The Pinnacle

by Abir Mukherjee

James Abercrombie is a Hollywood actor who’s past his prime. Ten years ago, he was box office. These days he’s more boxed wine and coffee adverts.

But they still love him in Asia. On the set of a whisky commercial, he meets the beautiful Sweety Sahota, India’s queen of Bollywood, beloved by billions. Marrying her might revive his fortunes.

They move to Mumbai and into The Pinnacle. Sweety’s career continues to sky-rocket. James’s not so much. He hates India – it’s hot and dirty and crowded and the food upsets his stomach. Soon the marriage is in trouble. Is she cheating on him? The papers seem to think so. They have a clandestine photo of her with her ex-boyfriend, Bollywood heart-throb Chunky.

James hits the bottle, and after one particularly drunken session, wakes in the apartment to find Sweety dead in their bed, her throat slit. Did he kill her? He’s sure he didn’t, but who the hell’s going to believe him?

He needs to find out who killed his wife and why, and he needs to do it fast; before the crime is pinned on him, because, let’s face it, he’s not going to get a fair trial. If he doesn’t work it out, he's as good as dead.

Genres: Mystery, Thriller, Mystery Thriller, India, Fiction, Crime, Audiobook

416 pages, Hardcover

First published June 18, 2026

About the author

Abir Mukherjee is the Times bestselling author of the Sam Wyndham series of crime novels set in Raj era India. His debut, A Rising Man, won the CWA Endeavour Dagger for best historical crime novel of 2017 and was shortlisted for the MWA Edgar for best novel. His second novel, A Necessary Evil, won the Wilbur Smith Award for Adventure Writing and was a Zoe Ball Book Club pick. His third novel, Smoke and Ashes, was chosen by the Sunday Times as one of the 100 Best Crime & Thriller Novels since 1945. Abir grew up in Scotland and now lives in London with his wife and two sons.

Reviews

[Shannon Moeser · Rating 5 out of 5]

THE PINNACLE by Abir Mukherjee is the first book to be placed in my "2026-favourites" folder. I believe it's Mukherjee's best thus far, and I have given several of his books a 5 star rating. I give this one a 5+ star rating.

To reach this pinnacle for me (pun intended), a novel must have:
1) Excellent writing;
2) Well-rounded characters; and
3) Social relevance.

THE PINNACLE has, in addition, lots of humour, which adds to its enjoyment. I laughed many times while reading the first chapter and continued laughing throughout the book, even though there were also numerous serious scenes. It is this conjunction of humour and deep issues that gives the whole its strength. (Like the combination of strengths and flaws that create the well-rounded characters.)

Brief Synopsis

George Abercrombie was once a top-rated Hollywood action star, but he's aging, plus he pissed off the newly elected US president. Consequently, George is now reduced to promoting whisky (and other products) in commercials being filmed in India. Why India? Because George married his beautiful (and much younger) co-star, Sweety, while making his last movie. Sweety was, and is, a Bollywood star, who gets plenty of work in India. So, because of George's problems at home in America, they have moved to India, where they bought an apartment in the Pinnacle, a 70-story marble tower that is home to many VIPs living in Mumbai.

Their marriage isn't perfect. Still George loves Sweety, and consequently when he finds her dead—murdered—the morning after he spent the night sleeping off a bender on the sofa, he is reasonably sure he didn't kill her in a drunken rage, even though they had quarrelled before he went out drinking with his pals. Who killed her? Possibly his PA, Amit, who had brought him home the night before and was now missing.

The story is told from the perspectives of George, Amit, and Glenda (Sweety's PA). The question is who killed Sweety, and why.

Mystery, Thriller, or Social Commentary

Although structured as a mystery, I was quite sure I knew who was behind Sweety's murder by the 15% point in the story, and I think that many readers will identify the most likely villain from clues presented in early chapters. This is not a mystery; it's a thriller, following the travails of the main characters as they seek to discover the truth. It was their actions and the repercussions of these actions that kept me quickly turning pages, engrossed until the end, during this long, complex book.

I think that it works superbly as a thriller mainly because of the intersection of humour and social commentary throughout the narrative.

Plus, Mukherjee is a great writer. He uses imagery skillfully. Not only visual imagery; he also constantly evoked smell and sound images that greatly increased my enjoyment of THE PINNACLE.

This novel is about sexism, about extreme wealth inequality—that is occurring NOW—in India. It is highly relevant. Yet it made me laugh while contemplating these uneasy circumstances.

Highly recommended!!

Thanks to Little, Brown and Company for providing an electronic copy of this book via NetGalley. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinions.

[Michael · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don’t think I’ve ever DNF’d as many books as I have this year. This felt like another read that spun its wheels, never getting anywhere. There’s lots stuffed in between the covers that never seems to matter to the plot, like the building of the title and the cover as one big example. The only characters I was invested in were the Indian staff and would have loved if the mystery had been told from their point of view instead of the insufferable main character.

[Jamad · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Pinnacle is a contemporary murder mystery set in a luxury Mumbai high-rise, where a fading Hollywood actor, George Abercrombie, finds himself the prime suspect when his Bollywood star wife, Sweety Sahota, is found murdered in their apartment after a night he can barely remember. From there the story fans out, taking in missing evidence, uneasy staff, and a building full of people with reasons to keep things hidden.

I have read all of Abir Mukherjee’s books, so it was initially a bit of a jolt to find myself in the present day rather than the 1920s world of the Wyndham and Banerjee series. That said, the shift settles quite quickly. The humour is still there, and George’s weary cynicism is not so far removed from Sam Wyndham’s, just refracted through a different setting and set of problems.

Mukherjee handles the bigger themes—sexism and the gulf between extreme wealth and those who serve it—with a light touch. They sit in the background rather than driving the plot, which keeps the book moving at a steady pace. There are also some sharp asides, particularly the comments on the “fictional” US president, which felt rather on the nose, and I did laugh at the recurring need to “call Sal”.

It is an engaging, neatly constructed mystery with a broad cast and a strong sense of place. I am not sure it quite has the depth or distinctiveness of his earlier historical novels, but it is a solid, readable entry in a new direction.

[Pamela · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was such fun, a fast paced mystery/thriller set in Mumbai with crazy characters and a whole heap of jokes, puns and cultural references.

George Abercrombie is a washed-up Hollywood star. He’s now in Mumbai with his younger and more successful wife Sweety Sahota, making TV commercials and feeling disgruntled. After a row with Sweety, George goes out and gets drunk, waking up to find Sweety murdered. As the prime suspect, he needs to find the real culprit and clear his name while the whole of Mumbai is baying for his blood.

Abir Mukherjee writes very engaging and entertaining stories and this is enjoyable escapism. He takes an affectionate but sharp eyed look at Indian society, exposing its inequity and corruption through quips and smart asides, while demonstrating warmth and compassion for his varied cast of characters - from the luxurious life of Sweety, George and would be influencer Roxanne in the magnificent apartment block of The Pinnacle to Amit the general servant and the maids and laundry workers who service their beautiful lives.

