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Inspector Ghote, ‘one of the great creations of detective fiction’ (Alexander McCall Smith), investigates a high-profile murder and finds liars wherever he looks in this classic mystery – with a brand-new introduction by bestselling author Vaseem Khan. When American millionaire and philanthropist Frank Masters dies of arsenic poisoning, Inspector Ganesh Ghote of the Bombay CID takes a moment to picture himself in the papers, triumphantly solving the case. This is no ordinary murder, and he knows it will attract a great deal of attention. But the reality of the situation soon takes over: not only does Inspector Ghote know nothing about arsenic, but the key witnesses all seem deeply unreliable. Who can he trust at the Frank Masters Foundation for the Care of Juvenile Vagrants? The chef who tells him only what he wants to hear? The acerbic Dr Diana and her shifty dispenser? Or – least appealingly – two infuriating young boys known only as Edward G. Robinson and Tarzan? The good inspector doggedly investigates, but the more he discovers in this perplexing case, the more he despairs of ever bringing the true killer to justice . . .

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Quietly dignified Inspector Ghote, 'one of the great creations of detective fiction' (Alexander McCall Smith), finds himself trapped on a train with a fellow passenger who may – or may not – be the legendary confidence trickster he is travelling to collect, in this classic mystery - with a brand-new introduction by bestselling author Vaseem Khan. When Inspector Ganesh Ghote boards the train to Calcutta, he's looking forward to spending forty hours detached from his responsibilities, but nevertheless still doing his job. He is on his way to collect legendary swindler A. K. Bhattacharya, who's defrauded wealthy art-lovers for years, and bring him back to Bombay to stand trial. But his peace and quiet is immediately disturbed by a chatty fellow traveller, who, Ghote soon realises, talks relentlessly but never gives anything personal away. Who is this man, who never takes off his sunglasses, and whose hair appears freshly dyed? The good inspector's heart stops when he sees the initials on his companion's case: A.K.B. A. K. Bhattacharaya, the master trickster, is in prison in Calcutta, awaiting transfer under Ghote's custody to Bombay. It would be the wildest fantasy to think he should be sitting on the train with Ghote instead. Wouldn't it?

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Shy, self-questioning Inspector Ghote, ‘one of the great creations of detective fiction’ (Alexander McCall Smith), faces a crisis of conscience when he is asked to ignore the murder of an unimportant colleague in this classic mystery – with a brand-new introduction by bestselling author Vaseem Khan. Newly-promoted Inspector Ganesh Ghote is not having a good morning. His office is too hot, his assistant Bikram is late for work and he can’t concentrate on his interminable paperwork, distracted by an insistent, unpleasant smell. Ghote’s day does not improve when he discovers its horrible source: Bikram’s severed head, wrapped in newspaper and stuffed in his office rubbish bin. Who would want to kill a lowly peon? And why would they plant the evidence in the heart of the Bombay Police Crime Branch? Ghote is already planning where to start his investigations when he’s brought up short: his new boss, the forbidding Assistant Commissioner Divekar, thinks the crime altogether unsuitable for their department, and orders him to quietly dispose of the body . . . A Small Case for Inspector Ghote? , H. R. F. Keating’s last novel, takes readers on a journey back to Ghote’s first official case, giving fans and new readers alike an intimate peek into the thoughts and feelings of one of detective fiction’s most human and engaging creations.

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Inspector Ghote, 'one of the great creations of detective fiction' (Alexander McCall Smith), is sent undercover to find corruption within the very police force where he works, in this classic mystery - with a brand-new introduction by bestselling author Vaseem Khan. There are bats everywhere. Swooping and darting overhead, portending darkness and its renewed flurry of uncheckable pickpocketing. In the back garden, terrifying Inspector Ghote's wife and child and stripping his prized plantain tree of fruit. But the modest yet determined Bombay detective must contend with more serious bats – the five, possibly corrupt, CID officers who make up the Black-money and Allied Transaction Squad, the anti-fraud team known as the Bats. His assignment has come from the top: join the squad and spy on their every move, to uncover which of the high-flying officers is leaking information to the very criminals they're meant to be arresting. Ghote, who is currently out of favour with his boss, sees in this new assignment a chance to prove himself. But as his time with the squad increases, so do his suspicions about the whole team. His instincts tell him to trust no one – and soon that includes his own family . . .

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Indefatigable Inspector Ghote – one of the great creations of detective fiction – (Alexander McCall Smith), investigates a young woman's puzzling disappearance in swinging sixties London – with a brand-new introduction by bestselling author Vaseem Khan Inspector Ganesh Ghote of the Bombay CID is determined not to put a foot wrong when he arrives in England, the land of calm, dignity and order. He is, himself, on the most dignified of missions: attending the Emergency Conference on the Smuggling of Dangerous Drugs, on behalf of his hospitalised boss. But, almost immediately, things go wrong. Not only is his suitcase the shabbiest at the airport, but he is unexpectedly met in the Arrivals hall by a noisy, weeping relative, who clutches his feet and implores him to investigate the disappearance of a seventeen-year-old girl known, mystifyingly, as the Peacock. Much against his will, Ghote finds himself dividing his precious time in London between his duties at the conference and his unofficial investigations – investigations which take him into a darker, seedier London than he'd ever imagined possible.

