The Cook, by Ajay Chowdhury, is the sequel to The Waiter, the first book in the Kamil Rahman series. It picks up shortly after the first book ends, with Kamil now having been promoted to cook from waiter, and enjoying his new job, although part of him still hankers after his previous police career.

We are quickly thrust into the centre of a new mystery, when Salma, a college friend of Kamil’s love interest Naila is found dead in her flat, shortly after having left the restaurant. She is discovered by Kamil and Naila, who were returning the phone that she left in the restaurant by accident. From there, the story spirals through a number of twists and turns, alongside another mystery that Anjoli is working on, regarding homeless people in their district.

This was a really good mystery, and I really enjoyed reading it. The Waiter was good, but I feel like this sequel is definitely a step up in quality, and the writing feels much more self-assured and confident to me - The Waiter still felt quite rough in parts. This isn’t perfect, there were (in my opinion) some clunky turns of phrase but they didn’t detract from the story, and I feel that as the author continues writing, these will even out. However, the actual story is interesting, the characters have depth and plenty of potential for growth, and I’d be interested to see how they all develop over the next few books.

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Second publication in the series, after "The Waiter"
Like it's predecessor, this book grabbed me early and maintianed my interest all the way through.
You can either read this as a standalone or go back and read The Waiter first.
Either way, you'll not be disappointed.

The Cook by Ajay Chowdhury is the story of Kamil Rahman, who is a cook in a Brick Lane restaurant. Although in Kolkata he used to be a detective. When a woman Kamil knows is murdered and Kamil finds the body. He decides to investigate, ialthough everyone else is convinced that the boyfriend killed her.
Meanwhile his friend and restaurant manger, Anjoli is troubled by the increasing number of deaths among the homeless in their area and so they both investigate the two seemingly separate incidents.
This is the second book in The Waiter series and it is very interesting, entertaining and is also full of delicious foods being cooked in the restaurant.
Highly recommended

𝔹𝕠𝕠𝕜 ℝ𝕖𝕧𝕚𝕖𝕨 • 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝙲𝚘𝚘𝚔

~ ✮ ✮ ✮ ✮ ✮
~ @ajaychowdhury.author
~ crime / mystery

“𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯’𝘵 𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘢 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵.’
‘𝘞𝘩𝘺 𝘯𝘰𝘵? 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘛𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘥𝘰 𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦.”

𝙴𝚡𝚙𝚎𝚌𝚝:
🔎 𝚍𝚘𝚞𝚋𝚕𝚎 𝚖𝚢𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚜
❤️ 𝚕𝚘𝚟𝚎 𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚝𝚜 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚊𝚏𝚏𝚊𝚒𝚛𝚜
🕸️ 𝚊 𝚠𝚎𝚋 𝚘𝚏 𝚕𝚒𝚎𝚜
🖼️ 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚏𝚛𝚊𝚖𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚎𝚕𝚜𝚎

A brilliant second mystery in this debut series from Ajay Chowdhury! This one features a double (if not, triple) mystery with several different scenarios to investigate. First, you’ve got a Muslim student nurse murdered in her apartment, and secondly, homeless individuals dying from no obvious cause. So Kamil and his entourage start to investigate these goings on, behind the police’s back!

I have to say, while the mystery of the storyline was incredibly interesting and a complicated web that truly would have taken a master to solve in real life, Kamil just didn’t grow on me in this second book. The first book I almost sympathised for him, but this one he was really rude to Anjoli, and tended to forget his promises and the fact he had a full time job. However he improved towards the end, maybe the investigative work stresses him out!

However, again I just can’t write the words to convince anyone of this mystery to the depth it was written. It was unique, and complicated, and everything tied up in a neat little bow at the end. Considering how many loose ends there were, it shows the master behind the writing! I highly recommend for a mystery lover!

