A hugely entertaining first novel for lovers of traditional crime fiction, taking us from Kolkata to Brick Lane. I can't wait to read more about disgraced detective Kamil and his wonderfully drawn companion Anjoli.

Superb... Chowdhury paces the novel like an old hand, juxtaposing chapters set in the East End with flashbacks to Calcutta... [an] outstanding debut

From the mean streets of Kolkata to the kitchens of Brick Lane...this is a rip-roaring mystery that's engrossing from start to finish. In Kamil Rahman, Ajay has created a quixotic and all too human protagonist who is a refreshing and welcome addition to the world of detective fiction. One of my favourite reads of the year.

The Waiter is a heady mix of murder, intrigue and all things Indian. Weaving together a dual narrative with aplomb, Ajay Chowdhury's neatly-drawn detective Kamil Rahman relives his failure to solve the murder of a Bollywood A-lister in Kolkata whilst trying to solve the killing of an Indian industrialist in London. Could the two murders be connected? An accomplished crime debut that offers something a little different.

An authentic and enthralling debut with an original new lead detective.

The Waiter is beautifully written and gloriously transporting. I really loved the glimpse into life as a Kolkata homicide detective and the vibrant and mouth-watering depiction of the Bengali restaurant trade on London's Brick Lane. Ajay Chowdhury is a refreshingly different voice in the crime genre and I can't wait to read more.

In a swiftly-moving energetic narrative that takes you from the decaying grandeur of Kolkata and the bustle of London's Brick Lane to the outward calm of the stately homes near Hampstead Heath, Ajay Chowdhury weaves a remarkable tale about the unlikely turns the life of police officer Kamil Rahman has taken, as he confronts his past, surrounded by the smells of spices and constant lurking danger.

Kamil Rahman is down on his luck. He's lost his job, smashed his dreams and fled Kolkata for London. Ajay Chowdhury deftly weaves a tale of two murders, two countries, two times - past and present - and binds them together into a single web of intrigue, money, corruption and death. He paints a bleak picture but brings it to life with a keen eye for texture, detail and an enticing love of music and good food. No book as ever made me as hungry as this enjoyable, fast-paced thriller.

Excellent

[An] accomplished debut...intricately plotted, gripping... This is a sizzler of a crime novel, full of spice and authentic flavour

Chowdhury's accomplished novel moves easily between different cultures, displaying the versatility of contemporary crime fiction

Entertaining as hell, with trademark Downing twistedness. I loved it.

A slick and chilling thriller, leading readers on a dark, sinuous journey through the halls of Belmont Academy-the type of place where you're never sure who to trust, or who to fear.

Dark, twisty, fun, and so original

Twistier than a corkscrew and utterly original, For Your Own Good hooked me from the first page with its dark humour and no-let-up suspense

Wow! Samantha Downing has done it again. For Your Own Good is utterly compelling, deliciously dark, and with perfect pacing that will have you racing to find out how it ends. I absolutely loved it

A deliciously dark, fast-paced delight of a novel with a maybe-maybe-not villain you'll secretly be rooting for. Highly recommended

A dark and twisty plot you'll race to finish

A brilliant psychological thriller

Downing's spare prose packs a wallop as she deftly ratchets up the suspense with every hairpin turn of this lean, mean, surprising, and utterly propulsive thriller

So dark and twisted, so deliciously evil, it'll not only make you frantically turn those pages to find out who's targeting whom, but the wry sense of humor will have you laughing out loud, too. Another phenomenal wild-ride of a read from one of the crime-writing community's most talent authors. Bet you'll never look at high school the same way again

For Your Own Good is a fresh take on the elite school thriller and the perfect page turner

Witty and macabre with a psycho teacher who is so real to me

Well-orchestrated

Praise for Samantha Downing

We're calling it: My Lovely Wife is the most gripping psychological thriller of 2019... this book will keep you reading late into the night

One of my favourite thrillers of the year - I couldn't stop reading but didn't want it to end. Dark, chilling and compelling

Wow! My Lovely Wife is a stunner - full of twists, well-drawn characters, and riveting suspense

One of the best thrillers I've ever read

So beautifully and elegantly written . . . A great twist - I loved it

A tense and unsettling thriller that's immersive, chilling, and provocative. A book that's best read in one sitting

Ashley Audrain's The Push is not only a propulsively entertaining, read-in-one-sitting novel, it is also a deeply provocative and fearless look at motherhood written in some of the prettiest prose you'll read all year

Written with a courage that borders on audacity, and with uncanny emotional and psychological precision, Ashley Audrain's The Push is a taut, tour-de-force literary thriller that draws you in from the very first pages and plunges you into the most harrowing of journeys: parenthood

A meteoric debut. Ashley Audrain's The Push is a force of nature, an unforgettable arrival that will linger in your heart--shimmer, darken and then haunt you. Every sentence is just so achingly alive. Audrain descends with near pointillistic precision into the gore of motherhood and love. Perhaps if Stephen King had experienced motherhood--the singular exaltation and morbid terror of that state--he might have been able to dream up this book. Wise, monstrous, and tender, The Push operates at a different frequency. It seemed to pulse in my hands. I could not put it down. I could not look away

One to watch ... The Push is told from the point of view of Blythe Connor, whose experience of motherhood is not what she hoped for

Staggering - it is an intoxicating rush of a book that grips you tight from the first few pages and will not let you go

Most anticipated books of 2021 'Pre-order now and thank yourself later'

A thrilling debut

The Push is a vivid and complex spiral of questioning your grasp on reality, of uttering unspeakable thoughts, when the world tells you it's all in your head. Book blurbs often say they'll be devoured in one sitting - it's rare it proves so true

