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Malabar House #6
The Edge of Darkness
'Persis Wadia, denizen of India's own Slough House' Alis Hawkins
'Hugely entertaining, devilishly clever' Antonia Hodgson
India, 1951. After wilfully ignoring orders, Persis Wadia, India's first female police detective, is exiled from Bombay to the wild and mountainous Naga Hills District. As India's first post-Independence election looms, and tensions rise across the country, Persis finds herself banished to the Hotel Victoria, a crumbling colonial-era relic, her career in tatters.
But when a prominent politician is murdered in his locked room at the Victoria, his head missing, she is thrust back into the fray. Is the murderer one of the foreigners staying at the hotel or an insurgent from the surrounding jungle? As the political situation threatens to explode, Persis has only days to stop a killer operating at the very edge of darkness...
'Historical fiction at its finest' Mail on Sunday
'Brilliant!' Ann Cleeves
'Khan writes with charm and wit, and an eye for detail that transports the reader entirely' Chris Whitaker
'Persis is a brilliant creation and this is historical fiction at its finest' Daily Mirror
**Discover the charming and cozy Baby Ganesh crime series by Vaseem Khan, available now**
'Hugely entertaining, devilishly clever' Antonia Hodgson
India, 1951. After wilfully ignoring orders, Persis Wadia, India's first female police detective, is exiled from Bombay to the wild and mountainous Naga Hills District. As India's first post-Independence election looms, and tensions rise across the country, Persis finds herself banished to the Hotel Victoria, a crumbling colonial-era relic, her career in tatters.
But when a prominent politician is murdered in his locked room at the Victoria, his head missing, she is thrust back into the fray. Is the murderer one of the foreigners staying at the hotel or an insurgent from the surrounding jungle? As the political situation threatens to explode, Persis has only days to stop a killer operating at the very edge of darkness...
'Historical fiction at its finest' Mail on Sunday
'Brilliant!' Ann Cleeves
'Khan writes with charm and wit, and an eye for detail that transports the reader entirely' Chris Whitaker
'Persis is a brilliant creation and this is historical fiction at its finest' Daily Mirror
**Discover the charming and cozy Baby Ganesh crime series by Vaseem Khan, available now**
342 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 22, 2026
About the author
Vaseem Khan
60 books1,100 followersVaseem Khan is the author of two award-winning crime series set in India and the upcoming Quantum of Menace, the first in a series featuring Q from the James Bond franchise. His debut, The Unexpected Inheritance of Inspector Chopra, was selected by the Sunday Times as one of the 40 best crime novels published 2015-2020. In 2021, Midnight at Malabar House, the first in the Malabar House novels set in 1950s Bombay, won the CWA Historical Dagger. Vaseem was born in England, but spent a decade working in India. Vaseem is the current Chair of the UK Crime Writers Association.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 77 reviews
March 13, 2026
I've read 6 of these and I enjoy how the mystery is unraveled by the author. His plotting is clever (although he does withhold key clues).
-- The new setting of Nagaland and the inclusion of Naga people are refreshing and provide a different challenge for Persis to exert herself.
--I appreciated the ongoing critique/use of British colonialism and several very relevant and timely lessons given today's global unrest and violence. Many metaphors and issues in the book, set in 1951, are recognizable in contemporary news. This includes the case of the murder of an indigenous person while in police custody, the use of military to quell native "insurgents," and the dynamics of a dominant group oppressing (more accurately, threatened by) minority ones.
-- I figured out that one character was involved (though not as it was revealed).
-- I accurately guessed about a significant location.
And having read the series, I'm noticing some things:
-- Vaseem is now using a lot of en-dashes. It's a new thing and I'm not sure why but I do think he feels that he needs to explain more in a parenthetical way.
-- Vaseem seems to be "overwriting" more. Flowery language is sprinkled more often. I think it's unnecessary and distracting.
-- I'm starting to wonder if Persis is basically a male character with a female name. I say this with all the warranted caveats.
-- The new setting of Nagaland and the inclusion of Naga people are refreshing and provide a different challenge for Persis to exert herself.
--I appreciated the ongoing critique/use of British colonialism and several very relevant and timely lessons given today's global unrest and violence. Many metaphors and issues in the book, set in 1951, are recognizable in contemporary news. This includes the case of the murder of an indigenous person while in police custody, the use of military to quell native "insurgents," and the dynamics of a dominant group oppressing (more accurately, threatened by) minority ones.
-- I figured out that one character was involved (though not as it was revealed).
-- I accurately guessed about a significant location.
And having read the series, I'm noticing some things:
-- Vaseem is now using a lot of en-dashes. It's a new thing and I'm not sure why but I do think he feels that he needs to explain more in a parenthetical way.
-- Vaseem seems to be "overwriting" more. Flowery language is sprinkled more often. I think it's unnecessary and distracting.
-- I'm starting to wonder if Persis is basically a male character with a female name. I say this with all the warranted caveats.
February 21, 2026
10 stars if possible!
I am so glad I found this series two years ago. Khan is a wonderful writer: funny, erudite and knowledgeable. Historical fiction at its finest, with the most likeable protagonist and a loveable supporting cast.
What I love about Khan is his control. In the hands of another, inferior, writer, the many threads of this case would have become bad red herrings, the kind that don’t amount to anything because without them the mystery would have been solved in two chapters. Instead, Khan pulls just right at all these threads and never lets them unravel, while bringing us to a conclusion that weaves them together.
A master of the game, and another masterful story in the series.
I am so glad I found this series two years ago. Khan is a wonderful writer: funny, erudite and knowledgeable. Historical fiction at its finest, with the most likeable protagonist and a loveable supporting cast.
What I love about Khan is his control. In the hands of another, inferior, writer, the many threads of this case would have become bad red herrings, the kind that don’t amount to anything because without them the mystery would have been solved in two chapters. Instead, Khan pulls just right at all these threads and never lets them unravel, while bringing us to a conclusion that weaves them together.
A master of the game, and another masterful story in the series.
April 2, 2026
Persis Wadia, India’s first female detective, is exiled to the remote Naga Hills in 1951 for ignoring orders from her male bosses. Amidst rising political tensions (including a fight for independence by the Naga people), she investigates a locked-room decapitation of a local politician at the Victoria Hotel, teetering on the brink of bankruptcy. The local military wants the blame placed on a legendary local tribesmen, leaving Persis with pressure from all sides. She finds out that none of the hotel guests are not what they appear to be, and neither is her love-struck local police assistant. The perp and rationale are very well cloaked until the end. Best book in series (of six) so far, and cool cover too.
February 3, 2026
India's first female detective faces separatist revolutionaries
Kiran Bedi became India’s first female police officer in 1972 and distinguished herself in a 35-year career. But the Anglo-Indian mystery author Vaseem Khan instead imagined that someone like her had joined the Bombay police two decades earlier. In five suspenseful historical detective novels, he traced Persis Wadia’s trajectory through the early years of Indian independence.
Now, after a year of headlined successes and ill treatment in Bombay, Persis has been exiled to India’s tumultuous far Northeast. Assigned to the Naga Hills District of Assam Province, Persis must do her job in the face of officials who have made her unwelcome . . . amidst a violent insurrection by fierce local tribespeople who seek to carve out their own state.
Khan tells the story in The Edge of Darkness, the sixth novel in his Malabar House series.
The governor’s body is missing his head
Here she is, “banished from Bombay, sent three thousand kilometers eastwards to the very edge of the country, to lose herself in these godforsaken hills. . . The cases that she had investigated back at the Malabar House station in Bombay—beginning, just over a year ago, with the murder of a prominent English diplomat—had catapulted her to national attention, a star at the tender age of twenty-eight.”
But those headlines mean little to the powers that be in the Naga Hills. Both of the top officials—the governor and the military commander—think she is miscast as a police officer. Then the governor turns up dead in a bathtub inside a locked room in a luxury hotel. His head is missing. And Persis is the ranking investigator in the local police. To say the least, it’s a thankless job.
The principal characters in this puzzling mystery
In addition to Persis Wadia herself, a passel of other characters play significant roles in the story. These include both three other recurring characters as well as a number of those who first enter the story in The Edge of Darkness.
Recurring characrers
Superintendent Roshan Seth, who had been Persis’ boss at the Malabar House police station in Bombay. He too is an exile in the Naga Hills. He is a highly capable detective with many years of service behind him. But the new Indian leaders of the Indian Police Service had banished him to Malabar House, the graveyard for police careers. They believed him too close to the British officers who had preceded them. Seth has become a drunk and is of little help to Persis now.
Archie Blackfinch, a British criminalist who had moved to India. He is there to help the Indian Police Service build a network of forensic labs around the country. He and Persis had fallen in love at a time and place when their careers would both be ruined if the public were to learn of their relationship. In this story, Archie lies in a coma in a Bombay hospital, the victim of a political assassin whom Persis had killed in her last case in Bombay.