There are some very funny scenes in this book and a genuinely thrilling denouement. I feel most people will identify the villain fairly easily but that won’t spoil the enjoyment of George’s hapless attempts to uncover the truth and there are still a few surprises waiting to be uncovered.

[KBeansbook · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wasn’t a huge fan and initially DF the book but because I was 2/3 of my way through I returned back to it and did finish it. I still think it had too much of the magical elements and the alleged supernatural intelligence of the building the way it would change where the walls stood, where the doors would be replaced and the removal of the windows in rooms where they’d previously been completely set differently. It was an absolute mindf*ck to all the kids in there without a doubt. It was actually quite one for the reader as well. The panicking part was they’ve no way out and their friends who were becoming victims of whatever malevolent energy or source that had caused mayhem 20 years earlier had evidently gained in strength as well as intelligence, it was beginning to seem to the few brave kids who’d gone in to save their friend who’s mother was the one survivor from 2 decades ago that had really lost herself in the aftermath and had become a shell of herself. She spoke to herself continuously and it was always about the hotel and her daughter had it. She was desperate for her mother to come back to her and to make the insanity stop. So she makes the decision to enter the hotel alone and stole a boat to reach the island. On the 20th anniversary of those who never made it out of the hotel all those years ago, the kids who’s parents had either taken their own lives from the trauma in the aftermath or couldn’t be found or had died a gruesome death during hallucinating, these kids realized that one of their own was missing and they all had a pretty good idea where she was. They agree reluctantly to head to island to see if she is there.
These kids who are in this abandoned building, the former hotel has been left vacant because of the tragedy that occurred 20years ago. However, when asked what did occur, not one person will give an answer. It isn’t spoken about at all. So, all the kids who’d been looking forward to their field trip their senior year to a brand new hotel were traumatized, silent or in denial. It was built by a classmates father and an exciting thing to be able to do as a class together because the hotel was very exclusive, had many activities and games to get involved in and it was on an island. The concern with this particular field trip is that nearly 20 years ago, two of these kids parents had done the exact trip with the exception that 2 of them never had exited the building yet couldn’t be found inside of the building either. The local authorities spent years on the extremely high strangeness of the hotel and the eerie atmosphere within it and on the island itself.
Now, 20 years later, these few kids are back on horror island because of this one daughter who’s DETERMINED to get into that building to prove to all the older people, the class that had taken their trip 20 years ago that something is inherently wrong and dangerous with that island and the hotel.. Once these kids get inside, they realize there’s no way out and the longer they are in there the more they BECOME like the source or energy that’s malevolent. Whenever they come across someone that’s been there longer than they have or been exposed to the energy longer, whatever the heck it is in there- all they know is it’s terrifying and beastly making all of those who’s come across it catatonic.

[Victoriakor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Очень симпатично, но мало про высотку!

[Yvonne · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the story of death, corruption, and the film industry set in India. There are lots of cultural and social references that have been woven into the story, and it makes for very interesting reading.

The Pinnacle is a modern building with keycode entry systems, security and is a luxury living complex. Safe and secure for those who reside in it. One couple are James Abercrombie, a has-been American actor who moved to Mumbai with his now wife, Sweety Sahoto, who is a star in her own right in the Bollywood film industry.

After a row, James has a drinking session, the next day he wakes to find the body of Sweety, dead, murdered, and he has no idea how, why or who did it. James is classed as a has-been, an outsider, and when reports start to come in, he doesn't know which way to turn. A key character in this story is Amit, a sort of assistant to James, not particularly liked by most people, but he is also in the frame.

As the story continues, there are some shocking surprises, which are woven nicely into the story and show different attitudes and experiences, as well as the wealth divide. Given that Sweety was a national figure and adored, the truth needs to come out as soon as possible for those who are innocent. But who is innocent?

This is a murder, mystery and thriller story set in India. It is a good pace, lots of twists and some surprising developments. It is one I would be very happy to recommend.

[Jackthedad · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks to Netgalley and Random House UK, Vintage for an advance reader copy. If you want a synopsis, click on the book.

I've enjoyed a few books by Abir Mukherjee so I was keen to read this one. He tells a good story well and it's not often I get the chance to read a story set in India. Some of the characters felt a bit 'caricature' but it didn't spoil the story which had enough twists and a satisfying ending, even though I'd guessed who the villain was. 3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

[Nic · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5* The Pinnacle - Abir Mukherjee. A fun high octane thriller set in the world of the Mumbai super rich.

George Abercrombie, washed up Hollywood star, has hit rock bottom doing adverts for Indian whiskey - whiskey which he deplores. Living with his Bollywood superstar wife, Sweetie, they enjoy the existence of the super-rich looking out at Mumbai from their penthouse suite in The Pinnacle. When Sweetie lets George down, he goes on a bender and wakes on the sofa the next morning. His life is about to be turned upside down. Sweetie is dead. And he has no idea who is responsible or if it could be him.

Abir Mukherjee’s second standalone and this time he returns to the country of his famous series - India. Apparently inspired by the bonkers happenings in Mumbai’s luxurious tower blocks during lockdown, this is a rip roaring ride.

The reader has several characters who could be the perpetrator but no clear motive. And almost everyone involved has a deeper secret that they are clinging to. Abir is brilliant at creating tension and this book takes that skill to the next level. The last third is smart and breathless. It’s huge fun.

Abir is a must read author for me (I saw him as a debut author in Harrogate with A Rising Man) and his books are all fantastic.

Thanks to Random House, Vintage and Netgalley for an ARC.

[Graeme · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good thriller. This is a standalone book from Abir Mukherjee as opposed to his Wyndham and Banherjee series which are excellent.

A top class writter

[Sheetal Bahl · Rating 2 out of 5]

My review is likely biased because I'm a huge fan of the author's Sam Wyndham collection, but nonetheless, he just needs to stop writing mystery thrillers outside of that series. Those are art, the others are trash.

Fading Hollywood star marries rising Bollywood star and moves to India and lives in the most expensive building in Bombay and finds his wife dead and has to clear his name? Ugh.

And the metaphors - my my. I'm so tempted to come up with a metaphor for how bad the metaphors are in this book, but I could spend an eternity and still not come up with something at their level.

But, I'm still giving it two stars because it I finished the book. So maybe there's something in there.

[GD · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have really enjoyed his prior works, but I didn’t have enough patience to complete this book. For instance, it took six pages for George to get off the couch with a hangover and walk into his bedroom and discover that his wife was dead.

