Tamil Nadu – where there are more temples than pharmacies, where the language is older than Sanskrit, where atheists have ruled for half a century provided they were atheists from the right caste. Tamil Nadu, where the young population is ripe for a revolution.At least this is what Nanban thinks, coming from the hub of Mumbai and well-versed in its Machiavellian political ways, he plans to shake things up. His meeting with Veerappan Gounder, who took a bit hit in the last election, seems like his chance to challenge the Tamil status quo. Together they embark on a campaign where no ideal is too high and no action too dastardly to get what Nanban wants – but at what price.V Sanjay Kumar weaves a political thriller as compelling as it is incisive, about the human factor and the vested interests that spark change and about an Indian state which is older than time and just as stubborn.

An old man is suddenly able to curse to death those who annoy him. An English-speaking thief has long conversations with his tied-up victims. A forensic accountant becomes obsessed with bringing down dodgy start-ups. An online troll suspects he is going to be shot dead for his political views.The stories in Ruffled Feathers attend to men and women making their way through a grim world filled with sharp corners. But they do so with deep tenderness and wry amusement, exquisitely balancing absurdity with pathos.

"Kumar evokes [Mumbai] with lyrical prose."—Publishers WeeklyIncluded in Publishers Weekly's Crime Fiction feature on police corruption and brutality."A melancholy cop's obsessions are just the tip of the iceberg as he leads a two-fisted team determined to clean up Mumbai's mean streets...Kumar's style, blunt but often by turns poetic and droll, is arresting...As unusual as it is compelling, this entry lays the groundwork for an entertaining series."—Kirkus Reviews"[A] gripping thriller...Kumar has created some thoroughly intriguing characters...but the most fascinating of Kumar's characters is Mumbai itself—enormous, crowded, hyperactive, roiling, stunningly rich and grindingly poor, and teeming with almost unfathomable energy. International-crime fans should flock to this one."—Booklist"The Third Squad enveloped me in Mumbai, in its strangeness even to people who...