“The Inspector Ghote books … are
quite exquisite, gentle novels that should find their place on any list of good
crime fiction” – Alexander McCall Smith
I was delighted to hear from Publisher Kate-Lyall
Grant that the late [Harry] HRF Keating’s acclaimed Inspector Ghote
mysteries were returning from Canongate’s Severn
House Imprint, which is a sister to the rapidly expanding Black
Thorn division.
The last time I chatted with the late Harry Keating was
over a decade ago, at a Crime Writers Association function where Andrew Taylor
was awarded the Diamond Dagger for his contribution to the Crime Fiction Genre.
Of particular delight was capturing [on photograph] fellow Diamond Dagger Authors,
many of whom like Harry have sadly now passed away.
My report, and recollections of that time remain archived at
Jeff Pierce’s RAP SHEET and can be accessed HERE
This [long overdue] re-issue made me smile, as over a flute
of Champagne I told Harry Keating that evening how fond my father had been of
his Indian Detective, Inspector Ghote. When he was homesick as a young psychiatrist
in early 1960’s London, he would read Keating’s books as they reminded him of
India. I never had the temerity to shatter my father’s illusion that at that
time, the author had never set foot in India. I recall Harry Keating beaming at
my anecdote, and my thanks to the author on behalf of my father, for the
pleasure those wonderful books provided him, an escape of sorts from that rain
and cold of London.
Today, tales of Indian Detectives, and exotic mysteries set
there are celebrated with the work of Vaseem Khan and the MWA
Edgar Nominated and CWA Dagger awarded Abir
Mukherjee as well as many other writers with roots to that Asian Subcontinent
that HRF Keating wrote about, with such affection.
Many paid their respects to Harry Keating when he passed
away in 2011, of which fellow scribe Mike Ripley’s farewell [to whom he once
referred Inspector Ghote as “the Maigret of Mumbai”] is memorable.
Ripley’s recollections can be read HERE
from The Guardian while an excellent eulogy and reflection on his friendship with
the creator of Inspector Ghote entitled “When Harry Met Ripley” with
photographs can be accessed HERE.
Keating’s Inspector Ghote mysteries were recognised by the Crime
Writer’s Association, in 1964 in the novel ‘The Perfect Murder’ [the
first appearance of the Indian Detective] and in 1980 with ‘The Murder of
the Maharajah’ both awarded Gold Daggers. The film team at Merchant-Ivory
Production’s filmed ‘The Perfect Murder’ in 1998 to acclaim.
It featured actors Stellan Skarsgård, Naseeruddin Shah, Ratna Pathak, Madhur
Jaffrey, Amjad Khan, Annu Kapoor, Archana Puran Singh, Dalip Tahil, Dinshaw
Daji, Johnny Walker, Mohan Agashe, Salim Ghouse and Directed by Zafar Hai.
Produced by Ismail Merchant. With Music by Richard Robbins
It can be viewed online HERE
More information about the adventures [and
miss-adventures] of Inspector Ghote can be accessed HERE
And now, thanks to Severn House, a new generation can wade
though these vividly realised mysteries, so following my usual digressions; Kate
Lyall-Grant gets to the point –
Dogged, determined Inspector Ghote of the
Bombay Police Crime Branch has been delighting readers since his first outing
in the 1960s, and Severn House is thrilled to announce that – starting February
4 – we’ll be republishing 21 of his adventures in digital, many for the first
time.
The creation of multi-award-winning author
H.R.F. Keating – who in his lifetime held many prestigious roles, including
following in the footsteps of Agatha Christie to become President of the
Detection Club – Inspector Ghote will delight readers of traditional mysteries
that combine both interesting settings and well-drawn characters. Enjoy
Alexander McCall Smith’s No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency books, Abir Mukherjee’s
Sam Wyndham series set in Raj-era India and Vaseem Khan’s Baby Ganesh Detective
Agency novels? We think you’ll love the sometimes shy and uncertain, sometimes
bumbling Inspector Ghote too.
We’re launching the series with two contrasting
reads: a series prequel, A SMALL CASE FOR INSPECTOR GHOTE? – Keating’s last novel
before his death in 2011 – and INSPECTOR GHOTE’S GOOD CRUSADE, an early
instalment from the 1960s. Paired together, the books provide fascinating
insight into the evolution of Keating’s style over his writing career – as well
as both being cracking reads.
In A SMALL CASE FOR INSPECTOR GHOTE?, H.R.F.
Keating returns to the beginning of Ghote’s career, taking readers on a journey
back to Ghote’s first official case as an inspector – which starts with the
horrible discovery of a head in his office rubbish bin.
H.R.F. Keating’s wife, the actor Sheila Keating, says of
the book:
“After seven Harriet Martens books, Harry decided he had no
more to say about his ‘Hard Detective’, but was itching to get back to his
beloved Inspector Ghote. The trouble was that he had put all his India research
into the black bin as an acknowledgement that he was abandoning India. Then it
occurred to him that all he needed to do was to re-read his own books to
recapture all those facts which had been in the research files. This he did
before embarking on a new series which would start with the very beginning of
Ghote’s time as an Inspector.”
