A fun engaging novel with an exciting main character.
A solid debut & I hope we see more of in the future.

The flipping back and forth between India and the UK is fun, and the representation of British Asian life is very interesting, but the actual mystery plot leaves something to be desired

This made a pleasant change from the normal crime stories and I did thoroughly enjoy it as it was completely different.

I was given a free copy by netgalley and the publishers but the review is entirely my own.

𝔹𝕠𝕠𝕜 ℝ𝕖𝕧𝕚𝕖𝕨 • 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚆𝚊𝚒𝚝𝚎𝚛

~ ✮ ✮ ✮ ✮
~ @ajaychowdhury.author
~ crime / mystery

“‘𝘙𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰 “𝘐” 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘮.’
𝘕𝘰, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 ‘𝘜’ 𝘪𝘯 𝘧𝘶𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘳”

𝙴𝚡𝚙𝚎𝚌𝚝:
👮‍♀️ 𝚊 𝚍𝚒𝚜𝚐𝚛𝚊𝚌𝚎𝚍 𝚍𝚎𝚝𝚎𝚌𝚝𝚒𝚟𝚎
🔍 𝚌𝚕𝚞𝚎𝚍𝚘-𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚖𝚞𝚛𝚍𝚎𝚛
✏️ 𝚙𝚊𝚜𝚝 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚙𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚎𝚗𝚝 𝚍𝚞𝚊𝚕 𝚝𝚒𝚖𝚎𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚎𝚜
💰 𝚊 𝚋𝚊𝚗𝚔𝚛𝚞𝚙𝚝 𝚋𝚒𝚕𝚕𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚊𝚒𝚛𝚎
📚 𝚊 𝚙𝚊𝚜𝚝 𝚌𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚞𝚙 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚝𝚑𝚢 𝚘𝚏 𝚊 𝚋𝚘𝚘𝚔

This was an incredible first novel from Ajay Chowdhury, and I’m looking forward to picking up the second one too. Disgraced detective Kamil moves from Kolkata to London, to take some time out after his career goes down the chute, and ends up smack bang in the middle of another murder. The family he’s staying with (friends of the victim) ask him to look into it behind the METs back, but everything is not as simple as it looks. While it might have seemed like cluedo (was it the butler with the whiskey bottle in the basement?) to begin with, there were layers building up and it all started with Kamil himself.

I liked the fact this novel tied two separate murders countries apart together through some incredible investigative work. While they weren’t the same murderers, the characters all had interlinking timelines and it was really quite intricate. I didn’t guess the murderer either - actually they were probably the moly one I didn’t suspect which is always a sign of a good piece of crime fiction!

The world building was incredible, with both cities being described atmospherically beautiful. This left me wanting an Indian takeout on more than one occasion when I was reading. It was like I could smell it coming through the pages. The characters were also brilliantly built. The MC came from a background where he was repeatedly betrayed, but held steadfast in wanting the correct people paying for their crimes. By the end of the book he’s learned that justice is about more than putting people behind bars.

It was an incredible piece of crime fiction and I highly recommend!

Bloody loved this book.
This is the sort of representative narrative we need so much more of. A well thought out, beautifully executed narrative that bridges contemporary Kolkota and Brick Lane and incorporates two seperate investigations a continent appart seamlessly.
With characters that jump off the pages, twists and turns that left me gasping and an authenticity that made me desperate for more.

This was an original and entertaining read of a detective that becomes a waiter, but the police man inside never really dies off. It was really a nice read, and I will read some more of Mr Chowdhury in future.

An entertaining crime novel split between Kolkata and London, the first of the Kamil Rahman novels. Kamil is an ex police detective , who left Kolkata when a big case went awry. In present day, he works as a waiter in an Indian restaurant. After serving at an exclusive party, he finds himself pres t at the scene of a murder, one that enboils him in the events of the past; that fateful case that went so wrong in Kolkata alongside his boss' daughter Anjoli, the two track down the clues to uncover the events in London. What they discover changes everything Kamil believed he knew about his past. A superb mystery that promises to be the first in a great new crime series. #thewaiter #ajaychowdhury #netgalley #murder #mystery #murdermystery # crime #crimesseries

Very original idea: refreshing read with a strong sense of place and a quirky and intriguing sense of humour. Great fun!

What a lovely book. Following Kamil through the ups and downs - many downs - of his life. His aim to please his beloved father and follow his footsteps in the local police force, upholding the law with pride and honour. Destiny has other ideas for Kamil though and painfully he peels away layers of the truth he has always believed in, to find that the foundation of his world is based on a mirage, and that those he idolised for their pursuit of justice may be just as tarnished as the criminals he hopes to thwart ....... they are simply more successful. Starting a new life with family in London brings Kamil in to contact with remarkably similar characters to those he left behind - only now he no longer has a police badge; just his wits and the bow tie he wears when he works (slightly illegally) as a waiter in the family restaurant that belongs to his Aunt and Uncle. In London, following the clues after a murder has been committed, he discovers that sometimes the truth is better left undisturbed and that untruths can be good as well as bad.

