This book, and indeed the series, is illuminated by the personality of Inspector Chopra, a detective whose motto in life is ‘honesty, integrity, decency.’ In spite of every distraction that the underbelly of Mumbai life can throw at him, he adheres to these principles. He is a family man of great tenderness but also immense toughness. If his ‘maudlin silences’ occasionally annoy Poppy, they are understandable in the context of the corruption and greed he faces every day. ‘In our country, honesty is like the scent of blood in shark-infested waters,’ he complains.