Book picks similar to
Brutal by Uday Satpathy


thriller
indian-authors
crime
fiction

Patang


Bhaskar Chattopadhyay - 2016
    But the rain can’t stop me. No one can…I’ll go out and play tonight. I will kill only four. No more, no less. Just four.' In the midst of one of the worst monsoons in Mumbai, a man is found brutally murdered, his body posed like a kite on the tallest cell tower in the city. As one corpse after another turns up in the unlikeliest of places, each gruesomely killed and carefully arranged in a grotesque manner, the Mumbai Police realize they have more on their hands than they can deal with. Enter Chandrakant Rathod, a maverick investigator the police turn to in times of need, who plays by his own rules and lives for the thrill of the chase. Pitting his sharp instincts against the machinations of the sadistic, ruthless killer, the detective succeeds in nabbing the psychopath and putting him behind bars. Then, three months later, the killings begin again. A deadly game is afoot – a game that will challenge Rathod to the utmost, for it is a game that he cannot hope to win...

Bhendi Bazaar


Vish Dhamija - 2014
    Three teenage girls planning a flight from the Soviet Union to the West end up being sold in Mumbai's red-light area instead. The murders start a quarter of a century later. The victims are all men. All of them tricks, waiting for trysts with high-class escorts. DCP Rita Ferreira is quick to recognize the serial-killer strain; the media isn't far behind. The news sends shockwaves through the city. The first serial killer in living memory of Mumbai is out on the streets. As Rita grapples to establish the killer's pattern through Bhendi Bazaar, the killer gives her 24 hours to stop the next murder. Can she do that before she becomes the next victim?

Sacred Games


Vikram Chandra - 2006
    It is is a story of friendship and betrayal, of terrible violence, of an astonishing modern city and its dark side.Seven years in the making, Sacred Games is an epic of exceptional richness and power. Vikram Chandra's novel draws the reader deep into the life of Inspector Sartaj Singh—and into the criminal underworld of Ganesh Gaitonde, the most wanted gangster in India. Sartaj, one of the very few Sikhs on the Mumbai police force, is used to being identified by his turban, beard and the sharp cut of his trousers. But "the silky Sikh" is now past forty, his marriage is over and his career prospects are on the slide. When Sartaj gets an anonymous tip-off as to the secret hide-out of the legendary boss of G-Company, he's determined that he'll be the one to collect the prize. Vikram Chandra's keenly anticipated new novel is a magnificent story of friendship and betrayal, of terrible violence, of an astonishing modern city and its dark side. Drawing inspiration from the classics of nineteenth-century fiction, mystery novels, Bollywood movies and Chandra's own life and research on the streets of Mumbai, Sacred Games evokes with devastating realism the way we live now but resonates with the intelligence and emotional depth of the best of literature.

Mumbaistan


Piyush Jha - 2012
    A prostitute, her lover and a policeman play for high stakes in BombDay. Injectionwala exposes chilling medical malpractices and a lovelorn vigilantes twisted game plan. In Coma Man, a man awakens from coma after twenty years, and sets out in search of his wife and himself. Gritty love stories, manipulative cops and hard-boiled slumlords form the backdrop of this unputdownable thriller. Its MUMBAISTAN all the way. Mumbai, a city of dreams for many. But for others, a nightmare. Behind the façade of lustre and glamour churns a seething underbelly of squalor, corruption and crime. Mumbaistan’s three explosive crime novellas unravel the subterranean secrets of maximum city—from the teeming maw of Dharavi and the wanton streets of Kamathipura to the swank high-rises of Bandra. A prostitute, her lover and a policeman play for high stakes in Bomb-Day. Injectionwala exposes chilling medical malpractices and a lovelorn vigilante’s twisted game plan. In Coma Man, a man awakens from coma after twenty years, and sets out in search of his wife— and himself. Macabre love stories, conniving cops and hard-boiled slumlords form the backdrop of a schizophrenic city that is brooding...dying. Welcome to Mumbaistan; a gritty, compelling take on the megalopolis that lives on the edge.

