In New York’s high-end restaurant scene one chef will do anything, and cook anything, to come out on top.

Kash owes a lot of money.

His restaurant, specialising in exotic meats and catering to New York’s elite, was doing well. Then business dried up, and now Boris the loan shark wants his investment back.

But Kash has a plan. There’s a rumour of a dinner club, hosted in turns by billionaires. Lots of ego, and lots of money. If Kash can get the gig, it would pay off Boris and then some.

He will need to offer something new, something that five of the richest men on the planet will have never tasted before. Something entirely unprecedented …

But Boris is done waiting. He kidnaps Kash, takes him to a warehouse and cuts off his finger.

And this gives Kash an idea.

***

‘Carnivore by K. Anis Ahmed is written in prose as sharp as the teeth of the billionaire diners that grace the book’s plot. Ahmed serves up an increasingly gruesome array of exotic dishes, in line with the dark turns of his narrative. A wicked take on the underbelly of the immigrant dream.’ – Vaseem Khan

‘The plot of this novel not only sounds alarmingly feasible but it caters (pardon the pun) to a growing appetite to well, eat the rich. There’s definitely something in the air. Maybe it’s nostalgia for abundance and something that tastes like food and not mush. Or maybe it’s starving authors’ gnarly solution to the human problem of misogyny, tyranny…and billionaires. “Carnivore” is at once a thriller, diasporic drama and satire of the gourmet world/Billionaire Club. Think “The Bear” fried up with Tarantino’s “True Romance”. It’s rich with foodie detail, where provenance is everything as is the pressure to produce the most exotic taste for those who have tasted everything. Its protagonist is the hapless Kash, an immigrant Bengali, who is running a Manhattan restaurant that caters to brave tastes – only he’s in debt to the tune of millions to some Russians. It’s as much about India, Bangladesh and colonisation as it is to do with the culture of greed Kash is so desperate to join. A vital read that barrels through to its devastating (and very satisfying) conclusion. I certainly will never look at a chipolata– or a billionaire – in the same way again.’ – Nina Badreshwar