Asian Booklist

From Onjali Q. Rauf, the bestselling and award-winning author of The Boy at the Back of the Class, and award-winning illustrator Pippa Curnick, comes a moving picture book that helps young children understand and empathise with the refugee crisis, and shows the power that friendship, kindness and generosity can have. There's a new girl in my class. She has eyes as wide and as golden as a tiger's, skin as […]

They say she's a murderer.She thinks she's been framed.If only she could remember what happened in Eden Falls. Convicted of cold-blooded murder at seventeen, Orianna has always maintained her innocence. But there are holes in her memory, a blind spot over that fateful day. Did she really kill Gideon Wyclerc? And what happened to Gideon's teenaged daughter, Grace, who vanished that same day? Forensic psychologist, Annie Ledet, is tasked with […]

On the morning of 12 August 2022, Salman Rushdie was standing onstage at the Chautauqua Institution in upstate New York, preparing to give a lecture on the importance of keeping writers safe from harm, when a man in black – black clothes, black mask – rushed down the aisle towards him, wielding a knife. His first thought: So it’s you. Here you are. What followed was a horrific act of […]

It was supposed to be the trip of a lifetime: the open road, London to Kathmandu, just three young people looking for adventure. No one could have predicted the way it ended, and for fifty years the truth has been buried. But now, Joyce is ready to tell her story. London, 1970. Fresh out of a dead-end job, Joyce answers an ad in the local paper: Kathmandu by van, leave […]

An extraordinary family memoir from acclaimed newsreader and journalist, Mishal Husain, uncovering the story of her grandparents' lives amidst empire, political upheaval and partition. ‘I witnessed the dwindling glow of the British Empire. I saw small men entrusted with great jobs, playing with the destiny of millions’ The lives of Mishal Husain’s grandparents changed forever in 1947, as the new nation states of India and Pakistan were born. For years […]

He knows everything about you. Including how to save you. And how to kill you. Local pharmacist and pillar of the community, Idris Khan, spends his days doling out methadone to the hundreds of addicts in his care. They trust Idris with their secrets, and so he knows more than his mild manner suggests. So when his childhood sweetheart, Rebecca, doesn't turn up for her daily methadone dose, Idris is […]

Three grandfathers killed on the streets of England in three separate incidents by three different men. Each targeted simply for being Muslim - each attack a consequence of the insidious rise in Islamophobia in Britain. From the far-right violence that broke out in the summer of 2024 to the hatred directed at Muslims in public life during the Gaza conflict, anti-Muslim racism is dangerously out-of-control. Fed by a network of […]

In one night, Nayan lost everything. Years later, his world is at risk again. Nayan has fought hard to move on, losing himself in his political work, trying to make a better world. A fresh challenge arrives with newcomer Megha, who threatens not just his career ambitions, but his ideals. Meanwhile the enigmatic Helen Fletcher returns to Chesterfield and Nayan finds himself growing close to her. But Helen carries secrets […]

It's the 1990's, and Jay is an artist tipped for greatness. Shortly after graduating from his London art school, a promising career is already taking shape before him. Despite the brutal end of his intense relationship with Alice, his great love, he's destined to make his mark on the world as one of the most brilliant young creatives of the last century. Everyone is going to remember his name. It's […]

It might not be the stuff of dreams, but Padma and Wallace have spent ten years building a relationship that feels... fine. Until Wallace gives Padma an ultimatum about starting a family she's not sure she even wants. Padma's fifteen-year-old niece Myra is reaching her own crisis point. When she falls in with the wrong crowd and her life ends up in danger, it's the final straw for her parents. […]

Lily and Safa were best friends growing up. Now, Lily is the nation’s favourite breakfast TV presenter and Safa, once a renowned journalist, is reeling from a recent fall from grace. When news breaks about suspicious bruises on Lily’s body, Safa attempts to rekindle their old friendship. But Lily claims the bruises are nothing to worry about. And then one night the police are called to Lily’s home. Lily is […]

