Inspector Ghote, ‘one of the great creations of detective fiction’ (Alexander McCall Smith), is plunged into the dazzling, chaotic world of Bollywood movies when the world’s most famous screen villain is murdered in this classic mystery – with a brand-new introduction by bestselling author Vaseem Khan.

India’s most famous screen villain, Dhartiraj, lies dead on a Bollywood film set, his neck snapped by a falling stage light. There’s no doubt it’s murder, and Inspector Ghote of the Bombay CID, who’s thrilled to be personally assigned such a high-profile case, quickly discovers that there’s no shortage of suspects.

The fading star who Dhartiraj toppled from his place; the superstar who stole Dhartiraj’s wife, and whose mistress Dhartiraj stole in revenge; and Dhartiraj’s secret-dealing stand-in – Ghote finds he could easily make a case for each of them wanting the great Dhartiraj off the boards and into permanent retirement.

But his investigations are hindered not just by the film studio’s intimidating owner, who is determined that nothing will stand in the way of his latest film’s financial success, but by Ghote himself. For the good detective, caught up in visions of his own glittering success, finds himself desperate to solve the case in record time.