Sam Wadia, Persis’ cantankerous father. He owns a bookstore in Bombay and watches every customer with suspicion, convinced they steal his books. He uses a wheelchair.
Local characters
Governor Mohan Sinha is a prominent politician close to Prime Minister Nehru, who had sent him to impose order on the Naga Hills.
Colonel Hiten Shroff commands the Indian Army detachment in the hills. He is fiercely suspicious of the local people and threatens a massacre after the governor’s murder. He and almost everyone else are convinced Naga separationists had carried out the murder. Only Persis believes otherwise.
Sub-inspector James is the able local police officer who is Persis’ deputy.
The suspects
The principal suspects are five foreigners who, like Persis herself, are housed in the luxurious Victoria Hotel in Kohima, along with Governor Sinha. They include an American long resident in the Naga Hills who owns a large mining company, a young Italian woman who is a foreign newspaper correspondent, a couple who are American Baptist missionaries, and a young British man who is Mohan Sinha’s personal aide.
Combine all these characters in a single, locked-room murder mystery, and you’ve got a fascinating case. It’s a thrilling ride. And it illuminates an important chapter in India’s post-independence history.
The historical background
The early 1950s were one of the most eventful periods in India’s long and wildly colorful history. Partition and India’s declaration of independence from the British Empire had taken place only in 1947.
Now, most of the massive subcontinent is easing into acceptance of its new status under the democratic governments of Prime Ministers Liaquat Ali Khan in Pakistan and Jawaharlal Nehru in India.
As many as 10 million Hindu and Sikh refugees were adjusting to new lives inside the new borders. Nehru’s central government was struggling to buy off the rulers of the more than 500 princely states and integrate them into the fledgling nation. C
onflicts over caste and class were raging as a high-level committee led by an Untouchable politician crafted India’s 395-article constitution.
Meanwhile, Nehru’s socialist government struck out on a path to navigate between the West and the Communist Bloc. But there was even more going on.
Violent separatist movements
The remnants of the two million Indian soldiers who had served the Empire in World War II had made their way back home. There, they had amplified the cry for independence. But pockets of resistance to the new order had erupted in violence, abetted in some places by veterans of the war. And nowhere was the resistance fiercer than in the far northeast of India. There, unruly mountain tribes doggedly held out for an independent state of their own. Much of the violence centered in the Naga Hills. There, Nehru’s representatives struggled to keep order just as their British predecessors had done. It was a losing battle for a long time.
Warring tribes and linguistic diversity
Today, India’s northeast encompasses a patchwork quilt of eight states, bordering China, to Mizoram in the south, abutting Bangladesh, Myanmar, and Bhutan. The messy-looking map resembles nothing more than an American state carved up by gerrymandering. It reflects the extraordinary ethnic and linguistic diversity of the area. The center of the earlier violence has become the state of Nagaland, a tiny enclave between the much larger state of Assam and the nation of Myanmar.
Note: India recognizes 22 major, or “scheduled,” languages, but 122 are spoken by more than 10,000 people, However, there is a grand total of more than 1,500 languages and dialects in use throughout the country.
About the author
More readers know the British detective author Vaseem Khan for his gimmicky six-book series of Baby Ganesh Detective Agency novels. It’s about a retired Mumbai detective and his sidekick, a baby elephant. The five books published to date in his lesser-known Malabar House series are far better, in my opinion.
Khan was born in London in 1973 and educated at the London School of Economics. He worked for ten years as a management consultant to an Indian hotel group building environmentally-friendly hotels around the country. Since 2006, he has worked at University College London for the Department of Security and Crime Science.
Kiran Bedi became India’s first female police officer in 1972 and distinguished herself in a 35-year career. But the Anglo-Indian mystery author Vaseem Khan instead imagined that someone like her had joined the Bombay police two decades earlier. In five suspenseful historical detective novels, he traced Persis Wadia’s trajectory through the early years of Indian independence.
Now, after a year of headlined successes and ill treatment in Bombay, Persis has been exiled to India’s tumultuous far Northeast. Assigned to the Naga Hills District of Assam Province, Persis must do her job in the face of officials who have made her unwelcome . . . amidst a violent insurrection by fierce local tribespeople who seek to carve out their own state.
Khan tells the story in The Edge of Darkness, the sixth novel in his Malabar House series.
The governor’s body is missing his head
Here she is, “banished from Bombay, sent three thousand kilometers eastwards to the very edge of the country, to lose herself in these godforsaken hills. . . The cases that she had investigated back at the Malabar House station in Bombay—beginning, just over a year ago, with the murder of a prominent English diplomat—had catapulted her to national attention, a star at the tender age of twenty-eight.”
But those headlines mean little to the powers that be in the Naga Hills. Both of the top officials—the governor and the military commander—think she is miscast as a police officer. Then the governor turns up dead in a bathtub inside a locked room in a luxury hotel. His head is missing. And Persis is the ranking investigator in the local police. To say the least, it’s a thankless job.
The principal characters in this puzzling mystery
In addition to Persis Wadia herself, a passel of other characters play significant roles in the story. These include both three other recurring characters as well as a number of those who first enter the story in The Edge of Darkness.
Recurring characrers
Superintendent Roshan Seth, who had been Persis’ boss at the Malabar House police station in Bombay. He too is an exile in the Naga Hills. He is a highly capable detective with many years of service behind him. But the new Indian leaders of the Indian Police Service had banished him to Malabar House, the graveyard for police careers. They believed him too close to the British officers who had preceded them. Seth has become a drunk and is of little help to Persis now.
Archie Blackfinch, a British criminalist who had moved to India. He is there to help the Indian Police Service build a network of forensic labs around the country. He and Persis had fallen in love at a time and place when their careers would both be ruined if the public were to learn of their relationship. In this story, Archie lies in a coma in a Bombay hospital, the victim of a political assassin whom Persis had killed in her last case in Bombay.
Sam Wadia, Persis’ cantankerous father. He owns a bookstore in Bombay and watches every customer with suspicion, convinced they steal his books. He uses a wheelchair.
Local characters
Governor Mohan Sinha is a prominent politician close to Prime Minister Nehru, who had sent him to impose order on the Naga Hills.
Colonel Hiten Shroff commands the Indian Army detachment in the hills. He is fiercely suspicious of the local people and threatens a massacre after the governor’s murder. He and almost everyone else are convinced Naga separationists had carried out the murder. Only Persis believes otherwise.
Sub-inspector James is the able local police officer who is Persis’ deputy.
The suspects
The principal suspects are five foreigners who, like Persis herself, are housed in the luxurious Victoria Hotel in Kohima, along with Governor Sinha. They include an American long resident in the Naga Hills who owns a large mining company, a young Italian woman who is a foreign newspaper correspondent, a couple who are American Baptist missionaries, and a young British man who is Mohan Sinha’s personal aide.
Combine all these characters in a single, locked-room murder mystery, and you’ve got a fascinating case. It’s a thrilling ride. And it illuminates an important chapter in India’s post-independence history.
The historical background
The early 1950s were one of the most eventful periods in India’s long and wildly colorful history. Partition and India’s declaration of independence from the British Empire had taken place only in 1947.
Now, most of the massive subcontinent is easing into acceptance of its new status under the democratic governments of Prime Ministers Liaquat Ali Khan in Pakistan and Jawaharlal Nehru in India.
As many as 10 million Hindu and Sikh refugees were adjusting to new lives inside the new borders. Nehru’s central government was struggling to buy off the rulers of the more than 500 princely states and integrate them into the fledgling nation. C
onflicts over caste and class were raging as a high-level committee led by an Untouchable politician crafted India’s 395-article constitution.
Meanwhile, Nehru’s socialist government struck out on a path to navigate between the West and the Communist Bloc. But there was even more going on.
Violent separatist movements
The remnants of the two million Indian soldiers who had served the Empire in World War II had made their way back home. There, they had amplified the cry for independence. But pockets of resistance to the new order had erupted in violence, abetted in some places by veterans of the war. And nowhere was the resistance fiercer than in the far northeast of India. There, unruly mountain tribes doggedly held out for an independent state of their own. Much of the violence centered in the Naga Hills. There, Nehru’s representatives struggled to keep order just as their British predecessors had done. It was a losing battle for a long time.
Warring tribes and linguistic diversity
Today, India’s northeast encompasses a patchwork quilt of eight states, bordering China, to Mizoram in the south, abutting Bangladesh, Myanmar, and Bhutan. The messy-looking map resembles nothing more than an American state carved up by gerrymandering. It reflects the extraordinary ethnic and linguistic diversity of the area. The center of the earlier violence has become the state of Nagaland, a tiny enclave between the much larger state of Assam and the nation of Myanmar.
