Blurb:

A priceless manuscript. A missing scholar. A trail of riddles.

Bombay, 1950

For over a century, one of the world’s great treasures, a six-hundred-year-old copy of Dante’s The Divine Comedy, has been safely housed at Bombay’s Asiatic Society. But when it vanishes, together with the man charged with its care, British scholar and war hero, John Healy, the case lands on Inspector Persis Wadia’s desk.

Uncovering a series of complex riddles written in verse, Persis – together with English forensic scientist Archie Blackfinch – is soon on the trail. But then they discover the first body.

As the death toll mounts it becomes evident that someone else is also pursuing this priceless artefact and will stop at nothing to possess it . . .

Harking back to an era of darkness, this second thriller in the Malabar House series pits Persis, once again, against her peers, a changing India, and an evil of limitless intent.

Gripping, immersive, and full of Vaseem Khan’s trademark wit, this is historical fiction at its finest.

Review:

I really enjoyed Midnight At Malabar House so I was looking forward to spending more time with these characters and I was absolutely not disappointed. As an Indian woman in the 1950s, Persis’ views and occupation as a police detective are not what would be expected of her. I love the way in which Vaseem Khan explores this. Persis is a wonderful character full of determination and intelligence. In The Dying Day, the author delves deeper into her personal life and this helped me to get to know her better and empathise with her even more than before.

The Dying Day is set in Bombay in 1950. I know very little about Indian history, particularly in light of the Second World War, and I must commend the author for writing about this. He has researched the subject so well, and the narrative contains a lot of detail, but I never felt as if I was being overloaded and I enjoyed learning more.

The plot of The Dying Day is quite complex and there are several strands to it. I was intrigued to find out how the strands would come together and the story kept me fully engaged the whole way through. Vaseem Khan is a very talented and intelligent writer

The Dying Day is available from Amazon.