What a fabulous book. With themes of homelessness, narcisssism, manipulation and more, I thoroughly enjoyed it.
The things I enjoy most about this book is that it challenges the 'sterotypical' narratives that I think we see too often in daily life. Chowdhury brings to life a London that is vibrant, multi cultural and multi faith and he does so with a light touch, beautiful characterisation and light hearted moments to deflect from the underlying darkness. This series is more cosy crime than noir, but it is more than that. It is enticinging in that it allows small glimpses into lifes we might never otherwise see.

Kamil Rahman, the main chartacter, is a bit of a prat at times, but I think his endless quest for love and his ability to say the wrong thing at the wrong time is part of his charm. I view him as a young man adaptng to difficult circumstances in an alien environment and that spotlihgts how hard it is to settle in a new country.
With each book in the series, Kami is developing as a character and his moments of introspection are endearing and thought provoking.
Really enjoyed this one and now onto an ARC of Book 3 The Detective.

The second amateur sleuth mystery featuring protagonist Kamil Rahman, an ex detective from Kolkata and now a cook. When a young Muslim nurse is murdered, Kamil is first to discover her, and soon finds himself tracing the clues to uncover her murderer. Meanwhile, a string of deaths amongst the city's homeless raises concerns with Kamil's boss and friend Anjoli. The police force are slow to take homeless deaths as something more sinister than a result of drink, drugs or the weather. It seems connections may be made between the murders. An entertaining crime detective with great characterisation. A great sequel with the loveable Kamil and Anjoli. Awaiting book three with anticipation. #thecook #ajaychowdhury #netgalley #amateursleuth #crime #cosymystery

I enjoyed set up,and author conveyed different cultural attitudes etc very well .. I liked the faux detective Kamil but his personal angsting and quasi-credible posture as an ex-detective undermined some of the credibility. Domestic violence is not truly explored yet it is well described. Strangely it is almost a cozy! The threat and ugliness constantly brushed away otherwise I guess it would be too dark. But the good points outweigh the bad and its entertaining. I wanted to know who did it!!!

I enjoyed The Waiter so much and was looking forward to read The Cook.

In this second instalment of the series, we get more into the characters mind and life.

Kamil finds himself into the middle of a new crime investigation and is trying his best to help the detectives to solve this crime.

I think the author has an amazing talent to draw attention to details in the most unexpected ways and the characters and story just feels like is running flawlessly.

With a great mix of good and bad vibes, lots of suspense and thrilling moments, this one is no exception a must read story for any thriller lovers. I know I’ll be looking forward to any follow up books by him on this series.


🆓📖Very grateful to the publisher for my review copy through NetGalley

I enjoyed this book. I could not put it down, it was better than The Waiter however I did find it predictable.

Having literally only finished the prequel, The Waiter I couldn’t wait to get started on The Cook. We encounter Kamil again, the ex Kolkota detective who has now been elevated from waiter to cook in Tandoori Knights Brick Lane restaurant. Again he is involved in a murder and uses his skills to help the police find out what happened. I adore these characters and love the mixture of investigations with relationships and also the insight into restaurant life. Can’t wait for the next one - this should be a series that should run and run - and maybe be made into a tv series too.

This was a follow up to my first encounter with Chowdhury’s detective novels and confirmed my first impressions. For me, the novels are carefully crafted with coherent plots and well drawn characters. The detail subject matter, though, was - for me - less immediately engaging than I would like. The treatment of domestic abuse and the experiences of life on the street for homeless persons, for example, was an awkward feature of the book, although this will always be a matter of personal taste. A reasonably workmanlike novel, notwithstanding these reservations

I was really looking forward to this novel, as I love crime fiction and thought that the premise sounded really promising. Unfortunately, for me this one missed the mark, chiefly because I couldn’t really care about the characters much.

Similarly, I felt that the themes of the novel - domestic abuse, violence against those living on the streets and homelessness - deserved a more series approach than the tone of the novel provided. I have nothing against cosy crime but this was neither one thing nor the other.

Not a terrible book by any means but not great either.

