Kamil Rahman is working as a waiter in the Brick Lane area of London. He is working in the Indian restaurant owned by friends of his parents. He is living with Saibal and Maya Chattergee and their daughter the outspoken Anjoli.
The Chatterjee's are asked to cater for the birthday of a friend Rakesh Sharma. He has married a much younger woman Neha. His ex wife Pinky and their son Arjun will be at the party. When Rakesh is found dead the police are called.
This brings back memories for Kamil. He was a sub Inspector for the police in Kolkata in India. His father now retired was Commissioner of Police. Kamil is asked to investigate the murder of a man named Asif Khan. He is eventually dismissed from the police. We eventually learn why he flees to England leaving his fiance Maliha.
When Neha is arrested for Rakesh's murder, the Chatterjee's urge Kamil to investigate.
The chapters switch between London and Kolkata. This is the first of what I hope are many more books to feature our waiter detective?
Interesting to learn the relationship between Muslim and Hindu. You learn about a variety of interesting dishes and the sights and smells of east London and Kolkata.
A very impressive debut. Can Kamil find the truth in London and Kolkata and perhaps redeem himself?
Very clever our detective works out from the clues and impresses with his reasoning. .

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. You couldn’t help but relate to the likeable main character as he tries to help solve a murder. Also as there were flashbacks to his time as a police detective in India then the readers get another murder investigation to enjoy.
The descriptions of life in London and Kolkata were vividly portrayed as were the other characters in the book.
I hope this is the start of many books another Kamil Rahman as I’m sure this is a detective we will want to hear more about.

Couldn't get on with this book, didn't get who's voice we where hearing from, so give up. It felt confusing to which character was telling the story.

A fantastic start to a new crime series.
Kamil Rahman is an ex police man from Kolkata now working as a waiter. He left the Indian police force under a cloud .
Whilst being a waiter at a party for a friend of his boss , Kamil soon turns detective when the party host is found dead.
The writing is perceptive and of a high calibre and I like how the story comes together from the threads in India and London.
Kamil is a complex character and I think he has hidden depths , I’m looking forward to the next in the series.
Thanks to NetGalley and Random House UK.

This debut crime novel by Ajay Chowdhury won him the inaugural Harvill Secker-Bloody Scotland crime writing award and it is more than deserved. Combining realistic depictions of twenty-first century crime with culinary insights, this is a novel I will be recommending far and wide. The protagonist is Kamil Rahman, who had pursued a stellar career as a Kolkata police officer until unexpected events force him to leave the country. Finding himself transposed to London’s East End, Kamil now has to make a life as a waiter in eponymous Brick Lane. But when a murder occurs at a party where Kamil is on duty waiting staff, Kamil’s past and his present start to interweave more closely than he could have guessed. Instead of the fresh start he was seeking, Kamil instead finds he has to draw on every ounce of his police training, his intuition and courage to keep himself out of harm….
Well-plotted and showcasing a cast of superbly believable modern-day Londoners, this novel manages to blend a thriller plot with an acute awareness of contemporary societal issues in a fresh and unique style. A superb debut that I shall recommend to all my thriller-reader friends. My thanks go to NetGalley and the publishers for the free ARC I was gifted that allowed me to produce this impartial review.

I wanted to enjoy this book but I found it difficult to get into and the different time lines became more challenging as I progressed. I didn’t complete, maybe I’ll try again another time? Just sometimes the book or author doesn’t work for everyone and that was the case for me here.

This is a good debut novel which I think will be enjoyed by all lovers of crime/murder mysteries.
Ajay has weaved a story around the dual settings of Kolkata and Brick Lane in London where the eponymous Kamil now works alongside Anjoli the daughter of the proprietor of Tandoori Knights. It appears that for Kamil, a disgraced ex-policeman from Kolkata, life as a waiter is a lot simpler but after the ‘accidental’ death of Rakesh the millionaire friend of his boss, he is persuaded by Anjoli to help investigate what she believes is a murder.
As Kamil and Anjoli investigate the death in London, Kamil’s Kolkata back-story is also laid out and it soon becomes clear that the past and present are inextricably linked.
I found Kamil and Anjoli were likable characters and I look forward the next novel in what I am sure will be a long series.

This book is a web of two stories (one set in India, the other in London) that weave together to create an intricate web of corruption, murder and intrigue! I enjoyed it. Initially I found all the names quite confusing but as I got more involved in the story, it didn’t matter. I’d like to listen to this as an audio book because I definitely didn’t do the Indian characters justice! It’s worth a read, I’d recommend it.

