A murder mystery of romance, railways, recipes and revolution, in the heart of 1960s India.

Joan D’Silva is the finest fish molu cook in Calcutta. She loves the vibrant city, the bustling coffee houses of Chowringhee Road and the dances at the Grand Hotel. But events take a darker turn when her ten-year-old son Errol stumbles upon the dead body of one of Joan’s former students at a picnic on the banks of the Hooghly river.

Mrs D’Silva’s detective instincts lead her into a dangerous underground world of corruption, violence, sexual exploitation and political unrest, as she tries to unravel the secret of the deadly Shaitan threatening the people of Calcutta.

In this brilliant debut novel, Glen Peters vividly evokes the textures and tastes of his youth in the Anglo-Indian community - a society struggling to find its place in a young and uncertain nation.

Shortlisted for the People's Book Prize in July 2009