Wanton Regard


Geoffrey Neil - 2014
    Soon, a "chance" meeting with him later that the man knows the most intimate, guarded details about her life. He is the stalker from hell. Hailey tries to escape his terrifying advances, but he won't let anything come between them –not her protective best friend, her guard-gated home or her jealous, gun-toting husband. When she finally discovers his horrific plans for her, she's forced to do the unimaginable.Wanton Regard takes you on a white-knuckle ride with jaw-dropping twists and turns. The story will leave you wondering which of a thousand ways someone is watching you.

Fraudster


R.V. Raman - 2014
    – A DOYEN OF CORPORATE INDIA falls to his death from his south Bombay flat... – A HIGH-SECURITY SERVER ROOM of a multinational accounting firm is hacked and the hackers aren't looking for just company secrets... Illicit finance, high-stakes crime and vicious manipulation come together in this story of corruption, greed and treachery among corporate India's black sheep. Arresting, fast-paced and written by an insider from the corporate world, Fraudster will keep you on your toes till the very end.While comparisons to veteran thriller writer John Grisham are inevitable, Raman's writing is more inspired by the older canon of crime writing - The New Indian Express Raman goes the Christie way in this excellent closed-room mystery that keeps us guessing till the very end even when the clues are out in the open - The Statesman RV Raman picks a crime fiction to make a debut and weaves a tight plot and a clear narrative to keep you engrossed.- The Hindustan Times Fraudster is an amusing work by first-time author, RV Raman, challenging some of the stereotypes in the genre of thrillers. The way the book is pieced together is remarkable, in that it looks nicely webbed. - The New Indian Express If art imitates life, then we all need to be very worried. RV Raman's novel, Fraudster, is an insider's account of the less than salubrious side of the corporate world. - Deccan Chronicle

Killing Ashish Karve : An Inspector Saralkar Mystery


Salil Desai - 2011
    Luckily, an exciting new case turns up right away!The body of Ashish Karve, a local businessman has been found in the back seat of his car. To PSI Motkar, Saralkar's diminutive assistant, it seems to be a straightforward case of suicide. But Saralkar's sharp mind is agog with the dark possibility of murder. As the case unfolds Saralkar finds enough motives for people, be it Ashishs business partner, his wife, his brother, his friend, his brother-in-law or even strangers to want to do away with him! Is the senior inspector becoming too fanciful in his imagination or is he on the right track in assuming that Ashish was killed?Delve into this deliciously thrilling whodunit and walk along with Senior Inspector Saralkar and PSI Motkar as they set out to sift the truth from lies and half truths.

Devil Dealing


Ian Patrick - 2015
    Lead detective Jeremy Ryder is a physically powerful, quiet and meticulous investigator. His partner Navi Pillay is a small and exceptionally strong Tamil martial arts instructor, and she provides the speed and physical power to complement Ryder's incisive sleuthing abilities. Together with their other detective colleagues Ryder and Pillay crack open two interwoven criminal operations. There are two key villains. One is a corrupt murderous senior police officer at the heart of the illegal gambling operation and the other is a sinister and violent gangster dealing in drugs and murder. Each of them presides over lesser criminals and each of them controls separate domains of corruption until their paths cross in a spectacular climax.

Murderous Greed


Arun K. Nair - 2017
    The very same morning, Karthik, an up and coming young businessman is found shot dead in his car in the middle of the road — the only witness to the incident being his employee Drishti who was in the car with him at the time. The responsibility of getting behind the root of both incidents falls on Inspector Satyajit, an intrepid and honest police officer, and his team who get cracking on both cases immediately. But as the investigation proceeds further, the incidents and the stories of those involved get increasingly confused and murkier. What illegal deals was Karthik involved in? Did these deals cause his untimely death? How is all this connected to the housewife who was killed the same morning? What is the part played by the mysterious Gun Club in all these events? Follow Satyajit as he attempts to uncover these dubious questions.