Suspenseful, dark and intriguing . . . It's going to be a big discussion point in 2021

A haunting tale about the expectations and reality of motherhood. Stunning . . . You end up staying up all night to finish The Push

Visceral, compulsive and astonishing. I could not put this down

'Best books to look forward to in 2021'

The chilling novel that caused a bidding frenzy more than lives up to the hype

A terrifying, psychological suspense tale of motherhood and nature versus nurture

This chilling tale barrels along towards a dark, thought-provoking ending

The tense, gripping novel - which, after a nine-way bidding war, has already been optioned for film by the producer of ugly-cry-inducing Marriage Story - will stay with you long after you finish the last page

This psychological family drama will be your next one-sit read . . . you won't want to miss it

A creepy, nuanced story that, with a growing sense of dread, subverts the ideals of motherhood so often presented as inviolable

Buckle up for a riveting read . . . will have you alternately whizzing through the pages to see what happens next, and reading slowly with widened eyes

[An] exploration of love, obsession and the dark truths of motherhood

Reminiscent of We Need to Talk About Kevin, Ashley Audrain has delivered a provocative, compulsive novel about modern motherhood

Compelling . . . A disturbing and complex tale about dysfunctional mother-daughter relationships. It's not always an easy read but it's absolutely one you won't be able to put down

Included in 'Books for 2021'

The mother of all thrillers! Like The Girl on the Train - but better!

Utterly mesmerising. Ashley Audrain's powerful debut novel explores the challenges of motherhood and the terrifying isolation of being trapped within a sinister truth that no-one else believes.

One of the most anticipated novels of this year . . . fast-paced, it has the ability to distract you from anything. Exactly what we need right now

Written with an unflinching eye and a stylistically sharp, tight economy The Push is a single-sitting read, as suspenseful as any thriller, as thoughtful as any literary novel, with an almost physical force behind each of its turns and revelations. By the end, the reader will feel wrung out in the way only the best of books leaves you. Audrain's debut is a stunning, devastating novel and, frankly, one hell of a way to start a year of reading

Included in 'Books to Watch 2021'

Hooks you from the very first page and will have you racing to get to the end

Included in 'Best New Books'

This is a sterling addition to the burgeoning canon of bad seed suspense, from an arrestingly original new voice

This taut and tense hurricane of a debut is best devoured in one sitting

This dazzling debut mixes page-turning suspense with a psychological drama

Once you start in on this story, it becomes difficult to control yourself. A twisted, tight, and exhilarating drama

This psychological thriller about a mother's bond with her daughter will keep you turning pages

This nuanced book challenges the notion of nature versus nurture, and whether a mother's love is enough. It's disturbing, painful and brilliant, holding a mirror up to society

The Push is a thriller that is also a compelling examination of motherhood and of how trauma is passed down through generations

A tense, chilling dip into the dark side of motherhood . . . The Push is uncomfortable and provocative, like a train wreck that demands your gaze

The most tense, thrilling read that will chill and enthral in equal measure

Disturbingly brilliant . . . will render you speechless

A page-turning debut crafted with shrewd expertise - read it before the inevitable screen adaptation

Unflinching, moving and very, very powerful

The clever and powerful psychological thriller everyone has been talking about . . . an unsettling, breathtaking and powerful read about obsession and our deepest fears that will stay with you long after you turn the final page

Audrain has the ability to mesmerise . . . heart-wrenching. A dark, pacy read

A compelling, visceral and bruising portrayal of motherhood that once read cannot ever be forgotten

A chilling and beautifully written novel that will strike dread into the heart of any new parent. The ending gave me goosebumps

A powerful debut about obsession and our deepest fears . . . will have you hooked

Exploring the dysfunctional lives of three generations of women, The Push deals with the way damage is handed down

A thought-provoking novel that delves deep into the emotional crevices of motherhood

Taut and gripping, this is a provocative look at motherhood

The Push is an unsettling and powerful read about obsession and our deepest fears that will stay with you long after you turn the final page

A gripping and vivid thriller . . . It's easy to understand why The Push has caught the attention of Hollywood film producers

Compelling

Remarkably told story which I couldn't put down. Deftly drawn characters...What a book! And the last line is creepy, haunting perfection

The danger that simmers throughout is so unbearably tense! A wonderful incisive look at maternal guilt ... the effect is staggering

Fasten your seatbelt because this book is a face paced, page turning, psychological drama that will have you on the edge of your seat until the very last line

Challenges the idyllic picture of motherhood, and will change what you know about being a mother. It is tenacious and really makes you think about what it's like when women aren't taken seriously

For fans of mum noir, The Push is an unsettling, breathtaking and powerful read about obsession and our deepest fears that will stay with you long after you turn the final page

This dark, psychological thriller offers such twists and turns that we start to doubt what we believe . . . And that sharp-intake-of-breath ending!

I didn't sleep for a week after I finished it, but that's a small price to pay for a great book

An unflinching examination of motherhood. Audrain lets no one in the Connor family off the hook, yet every character managed to elicit my sympathy. Brilliant, insightful, compassionate, and horrifying. I wish I could read it for the first time over and over. One of the best books I've read all year

One of the most talked-about books of the year. This nuanced psychological book will make you question the notion of nature vs nurture. Disturbing, painful and brilliant

This unsettling debut was so riveting it had me devouring pages and then reading slowly with widened eyes

Addictively readable . . . shines a disturbing light into the darkest recesses of motherhood

Compulsively readable

An unsettling, breathtaking and powerful read about obsession and our deepest fears that will stay with you long after you turn the final page.

A raw and visceral exploration of a mother-daughter relationship; a haunting and heartbreaking novel that will leave you thinking about it for days after you finish the last page