Note: India recognizes 22 major, or “scheduled,” languages, but 122 are spoken by more than 10,000 people, However, there is a grand total of more than 1,500 languages and dialects in use throughout the country.
About the author
More readers know the British detective author Vaseem Khan for his gimmicky six-book series of Baby Ganesh Detective Agency novels. It’s about a retired Mumbai detective and his sidekick, a baby elephant. The five books published to date in his lesser-known Malabar House series are far better, in my opinion.
Khan was born in London in 1973 and educated at the London School of Economics. He worked for ten years as a management consultant to an Indian hotel group building environmentally-friendly hotels around the country. Since 2006, he has worked at University College London for the Department of Security and Crime Science.
July 2, 2026
Really enjoyed this. A different feel and setting to previous books in this series but feels like a bridge. Very evocative and melancholy.
January 17, 2026
5* The Edge of Darkness - Vaseem Khan. India’s first female detective is banished to an outpost and finds herself trying to solve a politically explosive locked room mystery.
A welcome 6th outing for Persis, whose previous exploits have seen her banished to the Naga Hills, along with her superior officer. Surrounded by a fiercely proud Naga community who are seeking independence, if Persis’s posting was to keep her out of trouble, it fails miserably when a prominent man is found murdered in the same hotel that Persis is staying in. The murder, in true Agatha Christie style, appears impossible and could only have been committed by someone in the hotel.
Vaseem set standards high at the outset of this series and it has been persistently brilliant. Blending Indian history with fiction, the plotting is superb but the true glory is in the characters. Persis is front and centre here but there are cameos for all the old favourites including Archie and Sam, both back in Bombay.
This could be read as a standalone, not least because the action is set on a completely different location to the earlier books. However is this such a rich series, it’s well worth starting at the beginning.
Thanks to Hodder & Stoughton and Netgalley for an ARC.
A welcome 6th outing for Persis, whose previous exploits have seen her banished to the Naga Hills, along with her superior officer. Surrounded by a fiercely proud Naga community who are seeking independence, if Persis’s posting was to keep her out of trouble, it fails miserably when a prominent man is found murdered in the same hotel that Persis is staying in. The murder, in true Agatha Christie style, appears impossible and could only have been committed by someone in the hotel.
Vaseem set standards high at the outset of this series and it has been persistently brilliant. Blending Indian history with fiction, the plotting is superb but the true glory is in the characters. Persis is front and centre here but there are cameos for all the old favourites including Archie and Sam, both back in Bombay.
This could be read as a standalone, not least because the action is set on a completely different location to the earlier books. However is this such a rich series, it’s well worth starting at the beginning.
Thanks to Hodder & Stoughton and Netgalley for an ARC.
February 18, 2026
Persis Wadia has been exiled from Bombay to the Naga Hills District where she is staying in a crumbling colonial-style hotel. Her lover, the Englishman Archie Blackmore lies in a coma in Bombay, being tended to by his wife. Things are all very quiet, despite the Naga people's rebellious activities in the surrounding jungle, until one of her fellow guests, a prominent local politician, is found murdered in his locked room - decapitated in his bath with his head nowhere to be found!
Given the circumstances Persis is sure that one of the guests or staff at the hotel must have committed the crime. Was it the politician's loyal aide? The American husband and wife missionaries? The American businessman? The Naga woman who owns the hotel? And how did they murder him when the door was locked?
While this took me a long time to get into, once it got going the action was think and fast. Once more, Persis seems to get injured an inordinate amount of times over the course of just a few days, the woman must have a skull of titanium!
I was congratulating myself on guessing the identity of the murderer (albeit not necessarily for the right reasons) but (without spoiling the plot) the ending felt a bit like everything including the kitchen sink.
I enjoyed this, but not as much as the previous book.
I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley.
Given the circumstances Persis is sure that one of the guests or staff at the hotel must have committed the crime. Was it the politician's loyal aide? The American husband and wife missionaries? The American businessman? The Naga woman who owns the hotel? And how did they murder him when the door was locked?
While this took me a long time to get into, once it got going the action was think and fast. Once more, Persis seems to get injured an inordinate amount of times over the course of just a few days, the woman must have a skull of titanium!
I was congratulating myself on guessing the identity of the murderer (albeit not necessarily for the right reasons) but (without spoiling the plot) the ending felt a bit like everything including the kitchen sink.
I enjoyed this, but not as much as the previous book.
I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley.
February 12, 2026
Disappointing. I have read all the Persis books to date and I liked them at first but this one is weak. Loaded with really lame metaphors, cheesy dialogue, and the tone is too sardonic. And how do you cut off a living person's head and not have arterial spray all over the room? How is this detective from Bombay able to communicate so well with all these people in Bengal and Assam as well as the indigenous hill folk? They would have had major language barriers.
February 27, 2026
Persis is so back, loved the setting of this one.
June 14, 2026
The Edge of Darkness is the 6th book in the series of Malabar House and I'm skipping a lot on character development here. Meeting Persis Wadia, our female detective as she was thrusted into this politically unrest place, Naga Hills District away from the bustling Bombay after a conflict. Starting this story with no clue on Persis background can be a tough challenge to piece what's her history since we are in sixth book where there is new murder and new place but as a standalone, I will say if we focus on murder on hand without taking account into Persis's conflict maybe its the best way to enjoy it. However, there were a lot of background stories to her conflict here so it does gets hard not to be distracted by them cuz while Persis is investigating the brutal murder, she is also battling with her past that she is running away from leaving a man she is in affair with back in Bombay.
With the violent murder of a powerful figure, a politician sent to Naga Hills to rule the state, the man Mohan Sinha was brutally murdered in the hotel suite, left his headless corpse in the bath tub. An eerie & disturbing discovery that led the unwilling Persis who stayed in the same Hotel Victoria to take the job to solve the murder as tension is rising in Naga Hills. The story is set in India in 1951 post-independence where the first general election is happening soon and the Naga Hills is where the indigenous tribe of Naga people is facing a conflict with India as they are pursuing independent state but facing a challenge with the authoritarian conflict with India. Blending historical facts with fiction, this open my eyes on the history as I learned more about Naga people and their cultures, their customs, cultural beliefs, their tribes' challenges and the political tension that rises at the time. The story was interesting as we tried to find who is the murderer while also learning about the history of Naga tribes. There is the history on Christian missionaries on that came to this place and also on the British invasion and tight hold on the nation back then.
Though, the mystery was interesting, the story was meandering at times with side plot of Persis conflict and I don't exactly like the sudden interest or her conflicting desire for the handsome sub partner, James which felt too out of place for a crime mystery here. I mean you have a murder investigation here, focus on that please. I do like that we get some of the hardship she went through as the first female detective in male dominated world and they touched upon this in some parts but in the end, it just feels too on the surface.
Thank you Definitely Books for the review copy.
With the violent murder of a powerful figure, a politician sent to Naga Hills to rule the state, the man Mohan Sinha was brutally murdered in the hotel suite, left his headless corpse in the bath tub. An eerie & disturbing discovery that led the unwilling Persis who stayed in the same Hotel Victoria to take the job to solve the murder as tension is rising in Naga Hills. The story is set in India in 1951 post-independence where the first general election is happening soon and the Naga Hills is where the indigenous tribe of Naga people is facing a conflict with India as they are pursuing independent state but facing a challenge with the authoritarian conflict with India. Blending historical facts with fiction, this open my eyes on the history as I learned more about Naga people and their cultures, their customs, cultural beliefs, their tribes' challenges and the political tension that rises at the time. The story was interesting as we tried to find who is the murderer while also learning about the history of Naga tribes. There is the history on Christian missionaries on that came to this place and also on the British invasion and tight hold on the nation back then.
Though, the mystery was interesting, the story was meandering at times with side plot of Persis conflict and I don't exactly like the sudden interest or her conflicting desire for the handsome sub partner, James which felt too out of place for a crime mystery here. I mean you have a murder investigation here, focus on that please. I do like that we get some of the hardship she went through as the first female detective in male dominated world and they touched upon this in some parts but in the end, it just feels too on the surface.
Thank you Definitely Books for the review copy.
April 12, 2026
This was more of a 3.5 stars for me, but as that isn’t an option, I’ve rounded up! It has made me want to read the others in the series. Given that this is number 6, it’s not bad going that Vaseem Kahn has kept my interest and made me feel that I know enough about Persis and other characters who have clearly been introduced in earlier books.
I do love a ‘whodoneit’ and the closed door mystery element and age in which the book is set, all add to the general intrigue. I did thoroughly enjoy reading the book, though I can’t help missing Chopra and wishing for another in that series.
I do love a ‘whodoneit’ and the closed door mystery element and age in which the book is set, all add to the general intrigue. I did thoroughly enjoy reading the book, though I can’t help missing Chopra and wishing for another in that series.
