Inspector Ghote, ‘one of the great creations of detective fiction’ (Alexander McCall Smith), discovers why blackmail is known as the ‘iciest sin’ when he sets a trap for a blackmailer ­– and falls into it himself, in this classic mystery with a brand-new introduction by bestselling author Vaseem Khan.

Miss Dolly Daruwala may well be the most practised blackmailer Bombay has ever seen, or so Inspector Ghote’s superiors tell him. Dolly has angered – and impoverished – many highly placed officials, and has become an embarrassment to the influential Parsi community. They want an end to her vile practices.

To his deep dismay, Ghote discovers that he has been selected to conduct a highly irregular, and illegal, act of his own: break into the blackmailer’s apartment and catch her in the act. But what the good detective ends up witnessing, from his uncomfortable position under Miss Daruwala’s bed, is a crime of an even great magnitude: murder.

Shaken and confused, Ghote hesitates – and allows the murderer to escape, setting in motion a chain of events that has the power to rob Ghote of everything he holds dear . . .