Dead Men Tell Tales

Can the dead talk? Perhaps they can, in the hands of a good forensic surgeon. First published in 2010 in Malayalam as ‘Oru Police Surgeonte Ormakkurippukal’, Dr B Umadathan’s bestselling memoir revisits some of his strangest and most interesting cases, like the Chacko murder masterminded by Sukumara Kurup, the sensational Polakkulam case and the baffling Panoor Soman case. It draws upon 40 years of Dr Umadathan’s romance with forensic medicine — in his roles as a teacher, as director of medical education in Kerala and as a medico-legal expert. In its English avatar, courtesy translator Priya K Nair, the book aims at giving readers the feel of a crime thriller.

Often referred to as ‘Master of crime and courtroom drama’ in India, Vish Dhamija is the bestselling author of eight crime fiction books, including ‘Unlawful Justice’, ‘The Mogul’ and ‘The Heist Artist’. His new book, ‘Prisoner’s Dilemma’, falls in the same league. Living pointless lives, two friends plan to rob a van full of cash. Law catches up with them and the two are arrested. However, the cash is nowhere to be found. The officer-in-charge will do whatever it takes to make them confess to their crime, even if that means pitting one against the other. Will the two survive the test of their friendship? The UK-based author promises to keep you on the edge of your seat.

Two wars in the 1960s underlined the urgent need to restructure and revitalise India’s Intelligence system. The officer given charge of this task was RN Kao. For long, he lived and operated from the shadows, building an Intelligence-gathering agency that would ensure the security and integrity of India. This books traces the roots of modern Indian espionage — how it started; of covert operations, courage and quick thinking; and of how wars are won as much off the battlefield as on it. The authors, Anusha Nandakumar and Sandeep Saket, both filmmakers, are creators and writers of an untitled thriller series for Amazon Prime to be directed by Rohit Shetty.