Jamila Shah is twenty-nine and exhausted. An immigration solicitor tasked with running the precious family law firm, Jamila is prone to being woken in the middle of the night by frantic phone calls from clients on the cusp of deportation. Working under the shadow of the government's 'hostile environment', she constantly prays and hopes that their 'determinations' will result in her clients being allowed to stay. With no time for […]

Have you ever felt unheard by your doctor? Been frustrated that they haven't understood your symptoms, that they have neglected your concerns? When Dr Rageshri Dhairyawan was admitted to hospital as a patient she didn't receive the pain medication that she told them she needed, despite her being a senior doctor. It was in that moment she understood that something was deeply wrong with our healthcare system. Doctors aren't listening, […]

The Jackfruit Chronicles is a heartfelt memoir that delves into the stunning flavours and captivating history of Bengali food while giving a voice to those individuals who introduced this cuisine to the United Kingdom. Beginning with the arrival of Shahnaz’s grandfather, Habib, in Manchester in the 1950s, this memoir not only focuses on the author's family story but also the broader narrative of the Bangladeshi diaspora, their struggles and their […]

London, 1941. As the city thrums with Blitz bombers, lonely air raid warden Ruby is drawn into the unfamiliar world of the India Forum, where a group of Londoners are working tirelessly to free India from British rule. Ruby has her own secret motives for joining the fight, but when she meets Satyajit, charming, aloof, and potentially dangerous, she finds herself torn between head and heart. Lawyer Kitty is helping […]

What if love is the best magic of all? An enchanting novel about a witch who has a second chance to get her magic – and her life – back on track, from the author of The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches. Sera Swan was once one of the most powerful witches in Britain. Then she resurrected her great-aunt, lost most of her magic, befriended a semi-villainous talking fox, and […]

Small Earthquakes uncovers the fascinating story of Britain's forgotten connections with South America, from the Atacama Desert to Tierra del Fuego, Easter Island to South Georgia. Blending travel writing, history and reportage, award-winning journalist and author Shafik Meghji tells a tale of footballers and pirates, nitrate kings and wool barons, polar explorers and cowboys, missionaries and radical MPs. From a ghost town in one of the world's driest deserts to […]

A dream-ride of a bedtime book, inspired by ancient Indian lullabies. Travel a lush dreamscape world as a father lulls his toddler towards sleep, weaving a quilt of dreams across the roaring seas and through the inky night - and dealing with some big toddler emotions en route. Sumptuously illustrated by Sandhya Prabhat, and infused with the spirit and flora and fauna of India.

Silence protects the victims… And the killer When the dismembered body of a headmaster is found on the derelict site of a former school in Sheffield, DI Diana Walker finds herself chasing shadows. Faced with missing teachers, unreported crimes and silent witnesses, Diana is running out of leads. Her colleagues insist this is just another instance of gang violence, but Diana knows there’s something more. Something everyone’s too scared to […]

Bombay, 1951. A political rally ends in tragedy when India's first female police detective, Persis Wadia, kills a lone gunman as he attempts to assassinate the divisive new defence minister, a man calling for war with India's new post-Independence neighbours. With the Malabar House team tasked to hunt down the assassin's co-conspirators - aided by agents from Britain's MI6 security service - Persis is quickly relegated to the sidelines. But […]

Filled with wit and verve, Vaseem Khan brings his vibrant and dynamic style to one of Ian Fleming's most beloved characters, Q. Charming, drily humorous, and intelligently crafted, Quantum of Menace, the first in the Q mystery books, will appeal to Bond fans, readers of Murder Before Evensong, The Thursday Murder Club and Slow Horses novels, and those who are looking for a new take on clever crime fiction. Q […]

In the Burning Ghats of Calcutta where the dead are laid to rest, a man is found murdered, his throat cut from ear to ear. The body is that of a popular patron of the arts, a man who was, by all accounts, beloved by all: so what was the motive for his murder? Despite being out of favour with the Imperial Police Force, Detective Sam Wyndham is assigned to […]

The ritual of chai offers a moment to stop, to inhale, to feel awakened by the heady concoction of tea leaves and spices, to look out of the window and observe, to sit and let thoughts waft into thin air like the steam from the chai, a moment to breathe and sigh, to feel the heat of the spices absorb into the body, to feel the senses awaken from the […]