Smoke and ashes : a novel
(Book)

India, 1921. Haunted by his memories of World War I, Captain Sam Wyndham is battling a serious addiction to opium which he must keep secret from his superiors in the Calcutta police force. When Sam is summoned to investigate a grisly murder, he is stunned by the sight of the body: he 's seen this before. Last night, in a drug-addled haze, he stumbled across a corpse with the same ritualistic injuries. It seems like there's a deranged killer on the loose. Unfortunately for Sam, the corpse was in an opium den, and revealing his presence there could cost him his career. With the aid of his quick-witted Indian Sergeant, "Surrender-Not" Banerjee, Sam must try to solve the two murders, all while keeping his personal demons secret before someone else turns up dead.