For a debut novel, I really enjoyed reading it. Set between London (current) and Kolkata (past) , we are taken on a journey by Kamil Rahman in his life as an ex policeman in India and his job now as a waiter in a curry house in the UK. Initially it isn't always easy reading the way in which the Indian language flows into English as they have their idiosyncracies too like many languages however once you get into the story , it begins to flow. I enjoyed reading about life in Kolcata and Ajay describes it most vibrantly along with the religious tension which may be found throughout the world! I look forward to the next in the series.

Thanks to Netgalley for the copy to review.

Kamil Rahman #1

Ex-detective Kamil Rahman moves from Kolkata to London to start afresh as a waiter in an Indian restaurant. But the day he caters an extravagant party for his boss's rich and powerful friend, the peace of his new simple life is shattered. 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 his 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 winning team - but as the investigation progresses, and their relationship grows, Kamil struggles to keep memories of the case that destroyed his career in Kolkata at bay.

What a promising start to a new series. We move seamlessly between Brick Lane, London and Kolkata. The pace is fast, it's full of twists and the plotline is gripping. The main characters were well drawn and likeable. We learn of Kamil's last case in India that ended his career. There's a double murder to solve and Kamil's backstory is intriguing. The two stories eventually come together with no loose ends left untied.

I would like to thank #NetGalley #RandomHouseUK #Vintage and the author #AjayChowdhury for my ARC of #TheWaiter in exchange for an honest review.

I so wanted to love this book but sadly I could not relate to it at all. My love of India and being British I thought would really fire this but I just ended up so confused not knowing which side of the world this was written for.

A great debut. For me it was an authentic and intriguing murder mystery. I enjoyed the mix of British and Indian cultures and the descriptions of India and Brick Lane. However I found some of the language a bit confusing, and some conversations were left untranslated which was a little frustrating. An unique plot, well written, and a good read. If you like crime fiction that is different and with a twist then this is for you.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for an Arc.

All the time that I was reading The Waiter, I was asking myself WHO Ajay Chowdhury had written the book for. Was it for the British crime fiction fan or the Indian? Would either of those two readerships be entirely satisfied with what he had produced? Was I? I'd have to say "in parts", but I think this attempt to play in both worlds may well have left both British and Indian readers a bit underwhelmed.

The plot was, in parts, very predictable and in others, ethically indefensible.

Nobody familiar with Indian novels or films will be surprised to learn that crimes that are sorted out quickly and cleanly may not be sorted honestly, that people in high places with similarly highly placed friends and connections are not subject to the full extent of the law. You don't need to be a genius to work that out and if you don't know that's the reality of a lot of Indian police procedures, then you probably are very new to the region.

Conversely, the outcome of the novel takes an acceptance of a level of disregard for the law that won't sit well with many western readers. Is one character covering up a crime somehow less corrupt than another just because he doesn't have a lot of money in his pocket and is using his brains instead of his cash? You'll need to work that out for yourself.

The book flips back and forth between a murder committed in a fancy hotel in Kolkata and a murder committed in the garish and gaudy home of a London-based Indian multi-millionaire. At first, it seems the only thing connecting the two murders is the coincidence of the presence of Kolkata's ex-Detective Karim Rahman who investigated the first murder and served up samosas at the second. As readers, we have to get a long way into the book before the (rather predictable) revelation of why Rahman is working as a waiter in Brick Lane finally comes through. Then we're left to unravel the connections between the associates of the two dead men.

There are no clues you can follow to work out whodunnit until very near the end when a receipt is found that narrows down the culprit so don't feel you have to concentrate too hard to look for the clues. Personally, I prefer a book where I can follow the clues and work it out for myself, but throwing in a revelatory receipt is like relying on unexpected DNA or emails or telephone records, all things that far too many crime writers rely on these days.

Neither Kolkata nor the East End of London are particularly well described, which is a shame. I know Kolkata a little but didn't feel its flavour in this book and, talking of flavour, I disagree with reviewers who've suggested you don't read this book on an empty stomach. I really didn't get excited by the food descriptions.

The book is listed on Amazon as Karim Rahman 1 so I assume there are more to follow. This is a good solid start, but I really do wonder where it can go next or who will be lining up to buy it. Despite the liberal sprinkling of phrases in Bengali (none of them translated which I don't mind at all but many readers seem to), I really don't know whether successive books can continue to combine the east and west approach of this one. I will probably read the next one.