A SMALL CASE was the second in the new series, but turned
out to be Harry writing at his very best. Not only a vivid picture of life
working for the prestigious and eclectic Crime Branch, but also Ghote’s home
life with Protima, his characterful wife, and very new baby son, Ved, artfully
woven into a fast-moving story, as well as a picture of that other India – the
slums of Bombay. Sadly, by now in his eighties with heart problems, this was to
be the last book he wrote but a truly splendid rounding off of a spectacular
career.”
In INSPECTOR GHOTE’S GOOD CRUSADE, the
good-hearted inspector investigates the murder of an American millionaire and
philanthropist, but finds himself at the mercy of a selection of unsavoury,
unreliable – and just plain annoying – witnesses, who all seem determined to
lead him astray.
Sheila Keating writes:
“THE PERFECT MURDER, in which Ghote first appeared, was
intended to be a one-off – India being just one more of the off-beat settings
of his earlier crime novels – but when it won the Crime Writer’s Gold Dagger
award and furthermore found an American publisher, which the previous novels
had not, it became obvious that there would have to be a follow-up. Harry was
delighted because he had begun to fall in love with India.
Although he had already done an immense amount of research,
he realized there was a lot more to do. While he continued amassing Indian facts,
he wrote another standalone title, but after that he was ready to plunge back
into India with INSPECTOR GHOTE’S GOOD CRUSADE. On this, his second outing, the
Inspector is established as the endearing, put-upon character who became a
favourite with crime book readers.”
The editorial team at Severn House are excited
to share these gems of detective fiction with you, so you can find out for
yourself why Booklist thought Keating was “an immensely talented author” and
Ghote “wonderfully witty”; why Publishers Weekly described Ghote as “a most
appealing sleuth”; and why the late, great P.D. James thought Ghote was “an
enchanting and engaging character”.
eBook schedule: Mark your diaries, and mark them well in
ink and on screen.
Feb 2020:
A SMALL CASE FOR INSPECTOR GHOTE?
INSPECTOR GHOTE’S GOOD CRUSADE
Mar 2020:
INSPECTOR GHOTE CAUGHT IN MESHES
INSPECTOR GHOTE HUNTS THE PEACOCK
Apr 2020:
INSPECTOR GHOTE PLAYS A JOKER
INSPECTOR GHOTE GOES BY TRAIN
May 2020:
BATS FLY UP FOR INSPECTOR GHOTE
FILMI, FILMI, INSPECTOR GHOTE
Jun 2020:
INSPECTOR GHOTE DRAWS A LINE
GO WEST, INSPECTOR GHOTE
Jul 2020:
THE SHERIFF OF BOMBAY
THE BODY IN THE BILLIARD ROOM
Aug 2020:
DEAD ON TIME
INSPECTOR GHOTE, HIS LIFE AND CRIMES
Sept 2020:
THE ICIEST SIN
CHEATING DEATH
Oct 2020:
DOING WRONG
ASKING QUESTIONS
Nov 2020:
BRIBERY, CORRUPTION ALSO
BREAKING AND ENTERING
Dec 2020:
INSPECTOR GHOTE’S FIRST CASE
Paperback schedule:
Severn House is also publishing selected titles in
high-quality trade paperback editions. Expected to launch in April 2020, with a
publishing schedule of one title per month, the initial four books chosen are A
SMALL CASE FOR INSPECTOR GHOTE?; INSPECTOR GHOTE’S GOOD CRUSADE; FILMI, FILMI,
INSPECTOR GHOTE; and DOING WRONG.
It is great to see Inspector Ghote back.
I’ll leave the last word to his colleague and friend, writer,
bibliophile and literary
It may
seem that Harry was defying the old maxim that you should write about what you
know and he cheerfully admits that “it was all going quite nicely without
having to face the actuality,” but then one morning the actuality came calling.
It was at the breakfast table with the morning post (those were the days!) that
Harry opened a letter from Air India, which basically said: You’ve been writing about India, now come and see it and offered him a ticket,
thankfully [also a] return one, on one of their flights to Bombay, as it was
then. It was an offer Harry, in all conscience, could not afford to refuse.
The Ghote books were known and read in India but still, the prospect of
confronting the “actuality” of a world he had created in the safety of Notting
Hill several thousand miles away, must have been daunting if not
nerve-wracking. Harry spent the entire Air India flight there calming his
nerves and rehearsing an appropriate speech for that dramatic moment when he
landed and stepped for the first time on to Indian soil. It went, as he
recalls, “Something along the lines of ‘One small step for Inspector Ghote …’”
but in reality the speech was never delivered. As the Air India jet landed and
Harry stepped on to the tarmac of Bombay airport, his first historic words
were: “My God, it’s hot!”
Photos © Ali
Karim, Merchant-Ivory Productions & Severn House Publishing
Text ©
Ali Karim, Mike Ripley, Sheila Keating & Kate Lyall-Grant
The legacy of Harry
Keating also lives on as Sheila announces the annual HRF Keating Award
at the Bristol Crimefest Convention, annually.
