The Edge of Darkness

The Malabar House, Book 6

By: Vaseem Khan

Narrated by: Maya Saroya

India, 1951. After wilfully ignoring orders, Persis Wadia, India's first female police detective, is exiled from Bombay to the wild and mountainous Naga Hills District. As India's first post-Independence election looms, and tensions rise across the country, Persis finds herself banished to the Hotel Victoria, a crumbling colonial-era relic, her career in tatters.

But when a prominent politician is murdered in his locked room at the Victoria, his head missing, she is thrust back into the fray. Is the murderer one of the foreigners staying at the hotel or an insurgent from the surrounding jungle? As the political situation threatens to explode, Persis has only days to stop a killer operating at the very edge of darkness...

The sixth rip-roaring thriller in the award-winning Malabar House series and a perfect entry point for new readers.©2026 Vaseem Khan Ltd

Critic reviews

Historical fiction at its finest

Brilliant! (Ann Cleeves)

Vaseem Khan writes with charm and wit, and an eye for detail that transports the reader entirely. I couldn't love this series more (Chris Whitaker)

Persis is a brilliant creation and this is historical fiction at its finest

Persis Wadia, denizen of India's own Slough House - Malabar House in Bombay - has been further sidelined. She is a brilliant creation... With a satisfying backdrop of little-known aspects of newly-independent India's history and the ever-present tension with the remaining British colonists, this is a richly satisfying book at many levels (Alis Hawkins)

An excellent listen

Great plot and characters and historical setting. Another great title in the Malabar House series

Another great installment

Our favorite inspector puts her sharp Intellect to use solving a locked room murder. While I liked the murder mystery, I was sorry that the relationship with Blackfinch was not really much of a storyline in this book. Also, excellent narration in the audiobook.

Setting and history

The setting in the Naga hills and history of the Naga people was a unique and fascinating setting for this story.

Good story with history and politics

Beautifully written , thoughtful metaphors interesting history and politics of the times ….and a good story.

Book 6

Continues to be a very good historical mystery series. Looking forward to the next Malabar House novel.