by Ajay Chowdhury
SYNOPSIS
HAS SOMEONE GOT AWAY WITH MURDER?
On the verge of a four-billion-dollar deal, a tech entrepreneur from Shoreditch is found dead in a construction site, which leads to the discovery of three skeletons over a hundred years old.
But as fresh bodies turn up, can Detective Kamil - along with his friend Anjoli - prevent another murder?
Desperate to solve his first case for the Met, will Kamil put his reputation on the line... then cross it?
REVIEW
The Detective is the third book in the Detective Kamil Rahman series but the first that I have read so I wasn’t sure what to expect. The prologue goes all the way back to an incident that happened in 1913. I had no idea how this was going to fit in with the main storyline while I was reading it, but it was incredibly powerful and so after just that short section I was hooked, and had no doubt that I needed to read on and find out more.
Back in the present day, Kamil has passed his exams and has been offered a job as a Detective in the Metropolitan Police Force. He is no stranger to this type of work but after he was fired from his job back in Kolkata, he has spent the last few years working in the Tandoori Knights restaurant, and is desperate to start his first investigation after a body is found at a construction site. The problem for Kamil is that no matter how hard he works on the case, he is fighting a losing battle trying to fit in with his colleagues or gain their respect whether this is a result of the racism present in the force or the favouritism they believe he is being shown by his boss and friend DI Tamil Ismael.
The brilliant thing about this book was the modern and incredibly relevant storyline looking at the dangers of AI profiling, the Metaverse, and how advances in technology could change the way crimes are both committed and solved. This is a new subject for me so I found it really interesting and it gave a completely different edge to what could have been a much more typical police case.
This is a fantastic example of a police procedural containing all the detailed elements of an investigation but it was also really funny. There was a lot of humour in the story which mainly came from Detective Kamil and his interactions with his friends and colleagues and this meant that despite the elements of racial tension, it didn't feel too heavy.
I think that it would have been great to read all three books in order to fully see the progression as Kamil makes his way back into the police force but it certainly isn't necessary. The Detective worked really well as a standalone and I didn't feel like anything was missing from the story that I needed to know.
As an added extra, reading this book during a heatwave there was a strange parallel between the book and real life. I could really feel the humidity and the claustrophobic atmosphere created as the characters ran around the city chasing suspects. This definitely added to the tension and pressure that Kamil was facing to produce results and prove himself as a good detective.
A fantastic modern technological thriller / police procedural with a unique and endearing cast of characters. Highly recommended if you are looking for a fast-paced summer thriller!
Thanks to Harvill Secker @HarvillSecker and Ajay Chowdhury @AjayChow for the opportunity to read and review.
Genre: Tech Thriller / Police Procedural
Publisher: Harvill Secker
ISBN: 978-1787303164
Pages: 400pp
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