Featuring ‘Heroes’ star Sendhil Ramamurthy on the cover.
Atria Books will publish a new crime fiction series starring a failed religious scholar-turned-detective, EW can announce exclusively.
The first book, Adi TantimedhsHer Nightly Embrace,will be released Nov. 1.
Hes unique and complex as he struggles to survive in a crazy and dangerous world.
I was not sufficiently over my jet lag for this kind of powwow in the bosss office.
To appeal to clients from India and to South Asian clients, in general.
Youre not the only Indian or Pakistani candidate we interviewed.
Why do you think I picked you, a former schoolteacher, over the other ones?
Is this a trick question, boss?
Youre a smart lad.
Well-read, well traveled.
Head filled with books and Literature.
Looks that are catnip to the ladies.
Youve probably read some Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler, havent you?
Yeah, but I never believed real-life detectives were like the books.
Well, Im not planning to work here forever.
Roger smiled at that.
He liked to collect strays with skills.
Brilliant losers with nowhere else to go.
He was relishing this too much.
I hired you because you have no agenda.
My agenda is to pay off my overdraft.
No, thats your goal.
That sets you apart from everyone else here, including me.
And is that good or bad?
Thats for you to decide, old son.
For what, to be your conscience?
For a fresh perspective.
Im not sure I follow.
You might have noticed that everyone here is an outsider.
Ken and Clive were drummed out of the Met for being dodgy coppers.
The rest of you lot are outcasts, misfits.
I would love to be welcomed into the Establishment.
Doesnt matter that my familys been here for generations, practically built Brick Lane back in the day.
And you, Ravi, are also an outsider.
Youre just very good at hiding it.
Im not hiding anything.
Youre an open book.
But you havent really read yourself, have you?
Youre not ordinary, my old son.
Otherwise you would have found a normal job.
I dont hire normal.
So whats not normal about me?
You have the makings of a superb bringer of chaos.
Thats your special talent.
You think thats a good thing for the firm?
I suggest you get used to it.
Then I thought of Eris, the Greek goddess of chaos and discord.
This was not how people tended to think of themselves.
The scary thing was that the idea didnt scare me.
That couldnt be good.
It was good for Roger, though.
Chaos was his business model, his opportunity, his world.
Why are you bringing this up now?
Because youre about to move up a notch, Ravi.
Im making you the primary on a high-profile case were getting today, and I want you on point.
Thanks for the vote of confidence.
Technically, the client is the Tory Party.
Theyre paying us from the party coffers, so dont be afraid to go all out.
Were going to charge them top rate.
Rupert Holcomb is in a spot of bother and needs our help.
Our next prime minister, or so the papers would have had us believe.
The partys latest Great White Hope.
Everyone envied the lucky bastard for pulling her.
By all accounts they were genuinely in love.
Then she died from cancer, diagnosed too late.
That added some pathos to his profile.
He nursed her to the very end, and that won him a load of sympathy from female voters.
All the market research proved it.
So what does he need our help for?
Ill leave him to tell you about it.
Just my job on the line, that was all.
Holcomb came into the office with his party whip, Hugh McLeish, and a couple of minders.
It was McLeish who made the decision to hire us.
We escorted them into the conference room.
Cheryl served tea and sat down to take notes.
As soon as Holcomb sat down, the smooth, media-trained facade slipped.
His body language changed.
His shoulders sagged and he slumped in the chair.
He looked small, haunted, and desperate.
I wondered what Holcombs dilemma was.
Compromising photos to track down?
A missing person he needed to find?
Background check on someone in his life to see if they were who they claimed to be?
My dead girlfriend is having sex with me in my sleep!
Thanks a lot, Roger!
