A A Dhand

Last updated

A A Dhand
OccupationAuthor
NationalityBritish
Education Fulneck School,
West Yorkshire
Genre Crime fiction
Notable worksHarry Virdee series

A A Dhand (Amit Dhand) is a British-Asian crime-writer. His recent books are set in the West Yorkshire city of Bradford, [1] a former industrial city very much a shadow of its former self and rife with social deprivation, crime and complex inter-communal challenges. [2] [3]

Contents

Early life and education

Born in April 1979 and raised in Bradford from age two, the son of an immigrant corner shop owner, [4] Dhand was educated at Fulneck School, a boarding and day private school in the market town of Pudsey (near Leeds) in West Yorkshire. The School features in his novels. He graduated in 2002 with a Master of Pharmacy (MPharm) from the University of Bradford. [5]

Life and career

Dhand worked as a pharmacist in London before returning to his hometown to start a pharmacy business and write books. [6]

He is now a regular contributor to a number of British Asian and crime writers' forums. [7]

Writing

Dhand's first novel featured a character Ranjit Singh and is set against the Partition of India and Pakistan in 1947; but it has been his more recent novels that have won him critical acclaim. These have featured the Bradford-based police detective Harry Virdee, a progressive British Sikh who struggles with his cultural identity and family loyalties. Race, violence and exploitation are on the agenda in the Virdee novels, and Dhand has not shied away from controversial issues of tension between British Asian communities. Dhand is fairly unique as he sets his protagonists (who are shaped by Asian culture) in a British setting. [8]

His novel Streets of Darkness was developed as a TV drama. [9] In August 2023, the BBC announced that the Harry Virdee books would be adapted into a six episode series entitled Virdee , with Staz Nair starring in the title role. [10] The series was released in February 2025, following a Red Carpet event in Bradford, attended by Dhand, Nair, Aysha Kala (who plays Virdee's wife, Saima), Vikash Bhai (who plays Virdee’s drug kingpin brother-in-law) and Danyal Ismeal (who plays Virdee's novice colleague). [11]

In April 2024, it was announced that Dhand had moved from Transworld to HarperCollins' imprint HQ, as part of a two-book deal. The books will be about a new character, Idris Kalia, a Leeds pharmacist involved in a turf war. [12]

Bibliography

 HardbackPaperback
TitlePublisherDateISBNPublisherDateISBN (p/b)SeriesNotes
Fields of BloodRanjit SinghWritten in 2012-13. Although a winning entry in a crime-writing competition, [13] there is no indication that this was ever published.
Streets of Darkness Bantam Press 16 June 2016 ISBN   9780593076644 Corgi Books 23 February 2017 ISBN   9780552172783 D.I. Harry Virdee
Girl ZeroBantam Press13 July 2017 ISBN   9780593076668 Corgi Books22 February 2918 ISBN   9780552172790 D.I. Harry Virdee [14]
City of SinnersBantam Press28 June 2018 ISBN   978-0593080498 Corgi Books21 March 2019 ISBN   9780552175555 D.I. Harry Virdee
One Way OutBantam Press27 June 2019 ISBN   9781787631755 Corgi Books19 March 2020 ISBN   9780552176538 D.I. Harry Virdee [15]
Darkness RisingCorgi Books20 February 2020 ISBN   9780552177092 D.I. Harry VirdeeThis is a Quick Reads Initiative book [16]
Blood DivideBantam Press24 June 2021 ISBN   9781787631762) Penguin Books 14 May 2022 ISBN   9780552176545 Jack Baxi [17]
The Chemist HQ Books 22 May 2025 ISBN   9780008645854 HQ Books22 May 2025 ISBN   9780008645847 Idris Kalia [12] It was published in hardback and in paperback on the same day.
TBAHQ BooksTBATBAHQ BooksTBATBAIdris KaliaIt was announced in April 2024 that this would be initially a 2-book deal. [12]

References

  1. "Abir Mukherjee and AA Dhand at the 2017 Bradford Literary Festival, Open Book - BBC Radio 4". BBC. Retrieved 28 August 2017.
  2. "A. A. Dhand – The Asian. This year it hosts the City of Culture and is seeing a renaissance. Writer". theasianwriter.co.uk. Retrieved 28 August 2017.
  3. "Bradford author A A Dhand talks Streets of Darkness". Yorkshire Evening Post. 9 June 2016. Retrieved 27 November 2024.
  4. Hughes, Sarah (29 May 2016). "Northern noir finds a new detective hero in the dark heart of Yorkshire". The Guardian. Retrieved 28 August 2017.
  5. "Bradford graduate's best-selling novels on TV". University of Bradford. 10 February 2025. Retrieved 22 February 2025.
  6. "AA Dhand: Streets of Darkness - New Writing North". New Writing North. Archived from the original on 28 August 2017. Retrieved 28 August 2017.
  7. "Secrets of Crime Writing - Bradford Literature Festival". Bradford Literature Festival. Retrieved 28 August 2017.
  8. "An interview with Bradford crime writer A.A Dhand - The Bradford Review". www.thebradfordreview.co.uk. Archived from the original on 28 August 2017. Retrieved 28 August 2017.
  9. "FilmWave snaps up rights to Bradford thriller | The Bookseller". www.thebookseller.com. Retrieved 28 August 2017.
  10. "'Happy Valley' Creator Sally Wainwright, Jenna Coleman, Nicôle Lecky, Sacha Dhawan Series Set at BBC". variety.com . Retrieved 3 September 2023.
  11. Filipa Justino; Freya Ingram (10 February 2025). "BBC thriller series Virdee, premieres on the red carpet in Bradford". Yorkshire Bylines . Retrieved 25 February 2025.
  12. 1 2 3 Heloise Wood (24 April 2024). "A A Dhand moves from Transworld to HQ with two-book deal". The Bookseller . Retrieved 25 February 2025.
  13. A A Dhand (22 April 2015). "A life of crime: how to land an agent… and get published". The Asian Writer. Retrieved 16 May 2025.
  14. "A. A. Dhand books and biography | Waterstones". www.waterstones.com. Retrieved 28 August 2017.
  15. "Crime author AA Dhand: Life and death on Bradford's 'forgotten' streets | BBC News" . Retrieved 14 March 2019.
  16. "Darkness Rising". The Reading Agency . Retrieved 25 February 2025.
  17. "The Blood Divide | penguin.co.uk" . Retrieved 2 September 2023.