Jack Morgan's LA based world-wide supreme private investigation agency has spread to Mumbai. It's head is Santosh Wagh, brought to Jack Morgan's attention following a co-ordinated terrorist railway bombing 2 years earlier. Santosh is an excellent investigator despite a drink problem, exacerbated by his driving when his wife and children were killed. His current problems begin with a series of seemingly unrelated murders, all women, that follow a pattern.

Santosh has a strong team, Mubeen the medical forensic expert, Hari, the technology geek and Nisha his top crime colleague. They are in the radar of the Jihadi outfits with potential outside threats from the powerful militant Mujahideen who have sympathies with the Taliban in Afghanistan. The Mumbai police are supportive of Santosh and his team as long as they are kept informed. Other figures of authority, particularly the Attorney general, Nalin D'Souza, are more autonomous. Powerful mobsters, Munna and his henchman, Nimboo are even more dangerous, with their widespread control of the Mumbai crime scene and access to potent weapons.

As the killings mount up daily, fresh enquiries link them to the nine avators of the Hindu Goddess, Durga. Santosh is struggling for clues to the killer's identity and to prevent further imminent, predictable killings. When Jack Morgan arrives in Mumbai, for personal reasons, the pace of the narrative steps up. The chase for the culprit requires detailed detective work and a large modicum of luck. Jack's organisation is seemingly being undermined. The finale is the best part of the story as the truth and motives behind the crimes are revealed with a potentially massive disaster pursued in nail-biting fashion

Great book, James Patterson at his best

In the library in the barn

A good read which travelled with me from France into Spain