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Inspector Ghote, 'one of the great creations of detective fiction' (Alexander McCall Smith), is assigned his most baffling case yet: preventing the murder . . . of a flamingo, in this classic mystery - with a brand-new introduction by bestselling author Vaseem Khan. Inspector Ganesh Ghote of the Bombay CID is taken aback when his boss, the rage-prone Deputy Superintendent Naik, cheerfully summons him with an unusual order: to stop a murder. But his boss's good mood turns out to be the least bizarre thing about the situation. For the potential murder victim is an expensive flamingo – a gift from the US Consul – and if Ghote doesn't prevent it meeting the same tragic end as its three companions, it could result in serious embarrassment for the government. Saddled with the most incompetent sergeant in the history of policing, Ghote investigates with his usual thoroughness, and soon suspects the flamingo-slaying is linked to a whole series of elaborate, unkind pranks. Who would do such a thing, and why? The hard-working inspector doesn't get the joke. But when the case takes a darker turn, all thoughts of humour are forgotten . . .

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Inspector Ghote, 'one of the great creations of detective fiction' (Alexander McCall Smith), discovers why blackmail is known as the 'iciest sin' when he sets a trap for a blackmailer �– and falls into it himself, in this classic mystery with a brand-new introduction by bestselling author Vaseem Khan. Miss Dolly Daruwala may well be the most practised blackmailer Bombay has ever seen, or so Inspector Ghote's superiors tell him. Dolly has angered – and impoverished – many highly placed officials, and has become an embarrassment to the influential Parsi community. They want an end to her vile practices. To his deep dismay, Ghote discovers that he has been selected to conduct a highly irregular, and illegal, act of his own: break into the blackmailer's apartment and catch her in the act. But what the good detective ends up witnessing, from his uncomfortable position under Miss Daruwala's bed, is a crime of an even great magnitude: murder. Shaken and confused, Ghote hesitates – and allows the murderer to escape, setting in motion a chain of events that has the power to rob Ghote of everything he holds dear . . .

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Inspector Ghote, 'one of the great creations of detective fiction' (Alexander McCall Smith), investigates the curious case of a stolen exam paper in this classic mystery - with a brand-new introduction by bestselling author Vaseem Khan. Bombay University is in the grip of a cheating scandal, centred on one of its most deplorable colleges. A final exam paper has been stolen and sold prior to the test, leading to calls for the principal's immediate resignation. The prime suspect for the theft, the student Bala Chambhar, is in a coma, after taking an overdose of sleeping pills. Inspector Ganesh Ghote of the Bombay CID is sent in to wrap up what appears to be a straightforward case: how did Bala steal the paper from Principal Bembalkar's locked office? But what he finds soon leads him to ask a different question: did Bala try to take his own life – or was he poisoned? Hindered by student protests, and under pressure from his superiors, Ghote investigates with his usual thoroughness, only to find corruption, scandal and chaos wherever he looks . . .

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Inspector Ghote, 'one of the great creations of detective fiction' (Alexander McCall Smith), reluctantly becomes India's answer to Hercule Poirot when he's summoned to solve a mysterious murder worthy of Agatha Christie herself in this classic mystery - with a brand-new introduction by bestselling author Vaseem Khan. Inspector Ganesh Ghote of the Bombay CID is flattered when he's expressly summoned by a former ambassador, Surinder Mehta, to investigate a mysterious murder in the faraway hill station of Ootacamund. A body has been found on the billiard table at the genteel Ooty Club, a gathering place for well-to-do Indians and Englishmen – and the influential Mehta believes that only Ghote will be able to solve the crime. On arrival, Ghote discovers, to his dismay, that Mehta, an aging crime buff steeped in classic British mysteries, believes him to be a Great Detective, with powers of deduction second only to Sherlock Holmes or Hercule Poirot. Ghote, trapped unwillingly in a second-rate detective story, decides that the only way to end this charade is to solve the case. But as he interrogates the motley group of suspects, his unreliable Watson spouting increasingly wild pet theories, he begins to despair of ever discovering the truth . . .

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Dignified, hard-working Inspector Ghote, 'one of the great creations of detective fiction' (Alexander McCall Smith), is handed a case that has the potential to destroy his career in this classic mystery - with a brand-new introduction by bestselling author Vaseem Khan. Ramrao Pendke, heir to a massive country fortune, is in Bombay recovering from a kidney transplant operation when he's bludgeoned to death at the Tick Tock Watchworks. The murderer, the watch shop's owner, promptly confesses. So Inspector Ganesh Ghote of the Bombay CID is puzzled to be called in by the head of the whole State police force, to investigate such an open-and-shut case further. To Ghote's dismay, he soon discovers he's been handed a political hot potato. For the alleged murderer has influential relations – who are adamant their dreamy, watch-obsessed cousin could not have committed such a violent crime. And, worse, the dead man had an unpleasant cousin of his own . . . who now stands to inherit a vast fortune, in his place. Did 'bad hat' Ganpatrao Pendke kill his cousin? Ghote must investigate, whilst knowing an unpleasant truth: he's been chosen for this case specifically because he's considered expendable, so a single misstep could end his career.

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