How to Kidnap the Rich

Review A fun, fast-paced debut...HBO and the Oscar-nominated actor and producer Riz Ahmed have wisely already bought the screen rights to this Delhi-set, society-skewering debut caper...Raina, 28, was inspired to write How to Kidnap the Rich by the US "Varsity Blues" admissions scandal, but it is his depiction of bustling, hustling Delhi and its grafting populace that makes this tightly written, fast-paced, often sharply savage societal satire such a rollicking read. He conjures up a memorable world that is ghee-greased, polluted, mired in dust and corruption, but also thrusting...An impressively entertaining but also insightful debut ― Sunday TimesThis is an absolute riot - part thriller, part satire of contemporary urban India...Ramesh is a wonderfully vivid character and this is an explosively funny, surprisingly moving debut ― Mail on SundayA joyous love/hate letter to contemporary Delhi . . . Genuine feeling flows beneath the potty-mouthed satire as it gradually spirals into farce. Rahul Raina suggests life may be "a relentless parade of fear", but it is far better to laugh than cry ― The Times (The month's best crime novels)India's politicians, endemic corruption, national obsession with the West and above all its super-rich come in for a bashing in How to Kidnap the Rich...what stands out in this book is its unapologetic depiction of a Delhi that's frankly a bit rubbish...But there's a fondness in this biting negativity, which convinces more than the graceful descriptive passages of other India-set novels. Chuck in twists and double-crossings, just the right amount of violence and a denouement in a besieged TV studio and you can't fail to be entertained ― Novel of the Week, Sunday TelegraphLike Mohsin Hamid's How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia, How to Kidnap the Rich purports to be a how-to manual but is in fact a rollicking urban adventure and a biting satire of inequality. Mr Raina adds a fast-paced crime caper and a stream of caustic humour....a highly entertaining first novel from a writer to watch ― The EconomistA satire, a love story and a thriller, How To Kidnap The Rich by Rahul Raina has shades of The Talented Mr Ripley that also casts an unerring eye over the huge disparity in Indian society. A rollercoaster of a read, this is going to be big ― StylistEnergetic, vivid and funny, Ramesh's narrative voice is magnificent and full of vigour ― Scottish Daily Mail[A] savage cinematic caper . . . In Rahul Raina's satirical state-of-the-nation debut, which slices into the soul of contemporary Indian society, things aren't always the way they appear . . . Social commentary meets stand-up comedy, as with a biting wit reminiscent of Binyavanga Wainaina's essay "How to Write About Africa" or Paul Beatty's Booker-winner The Sellout, Raina stretches stereotype and cliche into incisive satire ― GuardianRahul Raina's How to Kidnap the Rich has already been optioned by HBO: a Delhi-set, reality TV-based literary crime crossover, it will appeal to fans of Parasite and Crazy Rich Asians ― Daily MailFans of My Sister the Serial Killer, Parasite and Crazy Rich Asians will be enthralled by this riotous tale from the very first line . . . A hugely entertaining and unique debut that satirically dissects India's inequalities ― CosmopolitanYou can absolutely imagine How to Kidnap the Rich blazing across the screen. It roars through New and Old Delhi , sending up new money and old money, and taking an acerbic yet affectionately head-tilted, eyebrow-raised look at the corruption, hypocrisy and dynamism of modern India...Ramesh is a bracingly cynical and funny narrator: endlessly snarking about insincerity and greed, with a side helping of self-flagellation for being no better than he ought to be - just a kid from a chai stall, plucked from poverty and educated by a saintly white nun, who's somehow ended up a serial kidnapper. ― ObserverIntelligent, witty and sublime. I'm hooked. Remember the name. You'll be hearing more of it in