Ajay Chowdhury, the inaugural winner of the Harvill Secker-Bloody Scotland prize, is a tech entrepreneur and theatre director. His children’s book – Ayesha and the Firefish, was published in 2016 and adapted into a musical which premiered in San Francisco. 
 
 
The Waiter (Sunday Times Crime Book of the Month), was published in 2021, and 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.The Cook (Guardian Top Crime Books of the Year) was published in May 2022 to excellent reviews and deals with the issue of homelessness. The third book in the series – The Detective (Sunday Times Top Crime Books of the Year) – is about government surveillance and AI. The Spy (Longlisted Wilbur Smith Adventure Writing), the fourth book, sees Kamil infiltrate a terrorist cell. The Shadow (A Sunday Times Crime Book of the Month) is the latest book in the series.

Ajay Chowdhury

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Narinder Dhami

When Geena, Amber and Jazz's school is desperate for funds, the girls' formidable young auntie steps in with a fantastic idea for a fundraising Bollywood party. Swept up in the plans, the girls plot to deliver a real Bollywood actress for a live appearance. Sure their aunt will be thrilled with their plan, they've only got to overcome the fact that their would-be guest of honour is a penniless, faded recluse with a foul temper who decamps to their house and insists on being treated like a star. A superbly entertaining sequel to Bindi Babes by an up-and-coming star of our own list.

Bollywood Babes

Dani's mother has just got married - and Dani has acquired an awful new stepsister who doesn't want to have anything to do with her. To make things worse Dani has to move house and school - to the same school as Lalita, her stepsister. She confides in her beloved gran, who gives her a special gift to help distract her from all the turmoil. It's a copy of her diary that she kept as a child, detailing everything happened to her when her family moved from India to England in the 1960s. It's in Punjabi, so Dani knows she's going to have to work hard to read it but as soon as she starts she knows it'll be worth it. Reading about her gran's friendship with the mischevious Milly is hugely fun and soon it becomes clear there's even more to the story. Dani will have to delve deep to figure out what really happened all those years ago - and specifically what happened to Milly. Can the past help with her future too?

Dani's Diary

Amber, Geena and Jazz have been through some tough times. Think Bollywood levels of tragedy and you&rsquo;re getting close. 
 
Now, they&rsquo;ve finally got everything they could ever want. Well, almost everything. They&rsquo;re smart, funny and popular &ndash; and they&rsquo;ve got all the latest designer labels. The one accessory they don&rsquo;t need is their interfering Auntie-ji cramping their style. But nothing can stop the Bindi Babes &hellip; can it?

Bindi Babes

Amber, Jazz and Geena are three sisters on a mission. They really want to have something to act as a memorial to their mum, but what could go for? They eventually settle on a great idea - they'll get the new library at school named after her. They take the idea to their teachers but there's a fly in the ointment - for the teachers to agree, the girls must first raise some money to help the library and stock it with books! 
 
Now the Babes have a real task ahead of them - and they love a challenge! They come up with a genius plan - they're going to stage an amazing reality experiment in their school and turn it into Big Brother for one week only! With Bollywood stars and love-struck boys in the mix, they know it's not going to be easy but surely the Babes can handle it - can't they?

Superstar Babes

Amber, Jazz and Geena have finally secured their auntie's engagement to the gorgeous Mr Arora, but now it's time for a little romance of their own. There's a gorgeous new boy at school called Rocky. He looks divine, loves music and is seriously well-off - his parents have built him his own recording studio. But which of the sisters does he like best? As they vie for his attention, the sisters come up with ever more intricate tricks to outdo each other and catch his attention. Amber thinks she's bound to capture his heart when she invites him to DJ and perform at Auntie's wedding. But when the girls are invited round to hear Rocky sing, Amber realises she's made a big mistake. It's going to be a huge headache to sort this one out - but if she doesn't, every guest at the wedding will have a worse one! Even working together, Amber, Jazz and Geena can't work out how to stop it happening, but a great idea comes from an unexpected source and the girls, of course, bounce back again.

Bhangra Babes

Sunita starts at her new school determined to hide her horrible secret. But class 'goddess' Celina soon becomes Sunita's arch-enemy and their classmates soon find out that Sunita's dad is an infamous fraudster on the run. Sunita has her work cut out to prove that she's no criminal herself. She tries to be ultra-careful about making friends but somehow she can't hide her natural instinct for helping people. As she's trying to keep her head down, she starts doing little favours for people secretly. And, oddly, a rash of helpful book-mending, locker-tidying and present-leaving quickly takes over the class and, then, the whole school. Even Celina seems to have been affected - but when she tries to take the credit for the scheme, Sunita can see her motives are far from innocent. Should Sunita put up or shut up?

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