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.

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?

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.

Mr Pottermack appears law abiding - until the appearance of the shadowy Lewison, a gambler and blackmailer. Pottermack is in fact a runaway prisoner, convicted of fraud and Lewison is about to spill the beans. Pottermack protests his innocence, and resolves to shut Lewison up once and for all. Will he do it and get away with it?

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 . . .

The first full-length study of its type highlighting over 400 British literary detectives, many famous through their film and TV adaptations. Using essays to highlight different types of detectives and focusing on some of the more famous such as Sherlock Holmes and Inspector Morse, popular crime fiction writer and former President of Britain's Crime Writers Association, Russell James celebrates the role of the detective in British fiction. Illustrations include original film posters and first edition covers from classic detective fiction. Future books by Russell James in this series will include Great British Fictional Villains and US Fictional Detectives and Villains.