[GemsLiteraryGems · Rating 3 out of 5]

George Abercrombie is an aging Hollywood actor who in recent years has fallen into obscurity, unlike his second wife Sweety Sahota. She's the reigning queen of Bollywood and so George has been forced to move to Mumbai to support her career, while he is stuck peddling dreadful Indian Whisky. They've moved into The Pinnacle, one of the most exclusive, and therefore secure, places to live in the city. Following an argument, George goes on an all night bender only to wake up the following day to find his shirt covered in blood and Sweety dead in their bed. Could he really have killed her? He can't seem to remember even getting home and given how the building has CCTV and security guards, the police can't seem to place the blame on any one besides George and their, now missing, staff. But with Sweety's jewellery, phone and laptop missing, he certainly thinks someone else is involved. If only he can stay out of prison long enough to work it out. What he doesn't know is that someone is also blackmailing Sweety's PA to get her to find the missing devices before they release sex tapes of Gemma and one of the country's most prominent politicians. What is on the computer that means that people will kill, steal and blackmail to get their hands on?

The Pinnacle is a mystery set against the backdrop of Mumbai, a city full of intrigue and danger. Abir Mukherjee explores the huge disparity between the elite and poorest in Indian culture. With those barely able to survive providing services for the ultra-rich, there's always going to be a danger lurking below the surface once someone is able to bribe them to do their bidding! There's plenty of political debate in the book, with George not being a fan of his unnamed American president, who thinks he is the best at everything (can't think who he's based on...). Indian politics, similarly to British ones, centre around division and racism fueling hatred between the lowest earners in society. As for the mystery, I wrote down when I thought I knew the who and why, which were both within the first 1/4 of the book, and I was correct. Yes I do read a lot of murder mysteries, so I'm bound to spot huge red flags of clues, but even so I was expecting a few more twists and turns. It is a fun ride, and an interesting dive into Indian life, particularly in the audiobook where the voice actor is great, I just hoped for a bit less of the characters chasing all over the city and a few more plot twists.

[Jayne Burnett · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a slow read for me, I did not like or engage with any of the characters, all selfish and extremely u likeable
A mystery whodunnit tale. The Pinnacle is a luxury high rise in Mumbai, where George and his much younger wife live a privileged lifestyle.
George has woke up, he is hungover, his finds his wife dead in their bed, the shirt he had been wearing the night before is covered in blood, he has no idea what has happened.
Gemma is his wife’s PA, she is being blackmailed for information, she needs access to the crime scene.
Amit, George’s servant robbed George and his wife that night and now finds himself being accused of the murder, to add to his other problems.
Who committed the murder?
I have to confess I gave up halfway with this book I just did not care what happened.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House UK for an ARC of this book in exchange for a review.

[Mary Picken · Rating 5 out of 5]

bir Mukherjee’s The Pinnacle opens with a washed-up Hollywood star waking beside the murdered body of his glamorous Bollywood wife. From there, the novel titlts at full speed with hardly a space for breath.

Set around Mumbai’s most prestigious luxury skyscraper, the Pinnacle becomes more than a backdrop; it is a glittering monument to wealth, power and corruption, where every floor conceals a secret and every resident appears to have something to hide.

The Pinnacle is a genuinely propulsive read. Mukherjee’ structures the story around’s story encompasses multiple viewpoints, among them George Abercrombie, Sweety’s assistant Gemma, and George’s servant Amit. These viewpoints create constant propulsion. Just as one storyline reaches a moment of tension, the narrative switches elsewhere, forcing us to continue. The plot unfolds through a succession of revelations, missing evidence, blackmail schemes, hidden relationships and desperate attempts to stay one step ahead of both the police and far more dangerous adversaries.

The relationship between George Abercrombie and Sweety Sahota is the emotional core of the novel. Their marriage is built upon a fascinating reversal of fortunes. George, once a major Hollywood action star, has become yesterday’s news. Forced to leave the US, he’s now reduced to fronting advertising campaigns in India, while Sweety’s star has continued to rise; she is now Bollywood royalty. The resulting imbalance in their partnership fuels resentment, insecurity and mutual distrust. George’s bitterness over his fading celebrity contrasts sharply with Sweety’s growing success, creating a marriage under immense strain long before murder enters the picture. Then there’s Chunky Malhotra, Sweety’s old boyfriend. Is he back in the picture? Their marriage is a sharp commentary on fame, ageing, gender expectations and the fragility of status.

Mukherjee makes superb use of setting. Mumbai emerges in vivid contrast: the opulence of penthouses and celebrity lifestyles sits alongside poverty, overcrowded streets and the lives of those who serve the wealthy. The Pinnacle expertly explores the gulf between privilege and desperation, with the glittering skyscraper acting as a microcosm of modern India.

While George Abercrombie starts as the novel’s focal point, two of the most compelling characters are Amit and Gemma, whose perspectives broaden the story beyond the privileged world of celebrity and wealth. Through them, Mukherjee explores the lives of those who exist in the shadows of the rich and powerful, giving the novel a depth that elevates it above a conventional murder mystery.

Amit, a servant in the Pinnacle, is the most vulnerable to the consequences of Sweety’s murder. He has knowledge that others would prefer remained hidden, and finds himself drawn into a dangerous web of suspicion and pursuit. His storyline injects a palpable sense of urgency into the narrative. Unlike George, whose wealth affords him some protection, Amit has little power and few resources. Every decision he makes carries potentially devastating consequences, and his precarious position creates really suspenseful sequences. Through Amit’s character, Mukherjee highlights the stark inequalities that underpin the luxury on display throughout the novel. Amit represents the many thousands of workers whose underpaid labour sustains the lifestyles of the elite while leaving these same workers exposed to exploitation and danger.

Gemma is a bridge between the worlds of celebrity and ordinary life. As Sweety Sahota’s assistant, she enjoys access to glamour and influence, yet she is an outsider, without any oof the wealth and status that surrounds her. Her discovery of blackmail adds another layer of intrigue to an already complex plot. Gemma’s chapters work really well in maintaining the novel’s pace because they continually introduce fresh questions and complications. Intelligent, resourceful and often operating under immense pressure, she proves to be as resourceful as any investigator.

Together, Amit and Gemma provide perspectives that counterbalance George’s often cynical and self-absorbed viewpoint. Their stories reveal the human cost of the secrets hidden within the Pinnacle and reinforce one of the novel’s central themes: that beneath every display of luxury lies a network of people whose lives are far more precarious.

By investing these characters with genuine emotional depth, Mukherjee ensures that the novel’s suspense is driven not only by the mystery of who killed Sweety Sahota, but also by concern for the fates of those caught in the aftermath.

Although dealing with the very serious crimes of murder, exploitation, corruption and abuse of power, this book is frequently very funny. George’s self-deprecating cynicism made me laugh, while the social satire skewers celebrity culture, politics and extreme wealth. Abir Mukherjee’s humour runs right through the novel, appearing in the darkest moments and preventing the story from becoming overly grim. Rather than undermining the suspense, the comedy sharpens it by making the characters feel more human and memorable. I especially loved the frequent references to ‘better call Sal,’ George’s agent.

Verdict: This is a book made for the big screen. The Pinnacle succeeds as both a propulsive thriller and a pointed social satire. Its intricate plotting, vividly realised setting, dark humour and relentless pacing combine to produce a novel that feels incredibly cinematic. Mukherjee has produced a thriller that is fabulously entertaining whilst exposing the fault lines beneath a world built on glamour, privilege and power. A must read and very highly recommended.

