutta - a thought-provoking rollercoaster' Ian Rankin, Observer

'One of the most exciting debut novels I've read in years' Val McDermid