April 14, 2026
I have enjoyed all the books in this series. This one just as much as the rest.
July 10, 2026
One of the best from Vaseem Khan!!
August 29, 2026
Augmenting my woeful knowledge of world history through his fictionalised series Khan has introduced me to India.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
The Edge of Darkness pulls you straight out of the crowded, familiar streets of 1950s Bombay, and throws you deep into Nagaland, a place as remote as it is unpredictable, perched on India’s far eastern edge. Here’s where Inspector Persis Wadia, India’s first female detective, lands after Bombay exiles her for refusing to follow orders. She doesn’t just have to solve a murder; she’s fighting for control in a world that wants nothing to do with her. The central mystery? Classic locked-room suspense. Someone’s murdered a local politician in a crumbling colonial hotel, head missing, and the tension is so thick you feel trapped alongside her. All this with national elections on the horizon, nerves frayed, politics ready to combust. Persis has to crack the case and somehow keep the region from blowing up.
Persis is a powerhouse, and this book throws her into the toughest fight of her career. She’s not someone who gives up, but Nagaland is nothing like Bombay. She’s isolated, suspected, and forced to work in a place where tribal loyalty and old wounds matter more than anything she learned as a cop back home. The hotel itself is stuffed with suspects: foreigners, local power brokers, officials. Everyone’s hiding something, and Persis has to decide fast who she can trust. She can’t count on backup, just her instinct and her stubborn refusal to let go.
Khan explores themes of exile, upheaval, and the messiness of a country trying to define itself after the British left. It’s 1951, and you can feel the scars of Partition everywhere. Nagaland’s own struggles with the central government take center stage, and it’s not just historical window dressing. You see echoes of today’s fights over self-determination and the way history itself becomes a weapon. The novel isn’t just about a murder; it’s about who gets to decide what the future looks like, and who gets trampled along the way.
Khan’s writing is sharp and immersive. Bombay felt alive in his earlier books, but Nagaland is something else; tense, unfamiliar, haunted. The Victoria Hotel isn’t just a backdrop; it’s a living piece of history, heavy with old secrets. The storytelling is a tight, classical locked-room mystery fused with geopolitical thriller elements, which is a rare and exciting blend. The attention to historical detail makes the story feel weighty and authentic. What makes this particular book unique within the Malabar House series is how it strips Persis of her familiar context, forcing her to rely purely on her wits in a situation where she has no institutional support. This shift makes the stakes feel incredibly high.
The book’s emotional impact comes from watching Persis fight for justice in a place where no one wants her there and the truth could genuinely spark violence. Her determination is inspiring, and the sheer historical and cultural depth Khan brings to the setting is arresting. My only constructive criticism is that the density of the political background, while crucial, requires the reader’s full attention, but the reward is a richly satisfying and intelligent mystery. It’s a fantastic read that not only entertains but compels you to connect this specific historical moment to the struggles for identity and justice happening in the world right now.
Persis is a powerhouse, and this book throws her into the toughest fight of her career. She’s not someone who gives up, but Nagaland is nothing like Bombay. She’s isolated, suspected, and forced to work in a place where tribal loyalty and old wounds matter more than anything she learned as a cop back home. The hotel itself is stuffed with suspects: foreigners, local power brokers, officials. Everyone’s hiding something, and Persis has to decide fast who she can trust. She can’t count on backup, just her instinct and her stubborn refusal to let go.
Khan explores themes of exile, upheaval, and the messiness of a country trying to define itself after the British left. It’s 1951, and you can feel the scars of Partition everywhere. Nagaland’s own struggles with the central government take center stage, and it’s not just historical window dressing. You see echoes of today’s fights over self-determination and the way history itself becomes a weapon. The novel isn’t just about a murder; it’s about who gets to decide what the future looks like, and who gets trampled along the way.
Khan’s writing is sharp and immersive. Bombay felt alive in his earlier books, but Nagaland is something else; tense, unfamiliar, haunted. The Victoria Hotel isn’t just a backdrop; it’s a living piece of history, heavy with old secrets. The storytelling is a tight, classical locked-room mystery fused with geopolitical thriller elements, which is a rare and exciting blend. The attention to historical detail makes the story feel weighty and authentic. What makes this particular book unique within the Malabar House series is how it strips Persis of her familiar context, forcing her to rely purely on her wits in a situation where she has no institutional support. This shift makes the stakes feel incredibly high.
The book’s emotional impact comes from watching Persis fight for justice in a place where no one wants her there and the truth could genuinely spark violence. Her determination is inspiring, and the sheer historical and cultural depth Khan brings to the setting is arresting. My only constructive criticism is that the density of the political background, while crucial, requires the reader’s full attention, but the reward is a richly satisfying and intelligent mystery. It’s a fantastic read that not only entertains but compels you to connect this specific historical moment to the struggles for identity and justice happening in the world right now.
January 25, 2026
India’s first female police inspector, Persis Wadia, has been exiled from Bombay, sent to the remote Naga Hills as punishment for her successes at work. It is a desolate place filled with tribal animosities and an armed independence movement that wants to be free of India. The Indian governor of Nagaland, Mohan Sinha, has just been murdered in his hotel suite, his head cut off and taken away, while his body is left in a blood-soaked bathtub. Moreover, the suite was empty of other people and locked from the inside, so how could anybody have committed this crime? Persis suspects that it must been either a member of the hotel staff, or one or more of the few guests, but piecing together the possibilities is an almost impossible task….The Malabar House series, of which this is the sixth, is set in early 1950s India; the books do a marvelous job of blending fictional police procedural in a historical setting that few Westerners are familiar with, so that the reader gets a history lesson while being entertained by the mystery. In the first books, Persis is a tightly wound, hot-headed and somewhat reckless woman who is trying to prove herself in the very masculine world of policing, and one of the joys of these books is seeing how she grows and learns as time passes; she’s still stubborn and reckless here, but she also takes time to think things through much more than she did earlier on. I think it’s probably necessary to begin with the first book in the series, Midnight at Malabar House, in order to make sense of everything going on in this book, but as it’s an interesting series, I don’t think that would be a problem for any reader; recommended.
June 9, 2026
'The Edge of Darkness', the sixth instalment in the Malabar House series is a welcoming return to post-Partition India and the antics of Inspector Persis Wadia and her boss Roshan Seth.
Following the end of book 5, Persis and Roshan are both sent to the outskirts of India in the Naga district as punishment by the government and higher police officials. There, as Persis adjusts to the slow pace of life and the difficulties of living in the remote hills, a murder occurs on her doorstep at her hotel 'the Hotel Victoria'.
The mystery itself presents a classic locked-room murder, where it appears impossible as to how the murderer could have entered and left without being seen. Nevertheless, this sets in motion a 300-page story as Persis unravels the truth of what occurred that night.
I found this book to be an enjoyable read, but less engaging than the initial 5 books in the series. The romantic storyline between Persis and Archie Blackfinch, and the introduction of her new interest, James, provided a warmer backdrop to an otherwise gruesome murder. However, even this felt confused and weak in parts, as descriptions of Persis' emotions became tricky to understand. The resolution of the crime itself was simple, but still surprising enough to keep the reader engaged.
In elements the series has become somewhat formulaic, and I feel the shifting of the setting to the Naga district unfortunately did not have the desired effect of giving enough of a setting change to the reader. I hope in future books Persis can explore more states in India, particularly Delhi, Punjab or Gujarat and explore the post-Partition effects in these districts.
Following the end of book 5, Persis and Roshan are both sent to the outskirts of India in the Naga district as punishment by the government and higher police officials. There, as Persis adjusts to the slow pace of life and the difficulties of living in the remote hills, a murder occurs on her doorstep at her hotel 'the Hotel Victoria'.
The mystery itself presents a classic locked-room murder, where it appears impossible as to how the murderer could have entered and left without being seen. Nevertheless, this sets in motion a 300-page story as Persis unravels the truth of what occurred that night.
I found this book to be an enjoyable read, but less engaging than the initial 5 books in the series. The romantic storyline between Persis and Archie Blackfinch, and the introduction of her new interest, James, provided a warmer backdrop to an otherwise gruesome murder. However, even this felt confused and weak in parts, as descriptions of Persis' emotions became tricky to understand. The resolution of the crime itself was simple, but still surprising enough to keep the reader engaged.
In elements the series has become somewhat formulaic, and I feel the shifting of the setting to the Naga district unfortunately did not have the desired effect of giving enough of a setting change to the reader. I hope in future books Persis can explore more states in India, particularly Delhi, Punjab or Gujarat and explore the post-Partition effects in these districts.
May 26, 2026
Another fascinating exploration of post-independence India, as Persis attempts to solve a classic locked door murder mystery in the Naga Hills.