[M. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m a big fan of this author’s 1920s Wyndham & Banerjee detective series, so I was super excited to read this. A contemporary setting and a thriller rather than an investigation sounds very good.
George used to be a Hollywood film star handing out autographs and posing for the paparazzi, but he pissed off the wrong people in the US and now he is living in Mumbai doing mediocre commercials. His wife Sweety is a pretty, young Bollywood star who can and will outshine him. One morning he wakes up and finds her dead in bed. Now what?

In the Wyndham & Banerjee series, the stories satirize and critique the colonial setting and show how ridiculous and hypocritical it is. Here, it’s the immense wealth inequality that gets put through the ringer. George and Sweety are celebrities with billions in the bank. Assistant Gemma is just a working class American. Employee Amit is an Indian man barely getting by. The things George takes for granted are luxuries to Gemma and the things he doesn’t even bother with are the things Amit depends upon for survival.
As in his other series, the author creates an immersive setting from the gilded luxury apartments to the seedy alleys. Then, he fillets the workings of this unfair setting with sharp humour and a lot of irony. This particular combination is something that made me love his other series and it’s just as great here. The book is filled with little jokes about walkie talkies, king Midas getting drunk with French monarchs and shady agent Sal Copeland the third (grandson of equally shady agent Sal Copeland from 1926)

The perspective changes between George, assistant Gemma and other employee Amit worked well to obscure the truth. George was drunk that night, Gemma is blackmailed and Amit is in trouble with a crime boss. All of them act like they did not kill her, all of them suspect the other two. The author is great at revealing information at the right time, offering hints and posing questions in a way that kept me reading. This was not meant to be a detective with a protagonist following clues, but rather a suspenseful story of three secretive people with a murder between them. I wanted a thriller, and this book delivered it hands down.

None of them are particularly likeable people, but all of them are well written characters with the good and bad traits that come with being rich/an assistant/a poor man.
George isn’t outright awful, but too much of a coward to acknowledge that he isn’t great either. He thinks too highly of himself and not enough of other people. Sweety is Ms Sahota, not Mrs Abercrombie. Maybe she actually liked him, maybe she just wanted to marry him to make it big in the states. She disapproves of George letting the staff in the rich people elevator but interacts with them as people in a way that he doesn’t.
Amit is a sleaze who just wants to get by, doesn’t mind taking what his rich employers won’t miss and is a clever improviser. But is he actually that bad, or did he just learn from the worst? Gemma is the only character I didn’t fully grasp. Her plot is deeply intertwined with her loving some guy, yet I haven’t the faintest clue why they are in a relationship. I understand that she just wants to enjoy the fun and delights of being with him, very fair, but I didn’t understand why she stuck with him the entire time. We’re just meant to accept that she has a deep relationship with some man and it is never explained?
They all turned it around in the end, and I liked how they all ended up.

As for George, I described him to a friend as: What if Sam Wyndham married Estelle?? And he was acxused of murdering her?? And he was allowed to say fuck
His narration is nearly identical, filled with the jaded bitterness of a man who used to be happy but now spends his days hating everything. Yet Sam Wyndham was a world war 1 veteran with PTSD in a time when shell shock was considered for weaklings and everybody he cared for died, so I’ll begrudge him his cynicism. In fact, it made him realistic and somewhat sympathetic. George on the other hand is rich and famous, thinks he can make an award-worthy film and has no particular reason to be dramatic.
I did feel like Sweety’s death is genuinely impactful for his character. Sam Wyndham’s dead wife has always been a faceless plot device, but George’s thoughts and feelings about Sweety have a real depth to them which I missed in Sam.
In the second half, he proved himself significantly different from Sam, and I was happy to see him develop into his own character.
I still maintain he and Sam should start a whiskey-and-complaining-club though.

[Pudsey Recommends · Rating 5 out of 5]

Murder on the 68th floor of Mumbai's most exclusive skyscraper, a washed-up American heartthrob, a Bollywood queen, and an entire building full of people desperately covering their tracks. This book had me from the blurb alone, and it more than delivered.

George Abercrombie is the kind of narrator you love to hate: a fading Hollywood star married to Sweety Sahota, Bollywood's biggest rising name, and utterly convinced he's the wronged party in his own life. When he wakes from a drunken stupor to find Sweety murdered in their bedroom, his computer and phone missing, and his personal assistant nowhere to be found, he becomes both suspect and unreliable narrator in equal measure.

What makes this book sing is the structure. Told across three POVs (George, Gemma the PA, and Amit, who gives us the staff's-eye view of the building) Mukherjee uses the format to dismantle privilege from every angle. George moves through Mumbai filtering everything through film comparisons and casual, unexamined bias, noticing the microaggressions and small cruelties around him and consistently choosing to do nothing. It's an uncomfortable, well-observed choice of narrator, and Mukherjee never lets him off the hook for it. As George muses to himself at one point, watching one more thing he should object to and doesn't, he reasons it's simply "not his country, not his problem."

The book is sharply, sometimes painfully funny. Mukherjee's eye for satire is razor-precise, particularly when it comes to the absurdities of extreme wealth and the way the very rich narrate their own decency to themselves. At one point George offers up his own innocence by way of explaining that he's "practically a Buddhist," as though that settles the matter of whether he's capable of murder. It's the kind of line that had me chuckling on public transport, exactly because he means it completely sincerely.

But for all the satire, this never tips into mean-spirited territory. Gemma's storyline, in particular, carries real weight: a woman in her late thirties, isolated in a country not her own, having an affair with a married government minister and getting blackmailed for it, has to weigh between betraying her employer and protecting her own survival. Her chapters hit a different, more aching register than George's, and the contrast does a lot of work in showing how differently privilege and precarity move through the same building.

Amit's chapters are where the book's social conscience really comes through most clearly. As one of the people who serves the residents of these gated towers rather than living in them, his perspective cuts through the satire of George's sections and the desperation of Gemma's to show us the building from underneath, quite literally. He's no straightforward "good person" either; he's caught up in the theft of items from the crime scene, and his own self-interest complicates things considerably. But that moral murkiness is exactly what makes him feel real rather than symbolic, and his sections are where Mukherjee's interest in who gets to be innocent, and who never had that luxury to begin with, comes through most clearly. It's a real skill, too, the way Mukherjee folds in this level of social detail and rich characterisation without ever once dragging the book's pace down.

Then there's Miss Singh, the detective brought in to investigate, and easily one of the best parts of the book. Watching her exist in this hyper-male, hyper-monied world, simply being good at her job and being underestimated for being a woman while doing it, is hugely satisfying.

Mukherjee doesn't let Mumbai become mere backdrop. The city is rendered with real texture: the traffic, the heat, the staggering gulf between the gated towers and the streets below, and the quiet colonial residue running underneath all of it. It's the kind of social awareness that elevates this well past a straightforward whodunit into something more interested in who gets to be innocent, and why.