Thanks to Ajay and NetGalley for allowing me to read The Waiter.
From his former role as a detective in Kolkata, Kamil Rahman is now a waiter in Tandoori Knights, a restaurant in Brick Lane, London.
Multi-millionaire businessman, Rakesh Sharma, is celebrating his 60th birthday and his first wedding anniversary with his second wife, 28 year old Neha.
He makes a grand announcement of selling his assets to support Neha’s charity, which comes as a shock to his son.
Saibal Chaterjee is a long term friend of Rakesh and the proprietor of Tandoori Knights which is catering at the event.

When Neha finds Rakesh dead in the swimming pool, an investigation is launched into his death. Kamil is asked to help the family, using his detective skills which he seems to instantly forget as walks all over a crime scene.
There are suspects galore and many secrets.
Unfortunately I found the characters were stereotyped to the extent of being farcical.

The story begins with Kamil Rahman, who is working as a waiter for Tandoori Knights, a family owned curry house in London’s famous Brick Lane. However this is soon revealed to be a relatively recent occurrence, as months earlier, Kamil was working in Kolkuta as a Sub-Detective, assigned to the very high profile murder of an actor. What has gone wrong for Kamil force him to leave Kolkuta in disgrace, and lead him to London, on the wrong visa, to work as a waiter with no family or fiancée at hand?

Kamil is asked to assist at a large party, where the host ends up dead. Can Kamil solve the case, and can he tread lightly enough to not draw any unwanted attention to himself while doing so? The murder at hand will have grave repercussions for his community and his family friends, but will Kamil be able to figure out what happened and salvage his reputation while doing so?

I thought the characters were well-drawn in this book - it took a while to get into the swing of the story and found the descriptions of the different cultures and their contracts engaging, particularly around the known corruption of certain aspects of the police force in Kolkata - it’s not a place for an honest man, from the sounds of it!

The plot was good and well paced and I like that the author didn’t fall into the trap of having endless twists and turns, the reveal was good and it didn’t seem far fetched like some other thrillers because of this. I enjoyed this story and I’m glad to see there’s a sequel!

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

What a great read! This is a refreshing take on a detective story involving the London Asian community. We meet Kamil, an ex detective from Kolkota, India who is now working as a waiter in a restaurant on Brick Lane, East London. He becomes embroiled in a murder and uses his training and skills to try to help discover what happened. The characters are very well drawn and the story moves at a lively pace. I finished The Waiter in less than 24 hours and immediately started the sequel, The Cook.

This was a good introduction to Chowdhury’s detective novels, although following the action across two continents and with a significant spread of characters required the reader to keep on their toes! The narrative was secure and the plot sufficiently engaging to hold the reader’s interest. Overall, though, it perhaps wouldn’t be in my must read list - a workmanlike novel nonetheless.

A thrilling and pacy detective tale! Really compelling plot and characters, I thoroughly enjoyed it and will be back for more.

It's a very promising start of an interesting series of crime police procedural that touches much more than the usual protagonists in a story.

Told in dual timelines between Kolkata and London, the main character is Kamil, a disgraced police officer that must make a new life for himself in London after refusing to get trapped in a corrupt system.

I found it interesting to read, maybe a bit too many characters than I was expecting and a bit confusing to keep up with who is who and who’s talking, but it all makes sense when clues of the investigation click in place.

The author is definitely one to look up in the future and I know I will read his next book asap.

🆓📖Very grateful to the publisher for my review copy

This book looks like the start of a promising new series. Unfortunately I found it too confusing with so many different characters all introduced at once. I just couldn’t get into it and it struggled to keep my attention

I really enjoyed this and will be following the series. Kamil is a likeable character - fired for sticking to his principles and being incorruptible in the corrupt Kolkata police force, he finds himself working as a waiter in London, and living with his father's old friend. Drawn into investigating the murder of a millionaire businessman with his trusty sidekick, Anjoli, this is a great read. #thewaiter #netgalley

Ajay Chowdhury is a new author to me and Im glad that I found him, The Waiter is a gripping crime thriller set between Kolkata and London, with chapters alternating between each setting, solving murders in both locations. It is told in the first person, with our hero Kamil talking about his time as a Kolkata detective and then what happened when he left the police force and moved to the UK. The characters were well drawn , and I found the book to be a real page turner although I had to slow down at times to check which location I was in and which murder!

The waiter - Ajay Chowdhury

I’m sorry I didn’t get to read this title and so it expired therefore I cannot give an accurate review. Sorry

Disgraced detective Kamil is now working illegally in London as a waiter. He can't help get mixed up in local crimes. An amazing insight into Indian culture. Not just a thriller but an atmospheric read spanning between India and London.