The Waiter cover art

The Waiter

Detective Kamil Rahman, Book 1

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The Waiter

By: Ajay Chowdhury
Narrated by: Mikhail Sen
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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

The Times Audiobook of the Week.

Kamil Rahman, disgraced detective-turned-waiter, is about to find himself embroiled in a case that might just change his life...for better or for worse.

Disgraced detective Kamil Rahman moves from Kolkata to London to start afresh as a waiter in an Indian restaurant. But the day he caters a birthday party for his boss's friend on Millionaire's Row, his simple new life becomes rather complicated. The event is a success, the food is delicious, but later that evening the host, Rakesh, is found dead in his swimming pool.

Suspicion falls on Rakesh's new wife, Neha, and Kamil is called to investigate for the family, with the help of his boss's daughter, Anjoli. Kamil and Anjoli prove a capable team - but as the investigation progresses, Kamil struggles to keep memories of the case that destroyed his career in Kolkata at bay...and his past will soon catch up with him in some rather unexpected ways.

©2021 Ajay Chowdhury (P)2021 Penguin Audio Crime Fiction Detective International Mystery & Crime Mystery Private Investigators Fiction Crime

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Critic reviews

"A hugely entertaining first novel, taking us from Kolkata to Brick Lane." (Ann Cleeves)

"A rip-roaring mystery that's engrossing from start to finish...a refreshing and welcome addition to the world of detective fiction. One of my favourite reads of the year." (Abir Mukherjee)
All stars
Most relevant  
A beautifully crafted novel perfectly illustrating both societies and cities and a young man’s journey and recognition of the cynicism of adulthood.

SPOILER ALERT
I hope he does return to London and join the Met as it has the makings of an excellent literary crime series with a difference!

Stirring

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listened all the way through kept my interest and a number of twist and turns,

Good listen,

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Initially I had trouble following the narration with the thick accent but then I grew to appreciate the phrases in Bengali and the Indian accent. The story was superb with a number of twists that drew the whole arc into a great story. I ended up buying the physical copy and the audiobooks for the whole series.

Well Deserving of the Debut Prize

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Lots of black & white moralising about Indian corruption which is all bad and cannot be forgiven, but then main character happy to subvert course of justice because the people concerned were good.

Smug moralising

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Well plotted detective story with a kind of Agatha Christie whodunit at its heart. very absorbing.

whodunnit in London and Kolkota

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Well paced plot and excellent narration, lovely voice! Enjoyed the reasoning behind various bits of questionable decision-making on the part of some of the characters, more about human flaws than good and evil, much more believable.

Very enjoyable

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I got this on a recommendation and so pleased I did. The contrast between the detective and the waiter is so well drawn.

Great plot and well structured

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I'm getting increasingly bored with stories that go back and forth in time, to tell us readers what the "trauma" or original sin was that then caused the present events. The characters of this book could be interesting but unfortunately are very two-dimensional. They change their mind and values very easily and quickly. The thriller plot itself was paper-thin. I quite liked the narrator, even though there were weird, longer than you'd expect pauses sometimes, I guess an editing issue? All in all not awful but there's so much better out there.

Bland

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Listened following a recommendation and delighted. I cared about the characters who felt like real people, the plot was believable but constantly wrong footing, and there’s a real sense of place(s). I know the East End of London reasonably well and felt like I was there. Now I want to visit Kolkata! I really enjoyed the narration too. An immediate favourite.

An absolute cracker

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I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The characters are plausible and many of them evoke sympathy. There were plenty of plot twists and unusually I didn’t work out ‘whodunnit’ until just before the reveal.

Refreshing - well written and surprising

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