The mystery itself unspools at a confident pace, the reveal lands with real punch even when you've half-suspected pieces of it, and the ending left me satisfied without everything being too neatly tied up. A properly entertaining, socially sharp thriller, and I'll absolutely be picking up Mukherjee's backlist (Hunted, apparently, is a must) off the back of this one. #pudseyrecommends

Huge thanks to Vintage and Vintage Books Influencers for the advance copy.

[Get Your Tinsel in a Tangle · Rating 4 out of 5]

George Abercrombie woke up hungover, his wife is dead, and instead of immediately calling the police, he’s basically like… “let me emotionally process this with vibes and denial.” Sir. Be serious. This man is a walking PR nightmare wrapped in a whiskey endorsement deal, and I was OBSESSED with how aggressively unhelpful he is at every turn.

The Pinnacle really said, what if we locked a bunch of morally questionable people in a luxury skyscraper and then let capitalism, ego, and poor decision-making do the rest. And honestly… it kind of slaps.

George is our main disaster, a washed-up American movie star clinging to relevance like it’s a toxic ex. His wife, Sweety Sahota, is a Bollywood icon who has fully outpaced him in fame, success, and basic competence. Their marriage? Tense. Their vibe? Passive-aggressive with a side of resentment. So when she turns up murdered and George was blackout drunk the night before, it’s less “who could have done this?” and more “oh no… it really could have been you, my guy.”

But the story doesn’t just sit with George, thank GOD, because that man needs supervision. We also follow Sweety’s assistant, who is being blackmailed and having the worst time imaginable, and a servant who knows way too much and is like one bad choice away from becoming a cautionary tale. Everyone is stressed. Everyone is lying. Everyone has secrets. It’s basically Succession energy but with more murder and fewer tailored suits… although still a concerning number of tailored suits.

And here’s the thing, the multiple POVs? Delicious. The way their stories slowly start clicking together felt like watching dominoes fall in slow motion while someone whispers, “this is going to end badly,” and you’re like, I KNOW BUT I CAN’T LOOK AWAY. Each perspective adds a new layer of tension, and I loved how distinct their voices felt. You always knew whose mess you were currently witnessing.

But oh my GOD, these people. I did not like them. Not even a little. And I know that’s the point, I respect the craft, I support women’s wrongs, I get it. But at a certain point I was like, if all of you disappeared into the Mumbai skyline, I would simply nod and continue my day. It’s less emotional attachment and more anthropological observation. I’m studying them. Like a nature documentary. “Here we see the rich man making yet another terrible choice in his natural habitat…”

Also, the book has THOUGHTS. Big thoughts. Important thoughts. And it is going to make sure you hear them. Wealth inequality, celebrity culture, Western entitlement, all of it is here and it’s sharp and relevant and sometimes… a little loud. Not wrong, just occasionally like being in a conversation where someone keeps repeating the same excellent point but with increasing intensity. I’m with you. I promise. You can take a sip of water.

The mystery itself is interesting because it’s not really playing hard to get. I had my suspicions early, and I wasn’t wildly off. But the tension doesn’t come from shocking twists as much as it comes from watching these characters dig themselves deeper and deeper into holes of their own making. It’s less “who did it?” and more “how is this going to blow up in everyone’s face?” which, frankly, is a vibe I respect.

What really worked for me, though, was the humor threaded through all this chaos. It’s subtle, it’s biting, and it sneaks up on you in the middle of all the mess. George’s internal commentary alone had me side-eyeing him like I was watching a man confidently make the worst possible choices and then act surprised about it. The satire is doing work here, and when it hits, it really hits.

By the end, I felt like I’d just binged a very expensive, very messy limited series where everyone is a little bit terrible and the building itself deserves a supporting actor credit. It’s smart, it’s sharp, it’s occasionally a bit heavy-handed, but it’s also genuinely entertaining in that “I need to know how this ends even if I don’t trust any of you” way. 3.5 stars.

Whodunity Award: For Making Me Trust Absolutely No One, Including the Man Passed Out on the Couch

Huge thank you to Little, Brown and Company and NetGalley for the ARC, this was chaotic in a way that felt like being invited to gossip about strangers and I fully accepted the invitation.

[Mal Warwick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Murder at the top of Indian society. Literally.

A decade ago Anglo-Indian author Abir Mukherjee broke into a second career as a crime novelist after 20 years working as an accountant. His first effort, A Rising Man, appeared in 2016. An historical detective novel featuring a pair of Calcutta cops shortly after World War I, it won a coveted literary award soon after its publication. And it launched the now-six-book series of Wyndham and Banerjee mysteries that put him on readers’ radar. Now, with the release of The Pinnacle, a crime thriller set in contemporary Mumbai, Mukherjee shows his mettle with a gripping thriller. It’s a story that will grab your attention from the first page and never let go.

You won’t forget these characters

George Abercrombie is a has-been Hollywood heart-throb. He lives in a penthouse on the 68th floor of The Pinnacle, Mumbai’s most luxurious apartment bloc, with his much younger wife, Sweety Sahota. She’s the glamorous queen of Bollywood, adored by 1.4 billion Indians. They married when she was beginning her rise to stardom and he was on the top in Hollywood.

Two of their servants at The Pinnacle play pivotal roles in George and Sweety’s story. Gemma, his former personal assistant and now hers. Amit, the untrustworthy young village man who now serves him in the same role, though badly.

Gemma is engaged in a love affair with another Pinnacle resident, Ashok K., “Mr. Mumbai,” the Honourable Minister for Civic Affairs from the right-wing Hindu nationalist New Bharat Party. And Amit is under the thumb of the powerful gangland boss, Fat Moeez Darzi.

Now two things happen to shake up all their lives.

After awakening with a thunderous hangover after a night on the couch, George finds Sweety stabbed to death in her bed.

And someone sends Gemma a video of her having sex with Ashok. He threatens to release it publicly, destroying her life and his career, unless she steals and hands over Sweety’s laptop.

And, to complicate matters, Detective Inspector Vikram Gill of the Mumbai police suspects both George and Amit of the murder. Of course, both these events, and all these people, are connected. And it all plays out in sensational stories online and in the Indian media. But the fun lies in the long, deliciously complicated path we wend through hidden facts until the truth comes out in the end.

A city of 25 million riven by massive inequality

On world rankings of income inequality by the United Nations, India falls squarely in the middle. But you wouldn’t know that on a visit to Mumbai today. In neighborhoods such as Altamount Road (“billionaire’s row”) and Malabar Hill in South Mumbai, many of the city’s 95 billionaires maintain homes. Often, those homes lie on streets surrounded by hovels that house desperate migrants from India’s impoverished villages engaged in an often futile search for work.

