The story is set in London during 1905 and represents the first novel by award-winning producer Arvind Ethan David. It merges traditional detective stories with themes of imperial politics. Central to the plot is Balvinder ‘Bunny’ Dev Singh, a Sikh trainee lawyer recently arrived in the city. He becomes involved in a murder inquiry after crossing paths with the gentleman thief AJ Raffles. What starts as a local mystery in a Mayfair residence soon expands into a broader plot that includes Scotland Yard, a young Winston Churchill and Sherlock Holmes. In this narrative, distinctions between state authority and individual endurance grow harder to maintain. As Balvinder confronts suspicions, partnerships and changing allegiances, the tale places him within a Britain shaped equally by its colonial past and its literary traditions. In conversation with DESIblitz, the author discusses the literary sources, background research and political elements that informed the book, scheduled for release on July 14, 2026. The novel stems from David’s longstanding appreciation for Victorian and Edwardian adventure writing, including works by Arthur Conan Doyle, E.W. Hornung, Rudyard Kipling and H.G. Wells. He absorbed these stories in childhood, and they have remained influential throughout his life. Placing the action in 1905 London allowed him to explore questions of identity while working inside that established genre. As someone raised in former colonies, of Indian descent, and with a background as an immigrant and creator of colour, he sought to enter the fictional world on his own terms. London thus functions both as a familiar literary backdrop and as a setting that requires reinterpretation through different perspectives on belonging. Bunny Dev Singh serves as the vehicle for examining prevailing accounts of British history and migration. The character challenges notions that immigration represents a recent development altering an imagined homogeneous past. David notes that Britain maintained open borders until the mid-twentieth century and, as an empire, drew in people along with goods and cultures from its colonies. Historical examples cited include the Hindoostane Coffee House, London’s first Indian restaurant, which opened in 1810, and the election of Dadabhai Naoroji as the first non-white Indian Member of Parliament in 1892. Bunny is therefore presented as part of an established multicultural presence rather than an anomaly. The author further observes that when South Asian or Black figures appear in classic detective fiction, they are frequently reduced to villains or subordinates. Several Sherlock Holmes stories, such as The Sign of the Four, depict such characters, yet the viewpoint reduces them to stereotypes. David aimed to create a fully realised protagonist who functions as the hero, though one with complexities. The narrative deliberately mixes real and invented figures to illustrate how both history and fiction are constructed through repetition. Sherlock Holmes, AJ Raffles and Winston Churchill receive comparable narrative treatment, reflecting their similar status in popular imagination despite differing origins.