I knew little about the political situation and the early days of what was to become the long conflict in the Naga Hills region so I found these aspects really intetesting. This, combined with the remaining colonial tensions, creates a great backdrop as Persis tries to solve the murder. The characters are vivid and varied with plenty of red herrings and dangerous cliffhangers.
Persis remains a frustrating character, difficult to warm to. Her love interest has been in a coma for most of the last two books which makes it tricky to move a relationship forward! The family and colleagues that help to humanise her are absent again, so the focus is all on Persis who hides from her own feelings and seems to take little joy in anything. Despite her faults, I can't help warming to her and admiring her determination.
Another enjoyable story and I'm so pleased that book 7 is out next year.
I knew little about the political situation and the early days of what was to become the long conflict in the Naga Hills region so I found these aspects really intetesting. This, combined with the remaining colonial tensions, creates a great backdrop as Persis tries to solve the murder. The characters are vivid and varied with plenty of red herrings and dangerous cliffhangers.
Persis remains a frustrating character, difficult to warm to. Her love interest has been in a coma for most of the last two books which makes it tricky to move a relationship forward! The family and colleagues that help to humanise her are absent again, so the focus is all on Persis who hides from her own feelings and seems to take little joy in anything. Despite her faults, I can't help warming to her and admiring her determination.
Another enjoyable story and I'm so pleased that book 7 is out next year.
April 16, 2026
I’m sorry to give this book only two stars, as the story is pretty good. However, the author’s unrelenting use of bad similes is crazily distracting and irritating. The simile density is thick (often a couple per page) and almost universally awful (e.g., “The fortifications gave the otherwise regal edifice a furtive, badly disguised look, like a Russian aristocrat on the run from Bolsheviks.”). I don’t understand why the author has started doing this (very noticeable in his previous few Malabar House books, but not the earliest books) or why his editors don’t do something. I loved the first few in the series, but I don’t think I can go on.
August 1, 2026
1951. Persis and her boss have both been exiled from Bombay to Nagaland on the borders of Burma. Many of the locals desire independence of their own, rather than being part of India. But when she discovers an Indian politician murdered, decapitated—with the head missing&mdashin a locked room, Persis faces on the most challenging cases in her career. This convoluted mystery full of interesting, believable characters, with its mysterious setting is extremely difficult to put down. Recommended.
February 2, 2026
I’ve loved all of Vaseem Khan’s Malabar House series since the very beginning, so I couldn’t wait for the 6th in this brilliant series, The Edge of Darkness. It’s a series I read in print and then listen to as an audiobook, because I enjoy it so much.
I really enjoyed this book. Inspector Persis Wadia is driven to her limits in all senses: geographically, politically, and emotionally. Banished from Bombay to the Naga Hills District in North East India, where hilltop tribes are still renowned as headhunters. In this setting, she’s been stripped of her authority and her professional progression. Seeing her response to that exile is such a pleasure.
Persis has always been defined by her refusal to bow to authority, and here that stubborn integrity is both her greatest strength and her most dangerous flaw. She is furious at being sidelined, acutely aware of how her gender and independence continue to ruffle feathers in a newly independent India that still clings to colonial hierarchies. Yet that anger sharpens her instincts. When the Region’s Governor turns up murdered in a locked room, his body mutilated in a grotesque fashion, Persis’s restless mind immediately starts worrying about the impossibilities of the crime. She notices what others dismiss, asks the questions that make men in authority bristle, and refuses to accept the convenient explanation.
The remote setting of the hotel, together with the oppressive heat, and the region’s turbulent political setting, creates an oppressive atmosphere simmering with unrest. Naga insurgents in the nearby jungle are determined to fight for their independence, and are prepared to use violence to achieve their aims. Danger surrounds Persis, but that doesn’t stop her from walking straight towards it.
With a cast of suspects who range from a political adviser, a prominent businessman, missionaries and even a journalist, to hotel guests and staff, blaming the ‘foreigners’ at the hotel where all the suspects and Persis herself are quartered, is the easy answer, and one Persis’ bosses are more than happy to accept.
Archie Blackfinch, the forensic scientist with whom she has worked closely in the past, is a background figure in this novel, as he’s out of action, back in Bombay. But Persis’ relationship with him is still one of the emotional anchors in this book. Even though he’s not with her, you can feel Archie’s influence in Persis’s methodical approach to the corpse and her respect for forensic detail. Their relationship, which was built on mutual trust, a shared intellectual curiosity, and affection, has always grounded Persis, and now it serves as a reminder of the life she’s been forced to leave behind. I loved how Khan uses that separation to underline Persis’s isolation, while still letting Archie’s voice echo in her head as she reconstructs the crime.
Persis’s dynamic with James Angami, the new constable she is paired with in the Naga Hills, is fascinating. Young, local, and navigating the tensions between community loyalty and official duty, he becomes Persis’ guide, and his admiration for her grows. Working with Angami, Persis has to confront how ‘outsider’ status works and, in the process, learns a great deal. Her nature leads her to treat this junior constable as an equal rather than a subordinate, and that opens doors that previously were closed in the face of her superiors’ blind arrogance.
Her personality, of course, keeps landing her in trouble. Persis’s refusal to defer, her tendency to act first and justify later, puts her constantly at odds with political bureaucrats more concerned with optics than justice, especially with an election looming. But that’s the beauty of Khan’s series and why I love these books. Persis Wadia doesn’t just solve puzzles; she challenges systems.
Verdict: The Edge of Darkness is rich in atmosphere, politically charged, and deeply human. It is a locked-room mystery set against the portrait of a nation trying to work out what it wants to be. This is Persis bruised, defiant, and utterly compelling.
I really enjoyed this book. Inspector Persis Wadia is driven to her limits in all senses: geographically, politically, and emotionally. Banished from Bombay to the Naga Hills District in North East India, where hilltop tribes are still renowned as headhunters. In this setting, she’s been stripped of her authority and her professional progression. Seeing her response to that exile is such a pleasure.
Persis has always been defined by her refusal to bow to authority, and here that stubborn integrity is both her greatest strength and her most dangerous flaw. She is furious at being sidelined, acutely aware of how her gender and independence continue to ruffle feathers in a newly independent India that still clings to colonial hierarchies. Yet that anger sharpens her instincts. When the Region’s Governor turns up murdered in a locked room, his body mutilated in a grotesque fashion, Persis’s restless mind immediately starts worrying about the impossibilities of the crime. She notices what others dismiss, asks the questions that make men in authority bristle, and refuses to accept the convenient explanation.
The remote setting of the hotel, together with the oppressive heat, and the region’s turbulent political setting, creates an oppressive atmosphere simmering with unrest. Naga insurgents in the nearby jungle are determined to fight for their independence, and are prepared to use violence to achieve their aims. Danger surrounds Persis, but that doesn’t stop her from walking straight towards it.
With a cast of suspects who range from a political adviser, a prominent businessman, missionaries and even a journalist, to hotel guests and staff, blaming the ‘foreigners’ at the hotel where all the suspects and Persis herself are quartered, is the easy answer, and one Persis’ bosses are more than happy to accept.
Archie Blackfinch, the forensic scientist with whom she has worked closely in the past, is a background figure in this novel, as he’s out of action, back in Bombay. But Persis’ relationship with him is still one of the emotional anchors in this book. Even though he’s not with her, you can feel Archie’s influence in Persis’s methodical approach to the corpse and her respect for forensic detail. Their relationship, which was built on mutual trust, a shared intellectual curiosity, and affection, has always grounded Persis, and now it serves as a reminder of the life she’s been forced to leave behind. I loved how Khan uses that separation to underline Persis’s isolation, while still letting Archie’s voice echo in her head as she reconstructs the crime.
Persis’s dynamic with James Angami, the new constable she is paired with in the Naga Hills, is fascinating. Young, local, and navigating the tensions between community loyalty and official duty, he becomes Persis’ guide, and his admiration for her grows. Working with Angami, Persis has to confront how ‘outsider’ status works and, in the process, learns a great deal. Her nature leads her to treat this junior constable as an equal rather than a subordinate, and that opens doors that previously were closed in the face of her superiors’ blind arrogance.
Her personality, of course, keeps landing her in trouble. Persis’s refusal to defer, her tendency to act first and justify later, puts her constantly at odds with political bureaucrats more concerned with optics than justice, especially with an election looming. But that’s the beauty of Khan’s series and why I love these books. Persis Wadia doesn’t just solve puzzles; she challenges systems.
Verdict: The Edge of Darkness is rich in atmosphere, politically charged, and deeply human. It is a locked-room mystery set against the portrait of a nation trying to work out what it wants to be. This is Persis bruised, defiant, and utterly compelling.