Abir Mukherjee’s novel brings this contrast to light. In The Pinnacle, he portrays a city in thrall to the magic of Bollywood and the ceaseless search for wealth. Among the privileged few who live in the city’s high-security towers and mansions, the wealth they possess is never enough. Meanwhile, for the bedraggled millions who fight tooth-and-nail for the pennies they will receive as servants, “wealth” is a secure position that will feed a family and put a solid roof over their heads. Even those who have risen into the city’s growing middle class sometimes only manage to keep their heads above water by accepting bribes. For corruption reigns from top to bottom.

About the author

Abir Mukherjee wrote the widely acclaimed Wyndham and Banerjee series of historical detective novels set in Raj-era Calcutta (now Kolkata). His parents moved from there to the United Kingdom before he was born in 1974. Mukherjee grew up in Scotland and now lives in Surrey, England with his wife Sonal and two sons. He worked as an accountant for 20 years before writing his first novel in his series in 2013. (It was published in 2016.)

[Amie Derricott · Rating 4 out of 5]

George Abercrombie is a washed up Hollywood actor trying to keep his career alive by appearing in adverts. His wife Sweety is a huge Bollywood star and the sweetheart of all India. They live in the exclusive Pinnacle apartments in Mumbai, a building so exclusive you have to show ID to even enter. On the night George is hoping to save face by doing a BBC interview with Sweety, she bails on him for some mysterious purpose and the interview goes terribly, so George heads off to drown his sorrows. When he wakes up on the sofa the following morning feeling more than a little worse for wear, he has only patchy memories of the night before. Confused about why their apartment is so cold, George stumbles off to their bedroom, only to discover Sweety has been murdered. Did he do it?
Sweety’s PA Gemma has been contacted by a mysterious figure demanding she give them Sweety’s laptop, or they will make public a compromising video of her with Ashok, a married member of parliament. Does she hand it over?
Amit, Georges bumbling manservant is on the run. He’s got himself in hot water with the local gangsters and, after stealing money and jewellery from Sweety and George, he is trying his best to get out of Mumbai as fast as possible. He was the last person in George and Sweetys apartment, could he be responsible?
Set over four days, we follow all three characters as the whole of Mumbai mourns Sweety’s death and they try to figure out who is responsible and what their motives were.
This book was a really cleverly written thriller that combines the murder mystery element with some pretty critical observations about wealth, celebrity and inequality in Mumbai, and probably most of India. Although the titular Pinnacle skyscraper is the scene of the crime, and we return to it repeatedly throughout the book, a lot of the action takes place on the streets of the city itself where the absolute extremes between the extravagance of the building and the poverty everywhere else are really evident. It is also highlighted through the characters themselves – George has absolutely no concept of the value of money yet Amit (and the other servants) are all too aware of how little they have.
The mystery element itself is incredibly well constructed with all of the various suspects, hidden agendas and all these little breadcrumbs of clues hinted at all throughout. I had my suspicions quite early on who I thought was the culprit, and I was partially right, but it didn’t spoil the rest of the book for me as the motivations for the murder don’t become clear until almost the end. I also really liked how he managed to slip quite a lot of humour into the book, without it becoming farcical and maintaining the serious nature of the murder and other themes.
This is the first book by Mukherjee that I’ve read, but it’s definitely not going to be the last, and I have in fact bought Hunted to read next!

[Jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

When Abir Mukherjee sets out to write something different, he doesn't mess about. Far removed from his historical Sam Wyndham series, or even last years utter thrill-fest, Hunted, The Pinnacle is a brilliant locked room/penthouse murder mystery, with a wealth (no pun intended) of brilliant characters, a hearty dose of mystery, a criminally cutting core, and a whole lot of humour to boot. From the very first page I was completely drawn in and, in spite of many of the characters leaving a bit/lot to be desired, utterly addicted to their trials and tribulations.

This is, more or less, the story of actor George Abercrombie, whose career is fading faster than he cares to admit, and his wife, actress, Sweety Sahota, whose star is very much still on the ascendency. At least until someone cuts her career, and life, very short. Although, from initial appearances, and owing to the security around the exclusive complex, George must be suspect number one, there is an unspoken agreement between George, whose perspective informs a good portion of the story, the author, who seems to have been having a real blast in torturing his characters, and me, the reader, that George cannot possibly be guilty. That is too easy. Too neat. To guaranteed to wrap up what really did shape up to be one heck of an entertaining read too quickly. I didn't always like George - he doesn't make it easy - but I believed in his innocence in no small part owing to the fact he didn't appear to have the competence to get away with murder, nor quite the stupidity to put himself so squarely in the frame if he had.

Well, that and the other key suspects in this wickedly smart game. There is Sweety's P.A., Gemma, whose point of view is another of the key focuses of the book, and George's rather inept, and suspect, assistant, Amit, whose attempts to escape the city lead to some of the key moments of humour, as well as some of the tension and trouble in the book. Of the three, Gemma is perhaps the most likeable, but even that was a stretch at times. And yet, all three were compelling, and each scene reads with a very unique voice, the author bringing all of their character flaws to life, and leaving me equal parts amused and frustrated by some of the choices they make.

In fact, there is possibly only one character who I warmed to instantly, and given Miss Singh's icy cool exterior, that's no mean feat. Sent to save George's overly pampered backside, the no nonsense approach and clinical precision brought a smile to my face. In a book which really does highlight the inequality of gender politics in India, the fact that the sharpest, most focused, person in the room came fully loaded with XX chromosomes is very welcome. When you strip away the humour, and some of the almost keystone cops style failings of Amit's escape attempts, this is a book with a very serious underlying message, one all too sadly 'on trend' as it were, and, perhaps because of that, the true adversary in this book is easy to identify. But, you know what, that doesn't matter. There are many red herrings, much misdirection, that cast doubt upon early assertions, an, ultimately, I was really enjoying the ride.

The tension builds throughout, Abir Mukherjee raising the stakes right to the final few chapters, surprising even this most suspicious of readers in the end. And, speaking of ends, it was one of those kind of endings that left a satisfied smile upon my face, everyone getting the finale they deserved, more or less. If you love a witty, standalone thriller, with characters whose flaw are amplified to a point that they actually become kind of endearing, and where the mystery lasts right to the end, this is one I can highly recommend. It is very different from its predecessor, but a brilliant way to while away a few hours.

[Sandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

'This was India. They did democracy different here.' 'The Pinnacle' by Abir Mukherjee starts at a fast pace and races to the last page. Having just finished a long detailed historical novel, this speed made me feel as if I'd overdosed on caffeine. But I stuck with it because I'm a big fan of Mukherjee's Raj-era crime series.
'The Pinnacle' is set now in Mumbai, it's a million miles from 1919 Calcutta. Two wealthy actors, American husband and Bollywood star wife, live a beautiful life in a luxury apartment with soaring views across the city. But reality is different from the image. George Abercrombie wakes on the sofa after a drunken night out to find his wife Sweety Sahota dead in their bed. His servant Amit isn't answering his phone, their maid wants to make breakfast for her mistress and Sweety's American PA will arrive at any moment. George panics. What follows is like the Winston Wolf scene in 'Pulp Fiction.'
'The Pinnacle' is a rollercoaster puzzle ride of politicians, gangsters, blackmail, extreme wealth, extreme poverty and misogyny. We see the action from three viewpoints, George, manservant Amit and PA Gemma. But who do we believe, are we seeing the truth or a curated reality. George and Sweety, after all, are actors. Who killed Sweety? Who is the blackmailer and why? Where is Sweety's jewellery and laptop? Who did she visit earlier in the evening of her death? Who has most to lose, and who is the boss of the boss of the boss? I guessed quite early and then doubted my first instinct.
In the Wyndham & Banerjee books, Mukherjee focusses on the hypocrisy and arrogance of India's colonial occupiers, in 'The Pinnacle' the same behaviour is seen amongst the rich. None of the characters are likeable but perhaps my favourite - simply for her name and her zebra sofas - is Roxanne Bunglewalla, daughter of the Pinnacle's owner. When George enters Roxanne's penthouse for the first time, he thinks, 'Roxanne Bunglewalla's place was best viewed through sunglasses, ideally with the lights off, seeing as it was decked out in more gold than the US Olympics team and Jay-Z put together. It was like King Midas had come to Mumbai, got hammered with Louis XIV and then both of them decided to enter the interior design business for a bet.' Mukherjee is a master of the funny one-liners.
Fast-paced, good fun. At times the pace was so quick I lost track of things, but Mukherjee is in control of the story throughout and I soon picked up the thread again. I read it quickly in two days.
Read more of my book reviews at http://www.sandradanby.com/book-revie...

[Kath · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well... didn't this book lead me all round the houses and back again - and I went willingly... on occasion dizzily, but willingly...
We start with past-his-prime Hollywood actor George Abercrombie being a bit miffed with Queen-of-Bollywood wife Sweety Sahota as she tells him that she will not be attending his interview with the BBC that night as she has a meeting she can't/won't move. This drives him to drink, and drink, and go out and drink some more. An evening culminating in him being assisted home by Amit, his assistant, who left him sleeping it off on the sofa of their apartment.
Next morning, he wakes up to find Sweety dead in their bed. He's pretty sure he didn't kill her but there is a smidge of uncertainty, no, it couldn't have been him. But there's what looks like blood on the shirt he was wearing... OMG what should he do He knows that fingers will point his way... But there's jewellery and money missing and so is Amit...
And so begins a story chock full of secrets, lies, misdirection, obfuscation, dysfunctional behaviour, and pretty much everything else you'd expect from a book of this genre. As George tries to keep one step away from jail and also, at the same time, try and work out who killed his wife. Meanwhile Sweety's assistant (who used to be George's) Gemma has a big secret of her own, and Amit owes the wrong people. So much going on for DI Vikram Gill to cut through...
I did enjoy this book. It's not my first by this author, I have read and would recommend Hunted, although I haven't yet got round to his series books yet, they are on my tbr. My only real bugbear is that pacing was a bit hit and miss. I know it should match the story, and for the most part, it does, but there were some parts that I felt dragged a wee bit. That said, it didn't put me off too much and, by the time we approached the end, we were well back on track come the ending.
Characters were well drawn and, within their duplicity, all played their parts well. I connected to George right from the off, although I was never really convinced that he was in any way in anything but mild peril throughout, despite what was intimated in the synopsis. I also loved Roxanne!
All in all a thoroughly decent thriller which did keep me on my toes throughout and left me wholly satisfied at the end. My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

[Stephanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thanks to Little, Brown & Co. and NetGalley for providing a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This one was ... odd.

Though I have not read Mukherjee's historical mystery series, I know that it's very well regarded, so I guess I had high hopes. This is barely a mystery (maybe I made some assumptions?) and takes place in the current day (that last part is fine), and there is a murder, but in the end the whodunnit is a big nothingburger.

George: American has-been ex-heartthrob
Sweety: his younger 2nd wife, a Bollywood star
Amit: George's manservant, a hard-scrabbling sleaze (with a heart of gold? not exactly)
Gemma: Sweety's PA, who used to be George's PA, until ... something happened

Lots of other minor players, and every single one of them, except perhaps one of the durwans, or building porters, completely selfish and unlikeable. Mukherjee has some interesting observations on Indian life and society, particularly the gulf between the haves and the have-nots, but the characters are mostly out of central casting. If Mukherjee's point is that modern Indian society has created a populace of uncaring creeps through necessity in order just to survive, mission accomplished. It's bleak.

It's hard to root for these people. The star-crossed love between Gemma and her far-right (but only in public, of course) married politician lover feels manufactured, and it seems obvious that George feels more professional jealousy and resentfulness about having to live in Mumbai, than romantic love or even plain old lust for Sweety (he's more concerned about being blamed for her murder than sad she is dead). The "mystery" grows less compelling the longer it is spun out, and there is no touchstone character. I could've done with more Miss Singh (a professional fixer who saves George's bacon repeatedly, for a price) and less of the various underlings of Fat Moeez's gang and their seemingly endless pursuit of Amit.

Towards the end I was having to force myself to pick it up again - never a good sign. I would be interested in trying the historical mysteries, but this one was a big miss for me.

2.5 stars rounded up

[Christina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Abir apparently wrote this during lockdown, perhaps as a welcome diversion from everything that was going on at the time, and it's an excellent book. Inspired by anecdotes from friends about the lives of the opulently wealthy in gated communities like the Pinnacle (hopefully minus the murders), it combines murder, conspiracy and organised — or perhaps disorganised — crime with a generous dose of humour. Along the way, it also highlights the enormous gulf between the lives of the "haves" and the "have-nots".
I know very little about India, Bollywood, the ultra-rich or the desperately poor, yet the author makes every one of these worlds feel believable. He has a remarkable ability to present each character's circumstances without overt judgement, allowing the reader to sympathise with them regardless of which side of the law — or the poverty line — they happen to occupy. George, the wealthy American actor at the centre of the story, is genuinely oblivious to how much his Indian factotum values the opportunity to work at the Pinnacle, where even pilfering bottles of whisky left over from one of George's advertising campaigns can make a real difference. George himself, meanwhile, can't stand the stuff.
The novel moves at a tremendous pace, with seemingly everyone running for their lives at one point or another. There is an almost Keystone Cops feel to parts of the story, but the threats to the characters are frightening and entirely believable. The jeopardy is real, the tension steadily builds, and the result is an entertaining and genuinely exciting thriller.
Without giving anything away, Abir also manages to bring this colourful cast of larger-than-life characters to a thoroughly satisfying conclusion.
Although this contemporary novel represents quite a departure from the Wyndham and Banerjee books, it is a very successful one. Personally, I still have a slight preference for the historical series, but that reflects my own interests rather than any shortcomings here. This is a fast, funny, sharply observed thriller that shows Mukherjee is every bit as accomplished outside his established series as he is within it.

