Abir Mukherjee in conversation with Mark Billingham at Waterstones TCR

YOU CAN'T SAVE YOUR KIDS. BUT CAN YOU STOP THEM?

It’s a week before the presidential elections when a bomb goes off in an LA shopping mall. In London, armed police storm Heathrow Airport and arrest Sajid Khan. His daughter Aliyah entered the USA with the suicide bomber, and now she’s missing, potentially plotting another attack.

But then a woman called Carrie turns up at Sajid’s door after travelling halfway across the world. She claims Aliyah is with her son Greg, and she knows where they could be.

Back in the US, Agent Shreya Mistry is closing in on the two fugitives. But the more she investigates, the more she realises there is more to this case than meets the eye and suspects a wider conspiracy.

Will these parents be able to find their kids before the FBI does? And will they be able to stop a catastrophe that could bring the country to its knees?

Abir Mukherjee is the bestselling author of the award-winning Wyndham & Banerjee series of crime novels set in 1920s India. His books have been translated into fifteen languages and won various awards including the CWA Dagger for best Historical Novel, the Prix du Polar Européen, and the Wilbur Smith Award for Adventure Writing. He also co-hosts the popular Red Hot Chilli Writers podcast which takes a wry look at the world of books, writing, and the creative arts, tackling everything from bestsellers to pop culture.

Joining us for the evening we have the incredible Mark Billingham. Mark has twice won the Theakston's Old Peculier Award for Crime Novel of the Year, and has also won a Sherlock Award for the Best Detective created by a British writer. Mark has just launched a new series, featuring Detective Declan Miller, with The Last Dance in 2023, and the follow up The Wrong Hands is published in June.