Nothing Lasts Forever
When Inspector Michael D’Cunha is called to investigate a fire at a posh Worli Sea Face apartment in Mumbai, where Raaj Kumar has died, he is convinced it is arson, not an accident – either for insurance or an adulterous relationship gone sour. But Raaj’s wife, Serena, is out of the country, and Kim, the other suspect, has more alibis than he can count. A close friend of Raaj dies in mysterious circumstances soon after.
But it’s only when the Bombay Stock Exchange nosedives that the police start digging up old graves. Love, deception, murder, suspense – no secret can stay buried! Because Nothing Lasts Forever.
First published in 2010, this was Dhamija’s debut book, and it remains in print today.
The Heist Artist
Vagh Pratap Singh, aka the Captain, is a conman extraordinaire. From transporting illegal merchandise and stealing cars to breaking safes, he’s done it all. But now, in his fortieth year, he’s ready to retire. So when Udham Kumar, a crooked politician from Uttar Pradesh, commissions the Captain to track down and steal Poppy Flowers, a Vincent van Gogh painting that was smuggled into India after it went missing from a museum in Egypt in 2010, the Captain knows he’s found his last, biggest case. But the painting is now in the possession of a dangerous gangster, and the Captain is being followed by Udham Kumar’s ruthless associates, greedy for both money and power.
As the odds against him begin to stack up, the Captain realises that his last heist might not be as easy as he’d imagined.
Prisoner’s Dilemma
Bipin Desai and Anuj Shastri are two best friends who lead equally pointless lives. But that doesn’t stop them from dreaming big and getting rich fast. Together, they concoct a plan to rob a van full of cash and manage to get away with over one crore rupees in loot. But the van belongs to one of Delhi’s wealthiest families, which means there is pressure on the police to solve the case quickly. The two are arrested within days, but the cash is still nowhere to be found.
The officer-in-charge, Senior Inspector Arfy Khan, has 48 hours to make Bipin and Anuj confess to their crime by convincing one of them to turn on the other. The two friends only have to stay calm and tell their stories straight to the police officer. But there is one major obstacle: SI Khan isn’t allowing Bipin and Anuj, or their lawyers, to see or speak to each other. Will the two survive the test of their friendship? Or will they choose personal freedom in the face of a twisted dilemma?
Nothing Else Matters
Luv Singh is a hired gun, carrying out assassinations for an underworld don. The clients are anonymous, as are the targets. One night on a job, he waits for his target to climb out of the car that’s just arrived at the scene. As he looks through the scope of his rifle, his finger on the trigger, he sees his target accompanied by one of the most gorgeous women Luv has ever seen: Zoya.
Zoya Merchant was Luv Singh’s girlfriend back in college, almost two decades earlier. He fails to take a shot. He’s betrayed Zoya once before; he cannot assassinate her husband. Knowing that the mafia doesn’t condone failure or dissidence, he still pledges to save Zoya’s husband from whoever’s calling the shots. Nothing Else Matters is a riveting tale set alternately in the criminal underworld and in Zoya and Luv’s college lives, about making choices that impact lives forever. It is crime fiction, but it is also a heartbreaking romance about a love that never dies. Come, fall in love with its flawed characters who cannot be forgiven, but will always be loved.
The Secret Diary of a Conman
Fresh out of prison after being double-crossed by his former partners, a cardsharp turned conman extraordinaire finds that Mumbai’s underworld is no place for a failed criminal. Having spent years amassing a fortune and securing a reputation that few can compete with, he has learnt the hard way that playing high stakes is a dangerous game – especially when one’s comrades can be just as crooked as one’s rivals.
He plots an elaborate heist to take revenge: an epic night of gambling amongst the city’s upper echelons, with crores of rupees – and his life – on the line. When the ever-thickening web of lies and deception he has woven begins to threaten those he loves most, he is forced to make an impossible choice. The deck is stacked against him … but this master conman has a final ace up his sleeve.
It was one of the first books to include its own Spotify Playlist as the story progresses.
Haadsaa
Beautiful young Anushka Khan is a privileged South Delhi wife. Her perfect world turns upside down when she awakens in the hospital, beaten and bruised, her body overrun with prescription drugs and alcohol. Her husband, the nawab Akbar Khan, is missing, suspected of murdering their friend Rajiv Pant at their palatial home in the swanky Sainik Farms.
As Anushka makes a slow recovery, trying to piece together her memories of the haadsaa that fatal night, she must contend with ACP Kamala Jha, a diligent young police officer. Jha is focused on uncovering the truth hidden in a web of misleading theories and dirty secrets. Was Anushka having an affair with Rajiv? Was Akbar involved in shady hawala dealings? Was there another man present that evening? What really happened that hot July night in Sainik Farms?
Haadsaa is a maze of deception, leaving you questioning whom to trust.
Vish Dhamija 