A subversive, macabre novel of a young Indian man’s misadventures in Victorian London as the city is racked by a series of murders In a small Bihari village, Captain William T. Meadows finds just the man to further his phrenological research back home: Amir Ali, confessed member of the infamous Thugee cult. With tales of a murderous youth redeemed, Ali gains passage to England, his villainously shaped skull there to be studied. Only Ali knows just how embroidered his story is, so when a killer begins depriving London’s underclass of their heads, suspicion naturally falls on the “thug.” With help from fellow immigrants led by a shrewd Punjabi woman, Ali journeys deep into a hostile city in an attempt to save himself and end the gruesome murders. Ranging from skull-lined mansions to underground tunnels a ghostly people call home, The Thing about Thugs is a feat of imagination to rival Wilkie Collins or Michael Chabon. Short-listed for the 2010 Man Asian Literary Prize, this sly Victorian role reversal marks the arrival of a compelling new Indian novelist to North America.

A subversive, darkly comic novel of a young Indian man's misadventures in Victorian London as the city is gripped by a series of gruesome murders. Shortlisted for the 2010 Man Asian Literary Prize, this sly update of the Gothic novel marks the new arrival of a compelling Indian voice in North America.

They have names like Barmy Bernie, Daft Donald, and Steamin' Sammy. They like lager (in huge quantities), the Queen, football clubs (especially Manchester United), and themselves. Their dislike encompasses the rest of the known universe, and England's soccer thugs express it in ways that range from mere vandalism to riots that terrorize entire cities. Now Bill Buford, editor of the prestigious journal Granta, enters this alternate society and records both its savageries and its sinister allure with the social imagination of a George Orwell and the raw personal engagement of a Hunter Thompson.

Never in recorded history has there been a group of murderers as deadly as the Thugs. For nearly two centuries, groups of these lethal criminals haunted the roads of India, slaughtering travellers whom they met along the way with such efficiency that over the years tens of thousands of men, women and children simply vanished without trace. Mike Dash, one of our best popular historians, has devoted years to combing archives in both India and Britain to discover how the Thugs lived and worked. Painstakingly researched and grippingly written, Thug tells, for the first time the full story of the Thugs' rise and fall from the cult's beginnings in the late seventeenth century to its eventual demise at the hands of British East India Company officer William Sleeman in 1840.

'A novel full of suspense where the various strands of mystery, human relationships and crime are expertly woven into one absorbing and fast-moving tale. This book deserves to stand the test of time and join the other masterpieces of Victorian London'-India Today Amir Ali leaves his village in Bihar to travel to London with an English captain, William Meadows, to whom he narrates the story of his life - the story of a murderous thug. While Meadows tries to analyse the strange cult of the Indian Thug, a group of Englishmen sets out to prove the inherent difference between races by examining their skulls - with bizarre consequences. Set in Victorian London, this story of different voices from different places draws intricate lines of connection from the nineteenth to the twenty-first century, between England and India, across individual and cultural differences. Known for his refusal to fit his work into established 'diasporic', subalternist or postcolonialist narrative traditions, in The Thing About Thugs, Khair finally engages with these traditions by subtly and ironically deploying echoes from Victorian literature, ranging from Charles Dickens to P.M. Taylor's Confessions of a Thug and Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness.

"Struggling to raise her little brother Donal, eight-year-old Wavy is the only responsible adult around. Obsessed with the constellations, she finds peace in the starry night sky above the fields behind her house, until one night her star-gazing causes an accident. After witnessing his motorcycle wreck, she forms an unusual friendship with one of her father's thugs, Kellen, a tattooed ex-con with a heart of gold. By the time Wavy is a teenager, her relationship with Kellen is the only tender thing in a brutal world of addicts and debauchery"--

With the class bully murdered at her 30th high school reunion and her boss, the annoying Michael Steele, missing, Odelia doesn't know which hole to poke her big nose into first. This decision is made for her as she's again swept into the action involving contract killers, tangled relationships, and fatal buyer's remorse. Throughout this adventure, Odelia deals with her on-again, off-again relationship with Greg and her attraction to detective Devon Frye. Praise: "The best title yet in a priceless series...a real treat for chick-lit and mystery fans who like feisty women."—Library Journal(starred review) "Odelia Grey is delightfully large and in charge in Jaffarian's third entertaining romp (after 2003's The Curse of the Holy Pail)."—Publishers Weekly "The best one yet...an intriguing, well-plotted mystery that will entertain and inspire."—The Strand Magazine "Odelia is a character that could easily be a good friend. She's down to earth and likeable. While she doesn't fit into Hollywood's size 0 body criteria, she's a good, plus size fit for the real people and mystery readers of the world."—Deadly Pleasures "Written with a light touch but a keen eye for detail, this satisfying entry in the Odelia Grey series also has room for a little romance."—Booklist "Jaffarian's clear talent is that she delivers characterization so well drawn it destroys cliché, tramples trite expectations, and delivers a heroine pulsing with personality."—Crime and Suspense "Snappy dialogue."—Kirkus Reviews "I wish I'd had Odelia Grey as my paralegal when I was on The Practice. Gutsy, smart, and loveable, she is the perfect take-no-prisoners heroine for today's woman."—Camryn Manheim, Emmy Award-winning actress "Sue Ann Jaffarian does a masterful job. Once you get to know Odelia Grey, you'll love her. I know I do."—Naomi Hirahara, Edgar Award-winning author of Snakeskin Shamisen "Thugs and Kisses is a very enjoyable reading experience."—Harriet Klausner, Genre Go Round Reviews "[L]ight and breezy...a good time to pass your lunch break with."—Feminist Review "[H]ighly recommended to those interested in a fun, suspenseful mystery. You will not be disappointed."—Reader Views "Odelia Grey is definitely a force to be reckoned with."—ReviewingTheEvidence.com "Jaffarian tells a great story...a delight to read."—ReviewedByLiz.com