The Crows of Agra (Birbal, #1)


Sharath Komarraju - 2015
    Just into his twentieth year, Akbar readies himself to emerge from behind the veil and stake his claim to the Mughal throne. But the figure of his regent, Bairam Khan, looms large in his path. After an exchange of blows and wits, Bairam Khan is subdued. Akbar forgives him, and forces upon him a pilgrimage to Mecca. On the eve of his departure, Bairam Khan is found murdered in his chamber. With the help of Mahesh Das — a Brahmin who Akbar has befriended — Akbar must find out who killed Bairam Khan. But in the insidious Mughal court — a hotbed of intrigue and suspicion — danger lurks at every step. One false step could cost them their lives.

Line of Control


Mainak Dhar - 2009
    Revolutions have swept aside one Middle Eastern regime after another. A regime allied to Al Qaeda has swept to power in Saudi Arabia, and uses its oil wealth and modern arsenal to further spread Jihad around the world. Yet another military coup brings a fundamentalist regime to power in Pakistan, which initiates an audacious plan to strike the first blow in this new global Jihad. As unprecedented terror attacks stun India, the stage is set for a conflict that brings the Indian subcontinent to the brink of a nuclear...

Take One With You


Oak Anderson - 2014
    Anyone determined to commit suicide is urged to first kill someone who "got away with it" before taking their own life. Why not, they ask, "take one with you?"The idea goes viral and things rapidly spiral out of control. As they develop feelings for each other, their worldwide followers begin to enact a very different version of their idea, perverting its original intent and threatening the thin line between civil society and criminal anarchy. Just as they find the hope of happiness together, Charlie and Sarah must deal with the monster they've created, a global epidemic of murder-suicide that threatens the very core of their humanity.Take One With You is a unique crime thriller/millennial love story that poses the question: If you knew you were going to die tomorrow, would you kill someone tonight? Someone who had done something terrible. Someone who deserved to die. If so, who would it be? If you wouldn't go that far, what about your neighbor? Your friend? Your enemy? Who draws the line? Who decides who lives and who dies? And what if we all began to take justice into our own hands?

That Frequent Visitor


K.Hari Kumar - 2014
    The grieving ghost tells her an incomplete story of its life. A story that will reveal the darker side of a man’s mind. A story that shall unveil a venomous truth of the past. A story so sinister that it could alter the fate of an entire nation’s future. A story of courage and cowardice, of deceit and insanity. The Story of THAT FREQUENT VISITOR.

The Shadow Throne


Aroon Raman - 2012
    The victim is unlike anyone Chandra has ever seen: a white Caucasian male who has all the looks of a throwback to Greek antiquity. Soon after, Hassan calls in to report the case has been taken away from him – in all likelihood by RAW – the Research & Analysis Wing, the uber-agency of Indian intelligence.What began as a murder enquiry soon morphs into a deadly game of hide-and-seek within the shadowy world of Pakistan’s ISI and India’s RAW; and Chandra, his friend history professor Meenakshi Pirzada and Hassan find themselves in a race against time to avert a sub-continental nuclear holocaust. As the action moves to its hair-raising climax among the Hindu Kush Mountains of Afghanistan, Chandra must face up to the fact that Inspector Hassan is not all that he seems …

The Complete Adventures of Feluda, Vol. 1


Satyajit Ray - 2000
    Mitter, AKA Feluda. The plots involve murder, mystery and adventure, most of the times in exotic locations, narrated in a racy, humorous style by the detective's cousin-cum-assistant Topeshranjan Mitter AKA Topshe, and in most cases, accompanied by the funny Lalmohan Ganguly AKA Jatayu, who himself was a famous crime writer. All of this makes for enormously entertaining fare - and it is no wonder that each Feluda book has been a best-seller. All the stories are now available together in this two volume omnibus. For the first time ever, the stories are arranged in chronological order of composition, and one can note Feluda's development from an unknown amateur detective to a famous investigator. This first volume contains some of the best Feluda stories ever written.