Many thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for my copy.

I absolutely loved this book, from the juxtaposition of Kamil the Kolkata detective and Kamil the Brick Lane waiter to the glorious descriptions of the foods, sights and smells of both locations, the wealth of great characters and the smattering of Indian language.
The premise is simple- solve a murder - but the intricacies involved in doing so, spanning 2 continents, corruption, neoptism, a detective who is a waiter and a ton of family secrets leads to a complicated dance through the lies to the truth.
A great debut!

Moving between Kolkata and Brick Lane, this tells the story of detective Kamil, who leaves Kolkata in disgrace after a high profile murder case. Kamil is a human and complex character and I loved this book. I am so looking forward to reading his next adventure. Highly recommended

A terrific debut from Ajay Chowdhury for lovers of crime but not one to read when you are hungry, you can almost taste the spices as you read. The actions moves easily between India, where Kamil, a detective fell foul of a murder investigation, and the UK, where working temporarily as a waiter he cannot help but get drawn into another death. As the narrative switches between the two continents the two investigations come together.
Lovely narrative and charaterisation, no doubt more to follow in what is bound to become a series.

A very accomplished debut novel, that really drew me in to a complex web of deceit and mystery, with some very tempting cookery skills on the side! Brilliant characters, very likeable, fast paced and full of action and conviction, yes, I like this story very much!
Kamel, the waiter, was once in the Kolkata Police force, now disgraced and dismissed over corruption charges in a high profile case, he now works in a restaurant in Brick Lane.
However, Good police officers never retire, they are always curious, and cannot resist tinkering around with fact and fiction to get at the truth.
( Well, my husband does, it drives me crazy!)
When an Indian billionaire is murdered at a party where Kamil is working as a waiter, and he finds out that the victim and his father were university friends, he feels compelled to take an interest in the case, in part to make amends for the failings of his high profile case in Kolkata.
At first, there are many characters to be introduced to, family relationships to understand, and a culture of food and slang terms, that I am not intimately familiar with.
As the book progressed, it became easier, Kamil is a lovely character, so true to his values, such a gentleman! The story is interesting and intense, the descriptions are vivid and colourful, almost playful in some instances!
This story made me very happy. I have already started the second , The Cook, and have high hopes that the intrigues will continue! What I really want is a good cookbook based upon the mouthwatering recipes that were so lovingly described , and secondly, wouldn’t this make a great TV series?!!
A five star read. Many thanks to Netgalley and the publishers Random House UK, for my digital advance copy in exchange for my honest and unbiased review. I will leave reviews to Goodreads and Amazon.

Kamil Rahman, ex-Kolkata police detective is now working now for his father's friend's restaurant near Brick Lane, UK. Just 3 months earlier he was eagerly building his career in Kolkata when everything went pear-shaped. He feels this steep downward trajectory sorely; and mourns the loss of his career, fiancee and everything he knew. Now he tries to recover from his 'disgrace', and is trying to adapt to life in England.

3 months later, the rich, powerful Rakesh Sharma is having a huge party to celebrate his 60th birthday and Kamil is hired as a waiter to serve there. But this party become the scene of a murder and Kamil feels drawn to 'solving ' the mystery himself, wanting to redeem himself after his mystery disgrace in India.

The two cases are revealed alternately and we get to know more and more of Kamil's story, past and present.
I thoroughly enjoyed this - the characters were great, authentic, (and you just want Anjoli as a mate!) Themes of corruption, bribes, visas, permits, politics, dodgy police and familial disillusionment along with self forgiveness, understanding, empathy, ethics and friendship - plus 2 damned good mysteries dwell within these pages.
Absolutely loved it - and I want a TV exec to pick up this series as I'm on on the second one and can't get enough - would translate SO WELL to TV. Come on Channel 4!!

Found it really difficult to get into this book, maybe the style of writing just doesn't fit with my flow of reading? I stepped away from it just in case it was my mood/frame of mind at the time I started it, came back to it after a while and tried again. Had the same problem of not being able to get into a reading flow so found the story hard to follow. Just going to accept that not every book or author works for me, will not publish this review to other media as it just could be me not the book, thanks for the opportunity to have a crack at it.

I enjoyed the mix of cultures and life events of Kamil Rahman and I can’t wait to read more by Ajay Chowdhury. If you like to read crime fiction with a twist then this book is perfect for you.