[Ridgerunner · Rating 4 out of 5]

This murder mystery thriller put me in a good mood from the word go. The main character is George Abercrombie an ageing Hollywood film star living in a luxury tower block in Mumbai having married a Bollywood actress. The scenario reminded me of the George Clooney film Jay Kelly in which he plays an ageing film star who only ever lived for his work and for himself and finds his life fallling to bits in a foreign country. I liked the film and I liked this book too.
George makes lots of interesting and amusing comments on various aspects of his life and that adds a lot of enjoyment to this light hearted thriller. In a similar vein the author pokes fun at certain people especially the “fictional” President of the USA and I hope that the author is not planning to visit that country in the near future! It feels light hearted but throughout the book the differences in the lives of the poor and rich in Mumbai are always being brought to our attention. But I suppose the differences are much greater there than they are in the UK where I live so it is hard for them not to be mentioned often.
George’s beautiful wife Sweety , the darling of Indian cinema , is killed and George and his sleekit servant Amit are two of the suspects. Sweety’s PA Gemma also has a lot going on her life and end up being blackmailed. And Amit also has a complicated life and all these conflicts intertwine. It never gets ridiculously silly and as there are not too many characters it is not too difficult to work out some of the plot twists.
But the main enjoyment is not in working out whodunnit but enjoying the quality of the writing , the social commentary and revelling in the warm knowledge of how miserable a life the rich and powerful often have.
Thanks to NetGalley and Random House UK, Vintagefor the ARC

[Karen Morgan · Rating 5 out of 5]

 
The Pinnacle Abir Mukherjee

5 stars

Another great story highlighting the difference between the rich and the poor in Mumbai

I have only read one previous book by this author and really enjoyed it despite it being the 6th in a series. When I saw this author come up on Netgalley I really wanted to read more by him and it was even better that it is a stand alone story.

George Abercrombie is a fading star reduced to doing whisky commercials but is married to one of the most famous Bollywood stars, Sweety Sohota and they are living in luxury in The Pinnacle, the most glamorous block of apartments in Mumbai. However when George wakes up on the couch after a very heavy drinking session which he cannot even remember, he discovers his wife in their bedroom dead. He is not even sure if he is the murderer although when his assistant, Amit, disappears with some of Sweety's money and jewellery suspicion falls on him. The third potential suspect is Sweety's personal assistant Gemma who has also vanished with a computer that contains the information needed to discover the truth. Gemma has been having an affair with a high-ranking Indian politician and is now being blackmailed into releasing the computer or letting everyone know about her affair.

The story is told from the viewpoint of all 3 main suspects and I really could not work out what had happened and the discovery was totally unexpected.

I really enjoyed this book, not only for the plot but also for the way the author incorporates the differences between the lives of the rich and famous and the really poor people in Mumbai. His descriptions of the city and its inhabitants makes you feel you are actually there.

I recommend this book and will certainly continue to read any further books by this author.


Karen Deborah
Reviewer for Net galley

[Sue · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wasn't sure about this one to start with but it didn't take long to intrigue and engross me. It got better and better as the story evolved. The writing was delicious - incisive wit and social commentary, set in Mumbai, India and covering all levels of society from the extremely wealthy and privileged to the very poorest.

George Abercrombie is an over-the-hill actor who has fallen out of favour in Hollywood and has moved to the titular Pinnacle (a luxury apartment block) with his young rising-star Bollywood wife - Sweety Sahotra, who is found murdered at the start of the book. There are several candidates for the perpetrator including George and the two Personal Assistants - Amit and Gemma. The story is told from the viewpoints of these three characters.

There is quite a lot of humor in the book, and I loved the bits about the unnamed US president ("That's a beautiful question", "he doesn't like me", "no-one loves the Indians more than me"). Also the mysterious 'fixer' Miss Singh, who seems to have access to everywhere, knows all the right people and uses wit, charm and quick thinking to get out of some tricky situations. The author also has much to say on the casual racism and assumptions made between the various races, religions and nationalities ("Maybe she had never been shot at before, but she was from America so that was unlikely").

The plot had plenty of action and mystery. The perpetrator was revealed near the end - I had more than an inkling of who was behind it all, but it was pleasing that all loose ends were tied up and there was a satisfactory ending.

I can really see this being made into a film. It has such a good plot, great characters and some amazing locations. Thank you Netgalley, the publisher and author for this ARC.

[Kate O'Shea · Rating 4 out of 5]

When screen actor George Abercrombie wakes up from a drunken stupor, in his luxury Mumbai apartment in The Pinnacle, to find his wife, Sweety, dead and his clothes covered in blood he can only draw one conclusion.

The trouble is he cannot remember a thing from the previous night; his wife's laptop and phone are missing as are Gemma, her personal assistant and Amit, their servant. George has no idea what has happened but he knows that if he is blamed for Bollywood darling, Sweety's murder, then the Indian public will tear him apart - literally.

George must piece together the events of the previous night, track down the missing members of the household and find tbd guilty party before he is captured.

With a little help from his agent George begins his race against time but who is working against him and just what was Sweety up to the night before with another actor, Chunky Malhotra?

The Pinnacle runs at breakneck speed throughout as Gemma, Amit, George, several bad guys and the police chase each other around Mumbai until the surprising conclusion.

I have only read one previous Abir Mukherjee and was not carried away by the characters but this book is far superior. It really does feel like you are trying to catch your breath throughout as the blame for Sweety's murder rebounds from one suspect to another. The characters were interesting too - George, the washed up Hollywood heartbroken, Gemma - the PA with secrets, Amit - the wily servant who won't take fate lying down along with assistance from the mysterious Miss Singh and the OTT Roxanne Bunglewalla.

Really enjoyable. Definitely recommended.

Thankyou to Netgalley and Random House UK for the digital review copy.

[Alyson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Washed up American actor George Abercrombie is reduced to advertising gigs promoting Indian whiskey, while his wife Sweety's career has really taken off. They live in Mumbai, in the luxurious building known as The Pinnacle. George is resentful of Sweety's success, and when he wakes one morning after a night on the town, to find her dead, fingers are pointed at him as her murderer. However, her phone, her computer, her assistant and George's assistant are all missing and as George scrambles to make sense of everything, it appears that other might also be guilty of the crime.
The story is told from George's perspective and also that of Gemma, Sweety's PA and Amit, George's PA. Through these three characters the reader is able to see across the spectrum of life in modern India. Each character has very much their own voice and their own take on life and the clash of cultures and wealth is interesting and relatable. The social differences bring with it several instances of humour too.
The plot unfolds cleverly and at pace and although it isn't so hard to guess who was guilty, the way the story is told keeps the readers interest. I really enjoyed the settings and especially the contrasts between gold trim penthouses and dirt poor alleyways and goat poo smelling trucks.
The writing is excellent and although the book involves male chauvinism, abuse of power and the 'me too' movement, it is not heavy handed and the touches of humour lighten the mood.
I've enjoyed this author's books previously and I think this is another excellent offering from him.
With thanks to the author, Netgalley and Vintage Books for an early copy in return for an honest review.