A prequel to the popular series finds newly promoted Inspector Ghote examining a suicide case and becoming increasingly suspicious that the victim's husband is not telling the truth, a situation that proves increasingly compelling in the face of deceptive appearances.

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

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

Newly-promoted Inspector Ghote, 'one of the great creations of detective fiction' (Alexander McCall Smith), investigates the curious case of the suicide of a woman who had no reason to take her own life in this classic mystery - with a brand-new introduction by bestselling author Vaseem Khan. Assistant Inspector Ganesh Ghote of the Bombay police force is overwhelmed with joy to receive the news that he has finally achieved his life's ambition: he is to be promoted to the rank of Inspector. His heavily pregnant wife, Protima, is delighted . . . but also preoccupied with their upcoming evening plans: he has promised to take her to see a showing of Hamlet, her favourite play, at the cinema. An unexpected knock at the door, however, means Protima is doomed to disappointment. Sir Rustom Engineer - the retired Indian Commissioner of the Bombay police - has personally summoned Ghote, to investigate the suicide of his friend's wife. Reluctant to leave Protima, but short on options, Ghote travels to distant Mahabaleshwar. But instead of easy answers, the dogged inspector finds, to his dismay, a knot of dark secrets he worries he can never untangle . . .

It is Inspector Ghote's bad luck to be landed with the case of the perfect murder at the start of his career with the Bombay Police, for in this most baffling of crimes there is the cunning and important tycoon Lala Varde to contend with. And as if this were not enough, he finds himself having to investigate the mysterious theft of one rupee from the desk of yet another Very Important Person, the Minister of Police Affairs and the Arts. "If people would only behave in a simple, reasonable, logical way," sighs the Inspector as he struggles through the quagmires of incompetence and corruption to solve these curious crimes.

In a small, provincial town in the heart of India, a politician's wife has done her husband's career a great service, by dying under suspicious circumstances. That the corpse and the trail have been cold for fifteen years hasn't saved Inspector Ghote of the Bombay CID from being sent to investigate. But what chance does he have when his chief suspect is so powerful, when the whole district is against him, and when a holy man is fasting to the death to protest his prying? But still the good inspector dutifully goes, carrying just the honour of his police force and a box of double-sized eggs . . .

When the only daughter of a wealthy Indian newspaper magnate drops out of her Californian college and joins an ashram, hard-working Inspector Ghote, 'one of the great creations of detective fiction' (Alexander McCall Smith), is sent to California to persuade her to return to Bombay, in this classic mystery - with a brand-new introduction by bestselling author Vaseem Khan. Wealthy Indian newspaper magnate Ranjee Shahani has a problem. His daughter Nirmala, who he sent to California to finish her education before her upcoming arranged marriage, has dropped out of college. Not only that, but she has joined an ashram near Los Angeles and emptied her bank account. Unsure how to proceed, Mr Shahani turns to his good friend the Minister for Police for help. Hard-working, self-effacing Inspector Ghote of the Bombay CID is dismayed to find that instead of spending his upcoming holiday with his wife, he's being sent to Los Angeles to wrest Ranjee Shahani's daughter from an ashram - and from the clutches of its famous leader, the Swami With No Name. Assisted by a boastful, patronising private detective hired by Mr Shahani, Ghote attempts to persuade Nirmala to return with him to Bombay. But before he can win her trust, events take an unexpectedly deadly turn . . .