May 3, 2026
Like The City of Destruction, the previous book in this superb Malabar House series, The Edge of Darkness is set in India in 1951. The setting is however completely different, moving from the seething metropolis of Bombay to the mountainous, jungle region of the Naga Hills District, an area in the north-east bordering with Burma (now Myanmar). Tensions are running high throughout India and the army, commanded by Colonel Shroff, has already been sent to quell resistance in the Naga area where insurgents are continuing their longstanding fight for independence.
Inspector Persis Wadia is India’s first female detective. Highly intelligent and independently minded, her tactless approach to those in authority and ability to upset the male dominated police force by being outstandingly good at solving crimes, Persis has finally met her comeuppance. She has been posted to the small and isolated Kohima police station in the Naga district which is a week’s journey from Bombay. On arrival Persis is billeted in the luxurious Hotel Victoria. She has only been there for a few weeks when the headless body of Mohan Sinha, the area’s governor, is discovered in his room.
Tight security at the hotel dictates that the crime had to have been committed by somebody inside the building. Apart from Persis and Apeni Ao, the hotel’s female owner, and a couple of hotel staff, that left only the five guests staying in the hotel: Sinha’s aide John Templeton, American husband and wife missionaries Florence and Christopher Danvers, Italian journalist Maria Fontanelli, and businessman Oran Rake.
The local, demoralized police chief, Roshan Seth, who used to be Persis’s boss in Bombay, has also been shunted off into the wilderness. He puts Persis in charge of the investigation. Apart from a keen young sub-inspector, James Angami, she has little other help. Persis soon finds reasons to suspect all the guests. Some are not whom they profess to be, whilst others, including the murdered man, have previous history both with each other and the area and its troubles. So, was this killing politically motivated, a product of the modern, local insurgency as Colonel Shroff insists? Is the insurgency being encouraged and supported by outside agencies like the Americans and the Chinese who are following their own agendas? Or, is the killing more personal? Are modern grievances, some possibly with roots extending back to earlier cruelties and crimes being settled? As the intrepid Persis tries to separate personal and local issues from the national picture, she manages to survive several hair-raising, life-threatening situations.
In The Edge of Darkness Vaseem Kahn combines history, humour and criminal misdemeanors with an attractive range of individual characters in a delightfully easy to read and fascinating story. Apart from the odd flutter of attraction between James and herself, Persis struggles to manage her feelings for Archie Blackfinch, an Englishman she met in Bombay. Archie had been in a coma since he was shot months previously. However, he regained consciousness just before the end of the story when he rings Persis and asks her to come back to him. Will she? Won’t she? Can one of the most attractive and interesting female characters in today’s crime genre get herself reinstated back to Bombay? Hopefully we will find out in the next installment - book no 7 - from Malabar House.
-------
Reviewer Angela Crowther
For Lizzie Sirett (Mystery People Group)
Inspector Persis Wadia is India’s first female detective. Highly intelligent and independently minded, her tactless approach to those in authority and ability to upset the male dominated police force by being outstandingly good at solving crimes, Persis has finally met her comeuppance. She has been posted to the small and isolated Kohima police station in the Naga district which is a week’s journey from Bombay. On arrival Persis is billeted in the luxurious Hotel Victoria. She has only been there for a few weeks when the headless body of Mohan Sinha, the area’s governor, is discovered in his room.
Tight security at the hotel dictates that the crime had to have been committed by somebody inside the building. Apart from Persis and Apeni Ao, the hotel’s female owner, and a couple of hotel staff, that left only the five guests staying in the hotel: Sinha’s aide John Templeton, American husband and wife missionaries Florence and Christopher Danvers, Italian journalist Maria Fontanelli, and businessman Oran Rake.
The local, demoralized police chief, Roshan Seth, who used to be Persis’s boss in Bombay, has also been shunted off into the wilderness. He puts Persis in charge of the investigation. Apart from a keen young sub-inspector, James Angami, she has little other help. Persis soon finds reasons to suspect all the guests. Some are not whom they profess to be, whilst others, including the murdered man, have previous history both with each other and the area and its troubles. So, was this killing politically motivated, a product of the modern, local insurgency as Colonel Shroff insists? Is the insurgency being encouraged and supported by outside agencies like the Americans and the Chinese who are following their own agendas? Or, is the killing more personal? Are modern grievances, some possibly with roots extending back to earlier cruelties and crimes being settled? As the intrepid Persis tries to separate personal and local issues from the national picture, she manages to survive several hair-raising, life-threatening situations.
In The Edge of Darkness Vaseem Kahn combines history, humour and criminal misdemeanors with an attractive range of individual characters in a delightfully easy to read and fascinating story. Apart from the odd flutter of attraction between James and herself, Persis struggles to manage her feelings for Archie Blackfinch, an Englishman she met in Bombay. Archie had been in a coma since he was shot months previously. However, he regained consciousness just before the end of the story when he rings Persis and asks her to come back to him. Will she? Won’t she? Can one of the most attractive and interesting female characters in today’s crime genre get herself reinstated back to Bombay? Hopefully we will find out in the next installment - book no 7 - from Malabar House.
-------
Reviewer Angela Crowther
For Lizzie Sirett (Mystery People Group)
July 15, 2026
This latest in the Persis Wadis (the-first-female-police-woman in India) series is somewhat less peculiar than some of Khan’s other writing (see my review of Death of a Lesser God).
That is not to say that Khan is no longer presenting us with occasional lapses of fact and frequent symbolism and similes which stretch credulity and challenge logic. But the style is toned down here and sometimes he waxes almost poetic!
Here are some examples:
Starting on p. 1, he describes a character as looking “cadaverous” although the man is still alive. Couldn’t he have found a more specific description?
The architecture of India is described thus: “Calcutta’s neoclassical torso…Bombay’s Victorian hips” ??? p. 25 (Not a clue what this means…)
On the other hand:
On p. 38 “Oren Rake released a bark of laughter into the room. It raced around, knocking things over then vanished through a window.“
0n p. 48 Persis observes that “The book by her bedside — an Agatha Christie novel — made encouraging, come-hither noises but she was too tired to indulge the grande dame.”
On p. 180 one character “…wore a shirt stretched so tightly around his more-than-ample stomach it looked set to explode from his frame in a confetti of cotton.” Not just a popped button or two?
On p. 259 “The case flapped its way across the room and settled on his table.“
Meanwhile “…anxiety pulled up a seat at the table, grinned at him…” !!
And on p. 280 “An uncomfortable silence sauntered into the room, hands in pockets, whistling nonchalantly.” Which tune I would like to know?!
These examples I can accept as unusual but interesting descriptions but I draw the line on p. 62 when he refers to “…a whole other kettle of skulls…” and on p. 86 when a man reacts “…snarling at them like a gorilla in heat.” (Technically only females go into heat — the man may snarl in outsized rage but not “in heat.” Furthermore is it natural for gorillas “in heat” to express any particular hostility or anger??)
Another issue I have with this book is that for several days in succession Persis barely escapes from attempts on her life.
Among other things, including the deadly snake in her bedroom, she survives and then finds her way out of a collapsed coal mine! Is it then likely that she would stop to get out of her car to contemplate the case when she is in an area known to be very dangerous and she is alone at night?? (p. 123-5). I don’t think so!
And then there’s this: is it co-incidence or imitation or how does Khan explain that the police agents in the station that Persis is assigned to are a collection of odd rejects and misfits, which is exactly like the description of those officers working under Inspector Gamache in Louise Penny’s detective series??? Certainly this is not a common occurrence in police forces around the world??
My conclusion is that while Khan’s writing is coming along in interesting ways, and the locked room murder plot here is ingenious, and as usual a lot of hitherto unknown (at least to me) historical material is presented, I have to say I did not enjoy this book as much as I had hoped and expected.
However, there is one final quote p. 320 well worth pondering: “What was life anyway but a series of events over which you had only the illusion of control?”
Good question!
That is not to say that Khan is no longer presenting us with occasional lapses of fact and frequent symbolism and similes which stretch credulity and challenge logic. But the style is toned down here and sometimes he waxes almost poetic!
Here are some examples:
Starting on p. 1, he describes a character as looking “cadaverous” although the man is still alive. Couldn’t he have found a more specific description?
The architecture of India is described thus: “Calcutta’s neoclassical torso…Bombay’s Victorian hips” ??? p. 25 (Not a clue what this means…)
On the other hand:
On p. 38 “Oren Rake released a bark of laughter into the room. It raced around, knocking things over then vanished through a window.“
0n p. 48 Persis observes that “The book by her bedside — an Agatha Christie novel — made encouraging, come-hither noises but she was too tired to indulge the grande dame.”
On p. 180 one character “…wore a shirt stretched so tightly around his more-than-ample stomach it looked set to explode from his frame in a confetti of cotton.” Not just a popped button or two?
On p. 259 “The case flapped its way across the room and settled on his table.“
Meanwhile “…anxiety pulled up a seat at the table, grinned at him…” !!
