The Great Game - by Arvind Ethan David (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

An outsider in London investigates a series of brutal murders targeting English aristocrats in a timely and provocative historical novel brimming with intrigue, wit, and rage.

London, 1905: Law student and military veteran Balvinder dev Singh has found an extralegal way to fund his studies. As friend and accomplice to the infamous gentleman thief AJ Raffles, he rubs shoulders with the upper crust--and steals their valuables. That is, until their next mark, an imperialist general, is grotesquely murdered in the library of his Mayfair mansion. Bal and Raffles find themselves implicated in a series of killings that soon attracts the attention of Scotland Yard--and the aging Sherlock Holmes himself.

As Bal works to clear his name, he must hide his checkered past from a new acquaintance, the beautiful Irish violinist Maud Adler. Her fiery views lead Bal to question his own place in the world. But when he comes face-to-face with a plot to strike at the very heart of the British government, he must decide how much he's willing to risk for his adopted city.

(c) 2026 by Arvind Ethan David, all rights reserved.

Review Quotes

Praise for The Great Game

"A devilishly clever story that mixes and mingles fictional characters and historical figures with finesse and flair. Thoughtful is rarely a descriptor applied to thrillers, but that is exactly what The Great Game is as it delivers plenty of entertaining plot twists while giving readers something substantial to ponder as well." --John Charles, Booklist

"Absorbing and exciting...historical fiction at its very best." --Kirkus Audiobook Reviews, Earphones Award winner

"Written with panache, imagination, and wit, as well as displaying shrewd insight into the inequities of the Empire during the Edwardian era, this exceptional mash-up of fiction and reality is vividly entertaining and highly recommended." --Marina Maxwell, Historical Novel Society

"Breathtaking! The Great Game is nothing short of transcendent. Yes, it is a brilliant, relentlessly paced classic crime thriller of good versus evil, populated with living, breathing characters (some familiar to us, some not, but all so fully fleshed out that they might be our neighbors). Yet it soars beyond that, offering psychological, cultural, and political insights that touch our souls--often on issues that have been tragically neglected. Told in a unique and captivating literary voice, this is a roller coaster of a tale that, I promise, you'll read in one sitting. Bravo!" --Jeffery Deaver, author of the Colter Shaw novels (the basis for the television series Tracker)

"The Great Game is a thrilling tale about a fascinating new hero (or two), along with a familiar cast of characters--Holmes! Watson! Raffles! Churchill!--(and a surprise or two!) struggling for the fate of the British Empire. Please, Mr. David, tell us that there will be more!" --Leslie S. Klinger, editor, New Annotated Sherlock Holmes

"Dazzling, furious, and impossible to put down, Arvind Ethan David's The Great Game takes the icons of Victorian adventure yarns and drags readers happily through-the-looking-glass. Sherlock Holmes is here. So too a young Winston Churchill, at his most charming and most appalling, but the hero is someone neglected by history: Balvinder Singh, an Indian man fighting for justice in a country that refuses to grant it." --Ian Kelly, author of Casanova and Beau Brummell and creator of the Apple TV series Carême

"David breathes new life into familiar characters with this wry, wickedly arch tale about decolonization, integration, and imperial arrogance, not just interrogating the classic caper but elevating it--stealing it out from under the Empire's nose." --Dave Rudden, Sunday Times bestselling author of Sister Wake

"An audacious book...[The Great Game] has the pace of a thriller, the voice of history, and the charm of a writer who knows his way around a story...Full of intrigue and mystery and a completely unique story. One for fans of Vaseem Khan and Abir Mukherjee." --Imran Mahmood, award-winning author of You Don't Know Me

"Arvind Ethan David's The Great Game has the heart of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and the social conscience of Charles Dickens. A wonderful trip to the origin of crime fiction...infused with real people from early twentieth-century London and also fictional characters of the day. A tantalizing whodunit." --Matt Goldman, New York Times bestselling author of the Nils Shapiro series

"The Great Game is an endlessly charming historical thriller, breathlessly paced and told with a sharp, original voice. The kind of debut novel that makes one excited for what comes next." --Ben H. Winters, New York Times and Edgar Award-winning author of The Last Policeman

"A ripping yarn that is both funny and tense and deals with some important issues with a light and assured touch. Hard to believe it's a debut novel." --Ajay Chowdhury, author of the Sunday Times Crime Book of the Year The Detective

"Fact and fiction, literature and lived history collide and explode in David's bravura mash-up." --M. R. Carey, bestselling author of The Girl With All The Gifts

"A dazzling, daring thriller that brings together historical figures and historical fiction...It's such a clever mix, almost sly in its humour, that it's hard to untangle fact from fiction as he treats icons from the turn of the century not as nostalgic relics but as architects of a violent modern world." --Desi News

"Sharp, witty, and thought-provoking, The Great Game is at once an homage to and a critique of Victorian and Edwardian literature...David leaves readers pondering who, if anyone, is in the right, and what justice truly means in a world fraught with contradiction." --Myra Khan, Brown Girl Bookshelf

"The Great Game expertly meshes E.W. Hornung, Arthur Conan Doyle, Edgar Rice Burroughs, and others to create a startlingly new and deeply relevant story." --David Baddiel, comedian and bestselling author of Jews Don't Count

"David is a trickster happy to use mischief, humor, anger, and a unique perspective to upend expectations and create a new storytelling universe." --Deadly Pleasures Mystery Magazine

"Thoughtful is rarely a descriptor applied to thrillers, but that is exactly what The Great Game is as it delivers plenty of entertaining plot twists while giving readers something substantial to ponder as well." --Booklist