The day after Holi. Former SHO Adhirath Jatav, recently dismissed from

the Delhi Police, happens upon a murder-the body of a young woman, her

insides split open, is found inside a farmhouse on the outskirts of New Delhi.

A chance encounter with the woman's mother clears some mystery-she was

from a neighbouring village, a beautician and a presumed prostitute, with a

string of fake names. Her poverty and social status had made her an outcast-

her death is considered not a tragedy but an inconvenience.

While the police investigate half-heartedly, Adhirath finds himself drawn to

the case. He feels a connection with this woman who, much like him and his

'untouchable' wife, had had to claw her way through life to secure a place for

herself in society. Over time, Adhirath grows protective of the dead woman-

her reputation and her dignity-and determined to find her killer.

Translated from the Hindi original-Hatya-Nobody Lights a Candle is a precise

and nuanced meditation on the persistence of age-old biases and structural

violence in a deeply unequal country. As sensitive, even tender, as it is hardhitting,

this is a gripping read-crime fiction with heart and purpose.