Hachette India

Bombay Ice

Leslie Forbes

Roz Benegal a feisty young BBC researcher goes to India to pick up the threads of her life there (she spent part of her childhood growing up in Kerala). She goes to Bombay to visit her sister Miranda who is married to a prominent Bollywood film director Prosper. Roz arrives to news headlines announcing the deaths of 8 eunuchs in four months and to rumours that her sister's husband may have murdered his first wife Maya a film star past her prime. Not satisfied to leave the investigations of these allegations to the Indian police Roz Benegal begins a dangerous search for the truth. Interwoven with this utterly gripping detective story is a remarkable layering of knowledge gleaned from old books on storms the monsoon poisons and magical transformations the narrator's fascination with chaos theory and her passionate interest in fate.

Leslie Forbes

Born in Canada Leslie Forbes has worked in London as a writer artist and broadcaster for over 20 years. She is the author of four award-winning travel books including the worldwide bestseller A Table in Tuscany (Italy's Barbi-Colombini prize for the best book on the food and culture of Italy) and the presenter of many celebrated BBC radio series several based in Italy. Her first novel the international bestseller Bombay Ice was published in 1998 to huge acclaim as was her second Fish Blood and Bone (nominated for the Orange prize).