I didn't set out to write a thriller. I set out to write about Mumbai — the real one, the one that runs on chai and favours and the kind of trust that takes decades to build. Andrew showed up somewhere around the third draft and refused to leave. Sanjana showed up in the fifth and took over the record-keeping.

The Orange Diary started as Sanjana's idea. She wanted a record. I wanted a story. We compromised: she keeps the diary, I write the book, and Andrew gets the credit for everything. As usual.

Before writing fiction, I spent years in project management — building systems, tracking deliverables, making sure things got done on time. Turns out, writing a novel isn't that different. You have a plan. The plan changes. You adapt. The only difference is that in project management, the characters don't argue with you about their motivations.

The Orange Diary is a series. The Inherited Sin is the first case in what I hope will be many. Andrew has more to find. Sanjana has more to document. And Joomal has more taxis to avoid paying for.

I live and work in India. The cities in these books — Mumbai, Kolkata, Guwahati, Munnar — are places I know and love. Writing about them is my way of making sure they're seen properly. Not as backdrops. As characters.