And on p. 280 “An uncomfortable silence sauntered into the room, hands in pockets, whistling nonchalantly.” Which tune I would like to know?!
These examples I can accept as unusual but interesting descriptions but I draw the line on p. 62 when he refers to “…a whole other kettle of skulls…” and on p. 86 when a man reacts “…snarling at them like a gorilla in heat.” (Technically only females go into heat — the man may snarl in outsized rage but not “in heat.” Furthermore is it natural for gorillas “in heat” to express any particular hostility or anger??)
Another issue I have with this book is that for several days in succession Persis barely escapes from attempts on her life.
Among other things, including the deadly snake in her bedroom, she survives and then finds her way out of a collapsed coal mine! Is it then likely that she would stop to get out of her car to contemplate the case when she is in an area known to be very dangerous and she is alone at night?? (p. 123-5). I don’t think so!
And then there’s this: is it co-incidence or imitation or how does Khan explain that the police agents in the station that Persis is assigned to are a collection of odd rejects and misfits, which is exactly like the description of those officers working under Inspector Gamache in Louise Penny’s detective series??? Certainly this is not a common occurrence in police forces around the world??
My conclusion is that while Khan’s writing is coming along in interesting ways, and the locked room murder plot here is ingenious, and as usual a lot of hitherto unknown (at least to me) historical material is presented, I have to say I did not enjoy this book as much as I had hoped and expected.
However, there is one final quote p. 320 well worth pondering: “What was life anyway but a series of events over which you had only the illusion of control?”
Good question!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 12, 2026
Here we have a departure from the usual setting for Malabar House novels; Persis has been banished to a posting in the remote Naga Hills, hundreds of miles away from her home in Bombay and the motley crew at Malabar house police station. She has to navigate a world totally unfamiliar to her, surrounded by jungle, different Naga Tribes, regional insurgency and rising tensions.
I thought this change of scene was really effective in establishing Persis as being out of her depth, and simultaneously giving her a chance to thrive solving yet another complex political murder with a limited pool of suspects. I enjoyed the extra historical context, which is always a welcome learning point in all of the Malabar house novels, and this one is no different. I did not know about the history of Nagaland and its struggle for independence before reading this.
A classic locked room puzzle, Persis and her newly appointed deputy, James, have to work together to solve this politically sensitive and highly complex case. The murder of politician Mohan Sinha is one of the more complicated plots in the series, and also one of the most gruesome. I wasn’t sure about having a brand new character for Persis to bounce off at this late stage in the series, but he ended up being nicely rounded and did add to the narrative. He is also devilishly handsome, which certainly helps.
Mainly I was very impressed that 6 books in, the quality of the mystery, research, and character development are all still fantastic. It is rare that this high level is maintained in a series which has so many volumes, but Khan manages to pull it off every time! He deftly weaves all the strands of the narrative, subplot upon subplot to an epic denouement. No spoilers but it was a very exciting last 4 chapters!
My only gripes are number of characters, and their relations to each other, and that Persis once more sustains several serious head injuries. (How is she still standing at this point??!) Again, sans spoilers, there is a lot going on already without a myriad of background characters/ minor characters and so it got fairly confusing at times. I started a small post it with names and family links on which helped.
I’m sad that I’ve finished this series (hoping for book number 7 after the slight cliffhanger ending) but it was another 5 star novel for me.
Here are some of my favourite quotes: (one includes the title of the book!)
“Her previous jungle adventure had convinced her that if she never saw another tree again it would be too soon” (page 269)
“They say each brush with death ages you. Right now I feel about a thousand years old. I think the only reason I’m alive is out of sheer habit”.
“And for a policewoman operating at the very edge of darkness, easy answers were as hard to come by as a rich man’s journey through the eye of a needle” (page 204)
I thought this change of scene was really effective in establishing Persis as being out of her depth, and simultaneously giving her a chance to thrive solving yet another complex political murder with a limited pool of suspects. I enjoyed the extra historical context, which is always a welcome learning point in all of the Malabar house novels, and this one is no different. I did not know about the history of Nagaland and its struggle for independence before reading this.
A classic locked room puzzle, Persis and her newly appointed deputy, James, have to work together to solve this politically sensitive and highly complex case. The murder of politician Mohan Sinha is one of the more complicated plots in the series, and also one of the most gruesome. I wasn’t sure about having a brand new character for Persis to bounce off at this late stage in the series, but he ended up being nicely rounded and did add to the narrative. He is also devilishly handsome, which certainly helps.
Mainly I was very impressed that 6 books in, the quality of the mystery, research, and character development are all still fantastic. It is rare that this high level is maintained in a series which has so many volumes, but Khan manages to pull it off every time! He deftly weaves all the strands of the narrative, subplot upon subplot to an epic denouement. No spoilers but it was a very exciting last 4 chapters!
My only gripes are number of characters, and their relations to each other, and that Persis once more sustains several serious head injuries. (How is she still standing at this point??!) Again, sans spoilers, there is a lot going on already without a myriad of background characters/ minor characters and so it got fairly confusing at times. I started a small post it with names and family links on which helped.
I’m sad that I’ve finished this series (hoping for book number 7 after the slight cliffhanger ending) but it was another 5 star novel for me.
Here are some of my favourite quotes: (one includes the title of the book!)
“Her previous jungle adventure had convinced her that if she never saw another tree again it would be too soon” (page 269)
“They say each brush with death ages you. Right now I feel about a thousand years old. I think the only reason I’m alive is out of sheer habit”.
“And for a policewoman operating at the very edge of darkness, easy answers were as hard to come by as a rich man’s journey through the eye of a needle” (page 204)
February 10, 2026
Book number 6 in the Malabar House series, it’s a standout endearing series which I absolutely love, for me this is the best so far. The richness , depth and quality to the storytelling show why Vaseem Khan is one of todays finest crime writers.
This has a slightly different feel to it, partly as it is not set in Bombay but in the Naga hills region, however, it still retains that wonderful ability to create and build up a story that is full of warmth, heart and emotion and a cracking murder mystery.
Vaseem Khan’s writing has a way of grabbing the readers attention from the get go and not letting go until that last page has been turned.
The book is tightly plotted written in a way to keep you guessing, as a story it just flows on the page, it is only Persis’s dogged determination that will get to the truth.
Persis has been sent away as a punishment, however, you get the feeling that Persis sees it as a challenge to prove the authorities wrong. Persis has to tread a somewhat fine line due to who the victim is, not always easy for her, that a murder has been comitted there is no doubt and with the authors inimitable dry humour, you get the classic line ‘ I think we can rule out suicide’ in fact throughout the book you get this dry humour to undercut the fact you are dealing with a violent crime.
Persis is such a wonderfully written character, she has a fierce independence about, strong willed with a steely determination to make her way in a male dominated world, but underneath that though there is a softer side and her friendship with Archie Blackmore is never far from her thoughts. It would be fair to say that all the characters within the book are superbly drawn out.
Within the books as a whole I love the sense of time, place and location you get, the landscape is depicted in a vibrant and colourful way its brings the settings to life, then you have the way the book is written with a backdrop of the politics of the day, a fascinating time in Indias history, giving the story that sense of realism.
Sometimes you have to feel sorry for Persis, as usual partly due to her gung-ho nature Persis finds herself in danger, sometimes you feel she is in over her head, the circumstances though always fit the narrative.
As usual due to the times which the book is set, there is a large degree of politics in play, however, Persis has a way of seemingly ignoring this and leaves her bosses to deal with any fall out, her only focus is on finding the killer and the truth whatever the cost.
As you read on the suspense and dramatic tension increase. The reveal and the truth hit you right between the eyes, not one I had seem coming, all down to the authors ability to create this air of mystery.
This is a classic locked room mystery but so much more, a superbly crafted story one in which you can see the research into the period which has been undertaken to ensure the reader gets that feeling of authencity into the people and times, such a compelling and engaging read.
Historical crime fiction at its finest, be prepared to be transported back in time, with writing which is as vibrant as it is rich, full of charm. highly recommend, I can’t wait to see what happens next
This has a slightly different feel to it, partly as it is not set in Bombay but in the Naga hills region, however, it still retains that wonderful ability to create and build up a story that is full of warmth, heart and emotion and a cracking murder mystery.
Vaseem Khan’s writing has a way of grabbing the readers attention from the get go and not letting go until that last page has been turned.
The book is tightly plotted written in a way to keep you guessing, as a story it just flows on the page, it is only Persis’s dogged determination that will get to the truth.
Persis has been sent away as a punishment, however, you get the feeling that Persis sees it as a challenge to prove the authorities wrong. Persis has to tread a somewhat fine line due to who the victim is, not always easy for her, that a murder has been comitted there is no doubt and with the authors inimitable dry humour, you get the classic line ‘ I think we can rule out suicide’ in fact throughout the book you get this dry humour to undercut the fact you are dealing with a violent crime.
