Cheating Death

Inspector Ghote, 'one of the great creations of detective fiction' (Alexander McCall Smith), investigates the curious case of a stolen exam paper in this classic mystery - with a brand-new introduction by bestselling author Vaseem Khan. Bombay University is in the grip of a cheating scandal, centred on one of its most deplorable colleges. A final exam paper has been stolen and sold prior to the test, leading to calls for the principal's immediate resignation. The prime suspect for the theft, the student Bala Chambhar, is in a coma, after taking an overdose of sleeping pills. Inspector Ganesh Ghote of the Bombay CID is sent in to wrap up what appears to be a straightforward case: how did Bala steal the paper from Principal Bembalkar's locked office? But what he finds soon leads him to ask a different question: did Bala try to take his own life – or was he poisoned? Hindered by student protests, and under pressure from his superiors, Ghote investigates with his usual thoroughness, only to find corruption, scandal and chaos wherever he looks . . .