Abir Mukherjee gives crime readers two worlds to explore: historical investigations in Raj-era India and contemporary thrillers. His festival year included a new-novel conversation, a pairing with another Scottish crime writer and a chance for the audience to ask the questions. If you enjoy mysteries shaped by their setting, there is plenty to bring you to his chair.
Quick facts
Best known for
The Wyndham and Banerjee series and Hunted
Genre or subject
Historical crime fiction and contemporary thrillers
Mukherjee won the Telegraph Harvill Secker crime-writing competition with the project that became his debut. He now writes both a continuing detective partnership and stand-alone suspense. In the historical novels, Captain Sam Wyndham and Sergeant Banerjee investigate crimes under British rule; their working relationship also puts questions of power, loyalty and responsibility into the story.
His publisher describes an interest in a character attempting to behave honourably inside a corrupt system. That tension gives the mysteries stakes beyond identifying a killer. A reader can follow the investigation and also notice what the investigators can say, what they must keep to themselves and whose interests the authorities protect.
His contemporary thriller Hunted won the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year for 2025. The latest novel was issued by Harvill on 18 June 2026 and sets a murder in a luxury Mumbai skyscraper. Those two strands of his fiction make a question about place, or about moving between periods, a good way into hearing him talk.
Where to start with their books
A Rising Man
Begin the historical series in Calcutta in 1919, where a newly arrived British police captain investigates the murder of a senior official. The warning left with the body makes the case politically dangerous as well as criminal.
A Necessary Evil
The investigators travel to Sambalpore after a Maharaja’s son is killed. The palace, rival claims to power and an unpopular prince give the partnership a fresh setting beyond the city police force.
Smoke and Ashes
This investigation begins with a body discovered in an opium den and a detective whose presence there could end his career. A second death forces him to pursue the connection while protecting a secret of his own.
Festival appearances
For tickets, use the host festival’s official box office. Confirm the date, venue and access details before paying.
At Edinburgh’s Courtyard Theatre on 16 August, he discussed The Pinnacle. The new-book conversation put the skyscraper mystery at the centre of the afternoon.
The audience-led session was a good choice for anyone who had a question waiting in the margin of a book. For a reader who enjoys hearing novelists respond to one another, the shared conversations offered a different attraction from the dedicated new-novel discussion.
Where to see them next
No 2027 appearances announced yet. Check the festival guides for programme dates.
Plan your trip
If you hope to ask a question, write a short version before leaving home. Ask about a choice in the writing, such as setting an investigation in a changing city, and leave the culprit out of it so that a friend who has not finished the novel can still enjoy the answer.
For a crime-festival weekend, leave a break after the conversation. You may want time to talk over the discussion or browse another writer’s work before going straight into the next session. The town guides below cover accommodation and the journeys between your base and the festival.
The 2026 programmes featured Abir Mukherjee at Bloody Scotland, Cheltenham Literature Festival, Edinburgh International Book Festival, Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival; follow those guides for event information and practical visit details.
Which of his books should I try first?
Start with the first historical investigation if you like following a partnership from the beginning. For a contemporary story, choose one of the stand-alone thrillers. The reading suggestions below describe the starting situations without giving away the solutions.
Can I ask him a question at a festival?
Use the festival links on Abir Mukherjee’s profile for the event’s own ticket and audience guidance.
How do I get tickets?
Use the festival links on Abir Mukherjee’s profile for the event’s own ticket and audience guidance.
