The Spy by Ajay Chowdhury (Harvill Secker, £18.99)
The fourth novel in Chowdhury’s series sees the former Kolkata policeman turned Met officer Kamil Rahman recruited by MI5 to foil a terrorist plot that’s being hatched in an east London mosque. His attempts to win the trust of the plotters take him to the heart of the Kashmir conflict, an appalling hell-brew of nationalism, personal greed, brutality and suffering. Meanwhile, Brick Lane restaurateur Anjoli, his old friend and sometime employer, also finds herself in danger when she helps family friends investigate the kidnap of their teenage son, who manages to convey clues to his whereabouts by messages referencing the Harry Potter books (readers may realise this rather sooner than Anjoli does, but there’s plenty of exciting distraction while waiting for her to cop on). The plot races to a splendidly dramatic ending; Chowdhury’s writing is compelling and compassionate, especially on the themes of displacement, and divided loyalties personal and political.
A Beginner’s Guide to Breaking and Entering by Andrew Hunter Murray (Hutchinson Heinemann, £18.99)
Al has found his own solution to the high cost of renting. It’s an unofficial form of house-sitting: breaking, entering and squatting luxury properties while their rich owners are away. Al calls himself an “interloper”, and prides himself on his skill and methodology. However, he is writing his story on a prison computer, so we know, from the off, that things haven’t gone exactly to plan. A series of unexpected developments results in his reluctantly teaming up with three other interlopers, then turning detective when the group become suspects in the murder of one of the house-owners. The hit-and-miss observational comedy could do with a trim, but a propulsive plot, an ingenious narrator and lashings of intrigue make this a genuine and thoroughly enjoyable page-turner.