With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher Random House UK, Vintage for an arc of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book. A very interesting main character, well plotted and written, this was a very enjoyable read.

This book was only average for me.
I found some of the descriptions quite odd and some of the more serious topics (domestic abuse for example) were glossed over and did not get the attention I would expect.
Overall, not a book for me, unfortunately.

I'm loving this series as these are well written, gripping, and fascinating thrillers that keep me hooked and entertained till the end.
The mix of cultures, the unusual and fascinating characters, the solid mystery made me love this story.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Waiter Kamil has now been promoted to chef at Tandoori Knights in Brick Lane. He has a burgeoning romance with Naila, a student nurse, and thoughts of joining the Metropolitan Police are receeding. Then a young woman he is acquainted with is killed, the obvious suspect is her boyfriend but Kamil's instincts say otherwise. Meanwhile Anjoli is concerned about the sudden rise in deaths amongst the homeless. The two seem totally unrelated.
I really liked Chowdhury's first book and this is just as good, if not better. Without the need for the extensive backstory, Kamil's character is able to shine and the plotting is clever as before. What makes it superior is the authenticity of the world inhabited by the characters, immigrants or first/second generation, various religions and homelands but drawn together as a diaspora in a vibrant but hostile city.

A very enjoyable book even better than The Waiter. This is another outing for ex-Kolkata detective, Kamil and his restaurant boss, Anjoli. With no jumping time-lines, this book flowed much better. A fellow student nurse of Kamil's girlfriend, Naila is murdered. They set out to find the murderer with the help of Anjoli. A couple of homeless men are found dead apparently of natural causes but Anjoli becomes suspicious. Although the plot is a little far-fetched it is well told and I must admit I didn't guess the murderer. I look forward to book 3 - will Kamil be elevated to restaurant manage?
Thie is an honest review of a complementary ARC.

Second book in the Kamil Rahman series, this was as good as the first. From Kamil getting involved in various amusing scrapes as he investigates another murder, to solving the crime, it wasn't an outcome I was expecting. I was quite shocked. Great characters in Kamil and Anjoli especially and I look forward to seeing how their story develops. Kamil is now a cook in the restaurant and the smells the descriptions evoked were wonderful. Will Kamil join the Met police, or what will he get up to next?

Overall, despite its having a decent plot and potentially interesting characters, this book was not really to my taste. I don't think that should put anyone else off reading it - my taste is by no means everyone's.
Kamil Rahman appeared first in "The Waiter", and although I prefer to read books in order, when the publishers via Netgalley kindly offered me Kamil's second outing to review, I decided to read it first. I feel that may have been my mistake.
Reviews of "The Waiter", explicitly mention the vivid interweaving of cultures by alternating between past events in Kolkata and the present in London being so enjoyable. However, unlike the first book, the action here is based solely in London, and I found it very hard to engage with the characters and the communities. Even though I the fault may be with me, (in that the age and background of the players is well outside my demographic), I think the author should have made me engage more, and thus given me more of an interest in things about which I know little. I have the slight impression that the author said all he wanted to about the characters in the first book, (perhaps an indication that they are a little shallow?). Even the themes of homelessness and domestic abuse - which are shocking and ever-present in our society - failed to raise the emotions in the way they should have.
Despite the good story, I felt Kamil's investigation came across as implausible; the concept of a familiar crew getting together to solve a mystery on their own smacked almost of a children's story. All books with "amateur detectives" have these kinds of inherent problem - I heard one experienced author saying: "why would a person in reality accept being questioned by anyone other than the police?". However, again, I think it's the author's job to answer that question, and make me suspend my disbelief.
Despite all this, I am still keen to read "The Waiter", and I hope we might get improved characterisations as the series - and the author - progress.

I read this book straight after the first in the series “The Waiter” and found that all I had enjoyed so much in the book continued into this second book.
The characterisations and the vivid descriptions of a culture and an area of London I am unfamiliar with alongside a murder mystery made this an entertaining read.