Persis is such a wonderfully written character, she has a fierce independence about, strong willed with a steely determination to make her way in a male dominated world, but underneath that though there is a softer side and her friendship with Archie Blackmore is never far from her thoughts. It would be fair to say that all the characters within the book are superbly drawn out.
Within the books as a whole I love the sense of time, place and location you get, the landscape is depicted in a vibrant and colourful way its brings the settings to life, then you have the way the book is written with a backdrop of the politics of the day, a fascinating time in Indias history, giving the story that sense of realism.
Sometimes you have to feel sorry for Persis, as usual partly due to her gung-ho nature Persis finds herself in danger, sometimes you feel she is in over her head, the circumstances though always fit the narrative.
As usual due to the times which the book is set, there is a large degree of politics in play, however, Persis has a way of seemingly ignoring this and leaves her bosses to deal with any fall out, her only focus is on finding the killer and the truth whatever the cost.
As you read on the suspense and dramatic tension increase. The reveal and the truth hit you right between the eyes, not one I had seem coming, all down to the authors ability to create this air of mystery.
This is a classic locked room mystery but so much more, a superbly crafted story one in which you can see the research into the period which has been undertaken to ensure the reader gets that feeling of authencity into the people and times, such a compelling and engaging read.
Historical crime fiction at its finest, be prepared to be transported back in time, with writing which is as vibrant as it is rich, full of charm. highly recommend, I can’t wait to see what happens next
January 26, 2026
This was a fascinating and convoluted tale of 1950s India that kept me guessing right to the end. Although The Edge of Darkness is book 6 in the Malabar House series, it’s the first I’d ever read. There were references to previous books in the series, but I was able to jump right in and get to know the main detective, Persis Wadia, and her world.
Persis, India’s first female police detective, has just been transferred from Bombay to the Naga region, which has a completely different ethnic, cultural, and political identity. Her first case in this new district turns out to be a beheading (!) in a locked room at the hotel where she is temporarily staying.
Things I loved about this story: the locked room mystery. The many possible suspects and motives. The descriptions of the region and its unique culture. The danger around every turn. And finally, the very convoluted but satisfying solution. The novel seemed to start slowly, establishing its cast of characters and rich setting, then picked up speed as it went. One aspect that almost had me second-guessing the author was a detail that didn’t quite ring true, but as I continued to read, it turns out there was good reason for this: the person in question was not what they seemed. I enjoyed the author’s tendency to pile one image on top of another: “[H]e asked her to dance, completely forgetting that he could dance about as well as a camel with wooden legs, one of them sawn off at the knee.” I will go back and read the previous books in this series now, and look forward to further installments in the future. Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to read a review copy of this book.
Persis, India’s first female police detective, has just been transferred from Bombay to the Naga region, which has a completely different ethnic, cultural, and political identity. Her first case in this new district turns out to be a beheading (!) in a locked room at the hotel where she is temporarily staying.
Things I loved about this story: the locked room mystery. The many possible suspects and motives. The descriptions of the region and its unique culture. The danger around every turn. And finally, the very convoluted but satisfying solution. The novel seemed to start slowly, establishing its cast of characters and rich setting, then picked up speed as it went. One aspect that almost had me second-guessing the author was a detail that didn’t quite ring true, but as I continued to read, it turns out there was good reason for this: the person in question was not what they seemed. I enjoyed the author’s tendency to pile one image on top of another: “[H]e asked her to dance, completely forgetting that he could dance about as well as a camel with wooden legs, one of them sawn off at the knee.” I will go back and read the previous books in this series now, and look forward to further installments in the future. Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to read a review copy of this book.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
This is one of my favourite police procedural series and this didn’t disappoint. Book 6 in the Malabar House Series and India's first female police detective, Persis Wadia, has been transferred from Bombay to Kohima in the Naga Hills district of India leaving her father Sam behind at his bookshop and Archie Blackfinch, a man she got close to, in a coma in hospital. This is nigh on exile for Persis and a punishment for ignoring orders. Her boss Roshan Seth has received a similar punishment. I’m fascinated by India and relish the historical aspect; the Naga desire for independence from India was something I had previously been unaware of.
Briefly, just weeks after arriving in Kohima Persis is staying in the Hotel Victoria when she is summoned by a member of staff concerned about another resident. Mohan Sinha the regions Governor is not answering his locked door. Breaking down the door Sinha’s body is found in his bath, with his head missing. A Christieesque locked room mystery with Persis identifying a cast of five suspects all of whom were in the hotel.
Certainly up there with my favourites in the series. I love Persis. She is such a strong character, not the best at people skills, and doesn’t allow herself to be manipulated by her male colleagues, although she is starting to be a little more circumspect than in the past. A good plot and I was completely fooled as to the killer, and just when I thought that was it another big revelation! A cracking read.
Briefly, just weeks after arriving in Kohima Persis is staying in the Hotel Victoria when she is summoned by a member of staff concerned about another resident. Mohan Sinha the regions Governor is not answering his locked door. Breaking down the door Sinha’s body is found in his bath, with his head missing. A Christieesque locked room mystery with Persis identifying a cast of five suspects all of whom were in the hotel.
Certainly up there with my favourites in the series. I love Persis. She is such a strong character, not the best at people skills, and doesn’t allow herself to be manipulated by her male colleagues, although she is starting to be a little more circumspect than in the past. A good plot and I was completely fooled as to the killer, and just when I thought that was it another big revelation! A cracking read.
July 25, 2026
This is the first Vaseem Khan novel I've read. I'd give it 4 stars for the historical setting and 3.5 for the novel. I knew little about the historical or political background so it was enlightening and gave me things to follow up and research. I hadn't got far into the book before I noticed the influence of other writers such as Mick Herron's Slough House series for the Malabar House scenario. The concept of a sinbin for unsuitable officers worked well enough transplanted to 1950s India. Also plenty of evidence of Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett in the various wise cracking comments and metaphors. For me it felt over written. I like a clever metaphor as much as the next reader and some vocabulary that has you reaching for the dictionary but here it felt as if the author had been on a creative writing course and was determined to lose no opportunity to use as many metaphors as he could fit on side of sustainably produced wood grown paper. I thought it lost pace towards the end as the Officer Persis Wadia attempts 10 more impossible things before tea time. Overall a worthwhile read and I wouldn't say no to reading another.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
This has long been one of my favourite series. This time Persis has been sent off to Kohima and the Naga district. A place being fought over. When a man is murdered in his hotel room a locked room mystery begins.
The brilliant thing with Vaseems books is the authenticy of the culture, set back in 1951, the heat, the descriptions of place all really set a scene. I love the little random details like a chicken sitting on a desk. I know that there is truth behind the fiction and have learnt far more about India and its history this way.
The action really builds and flips between a few different storylines that lead to a brilliant reveal. I had absolutely no hint of who the killer was, and even then the reveals weren't over. A great ending, especially for long term fans of the series. Makes me long for the next book even sooner.
My only minor criticism would be the occasional use of fancy words when they weren't needed. Seemed unnecessary and a jolt from the flow. Im not sure if that was Vaseem or the edits, but it grated a few times.
The brilliant thing with Vaseems books is the authenticy of the culture, set back in 1951, the heat, the descriptions of place all really set a scene. I love the little random details like a chicken sitting on a desk. I know that there is truth behind the fiction and have learnt far more about India and its history this way.
The action really builds and flips between a few different storylines that lead to a brilliant reveal. I had absolutely no hint of who the killer was, and even then the reveals weren't over. A great ending, especially for long term fans of the series. Makes me long for the next book even sooner.
My only minor criticism would be the occasional use of fancy words when they weren't needed. Seemed unnecessary and a jolt from the flow. Im not sure if that was Vaseem or the edits, but it grated a few times.
January 26, 2026
After causing too much trouble at the Malabar House station, Persis Wadia and her boss have been sent to the far northern frontier province of Nagaland. Persis is staying at a local hotel alongside a disparate group including a prominent local politician who is found dead in a locked room, minus his head. Given that the local Naga people were against him and are known as headhunters, the powers that be want this wrapped up quickly as a local terrorist act. However Persis finds that there may a connection to another crime many years ago.
The Malabar House novels are an excellent series and this is the first to really go beyond the city and explore the wider implications of independence on different areas of India. As ever the plot is clever and exciting, linking history with action, and Persis is an engaging character. There's a lot of 'close scrapes and action but also lots of political commentary which makes it rise above other novels.
The Malabar House novels are an excellent series and this is the first to really go beyond the city and explore the wider implications of independence on different areas of India. As ever the plot is clever and exciting, linking history with action, and Persis is an engaging character. There's a lot of 'close scrapes and action but also lots of political commentary which makes it rise above other novels.
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