Age of Vice: 'The story is unputdownable . . . This is how it's done when it's done exactly right' Stephen King

Deepti Kapoor

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AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER'Ill-fated love and toxic family power struggles provide emotional drive for this big dynastic saga' JAKE ARNOTT, GUARDIAN

'Huge, epic, immersive and absorbing . . . certain to be a book of the year' LEE CHILD, NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR

This is the age of vice, where pleasure and power are everything, and the family ties that bind can also kill

New Delhi, 3 a.m. A speeding Mercedes jumps the kerb, and in the blink of an eye five people are dead. It's a rich man's car, but when the dust settles there is no rich man at all, just a shell-shocked servant who cannot explain the strange series of events that led to this crime. Nor can he foresee the dark drama that is about to unfold.

Deftly shifting through time and perspective in contemporary India, Age of Vice is an epic, action-packed story propelled by the seductive wealth, startling corruption, and bloodthirsty violence of the Wadia family-loved by some, loathed by others, feared by all.

In the shadow of lavish estates, extravagant parties, predatory business deals, and calculated political influence, three lives become dangerously intertwined: Ajay is the watchful servant, born into poverty, who rises through the family's ranks. Sunny is the playboy heir who dreams of outshining his father, whatever the cost. And Neda is the curious journalist caught between morality and desire. Against a sweeping plot fueled by loss, pleasure, greed, yearning, violence, and revenge, will these characters' connections become a path to escape, or a trigger of further destruction?

Equal parts crime thriller and family saga, transporting readers from the dusty villages of Uttar Pradesh to the urban energy of New Delhi, Age of Vice is an intoxicating novel of gangsters and lovers, false friendships, forbidden romance, and the consequences of corruption. It is binge-worthy entertainment at its literary best.

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Praise for Age of Vice: 'The story is unputdownable . . . This is how it's done when it's done exactly right' Stephen King

  • Kapoor's violent and bitter story is deeply addictive; this spellbinder would be easy to devour in one big gulp, but it's worth savoring for Neda's uncompromising take on what she terms India's "losing age, the age of vice." The author possesses a talent great enough to match the massive scope of her subject. - Publishers Weekly (starred review)Kapoor's sprawling yet propulsive blockbuster of a novel is an addictive and socially conscious thriller portraying contemporary India in mesmerizing complexity - Oprah DailyThis book. This epic, crazy, shocking, mind-blowing, brutal, tender, heartbreaking book is one of the best I've readSensationally good - huge, epic, immersive and absorbing ... certain to be a book of the yearAge of Vice is a good old-fashioned gangster story, impossible to put down. It's a novel garlanded with Shakespearean flourishes-star-crossed lovers, secret identities, complicated conspiracies-exploring timeless questions of family, loyalty, and fateThis is a masterpiece. Age of Vice is epic but intimate, its glittering, sharp scenes building into an astonishing geometry. It is an unforgettable story of corruption and excess, of ruthless power and the will to fight backOpening in medias res from this tragedy, Kapoor spins a dizzying ride, painting an India where money is the only religion . . . Weaving the backstories of Ajay, Neda, and Sunny together, Kapoor's frenetic and colourful novel highlights the new global pecking order, one forged by capitalism, in which the rich always win' - Booklist, starred reviewIll-fated love and toxic family power struggles provide emotional drive for this big dynastic saga of organised crime that could be India's answer to The Godfather . . . Not so much a slow burn as a constantly sparking fuse . . . but it deserves literary plaudits as well, for its depth and relevance, and for proving once more that the novel remains the supreme medium of long-form narrative drama for us to binge upon - Guardian

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Deepti Kapoor

Deepti Kapoor

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