** A THE SUNDAY TIMES BEST 100 BEST CRIME NOVELS SINCE 1945** ' Smoke and Ashes is Abir Mukherjee's best book yet; a brilliantly conceived murder mystery set amidst political and social turmoil - beautifully crafted' C.J. Sansom India, 1921 . Captain Sam Wyndham is battling a serious addiction to opium that he must keep secret from his superiors in the Calcutta police force. But Wyndham finds himself in a tight spot when he stumbles across a corpse in an opium den. When he then comes across a second body bearing the same injuries, Wyndham is convinced that there's a deranged killer on the loose. However, revealing his presence in the opium den could cost him his career. As Wyndham and Sergeant 'Surrender-not' Banerjee set out to solve the two murders, Wyndham must tread carefully, keeping his personal demons secret, before someone else turns up dead... SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2019 CWA SAPERE HISTORICAL DAGGER SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2019 HWA GOLD CROWN LONGLISTED FOR THE 2019 CWA GOLD DAGGER Praise for the Wyndham and Banerjee series- 'It is the flamboyant evocation of Calcutta that makes this such a mesmerising read' Guardian 'A thought-provoking rollercoaster' Ian Rankin 'Cracking... A journey into the dark underbelly of the British Raj' Daily Express If you enjoyed Smoke and Ashes further books in the Wyndham and Banerjee series are available now- A Rising Man A Necessary Evil Death in the East The Shadows of Men