“Ahmad… spins a cynically smart political thriller…. Beyond the masterfully crafted, high-adrenaline
story, readers will be fascinated by Ranjit’s strong Sikh faith, rarely seen in American fiction.” –
Booklist, starred review
““Told with propulsive narrative drive, The Caretaker weaves a compelling story, beguiling characters,
and two exotic locales–India and Martha's Vineyard–into a suspenseful whole. A wonderful debut.”
―Richard North Patterson, #1 New York Times bestselling author
Dear Reviewer,
Crime fiction is about crime – those who commit it, those who avenge it. But the best crime fiction is
also about our complex realities. Race, culture, and class are woven together against the wealthy and
storied backdrop of Martha’s Vineyard by newcomer A.X. Ahmad – and the result is a refreshingly
original and layered thriller about a haunted Sikh Indian Army captain in THE CARETAKER (Minotaur
Books; On-Sale: May 21, 2013; Price: $24.99).
Ranjit Singh, a former Indian Army Captain trying to escape a shameful past, lives with his family among
the migrant workers of Martha’s Vineyard, and works as a caretaker of the vacation homes of the rich and
powerful. Needing a place to stay, Ranjit moves his family into an empty Senator’s home. Happily, but
illegally ensconced in the house, he tries to forget his brief affair with Anna, the wife of the AfricanAmerican senator, and focus on his family. But one night, their idyll is shattered when mysterious armed
men break into the house, looking for an antique porcelain doll. Forced to flee, Ranjit is pursued and
hunted by unknown forces, and becomes drawn into the Senator’s shadowy world. To save his family and
solve the mystery of the doll, he must join forces with Anna, who has her own dark secrets. As the past
and present collide, Ranjit must finally confront the hidden event that destroyed his Army career and
forced him to leave India.
The first in a trilogy, THE CARETAKER examines what it means to be an immigrant in post 9/11
America. Taking us from the desperate world of migrant workers to the elite African-American
community of Martha’s Vineyard, and a secret high-altitude war between India and Pakistan, THE
CARETAKER is an action-packed, tightly plotted, moving mystery from an original new voice in crime
fiction.
A.X. AHMAD was raised in India, educated at Vassar College and M.I.T., and worked internationally as
an architect before taking up writing full time. His short stories and essays have been published in The
Missouri Review, The Harvard Review, The New England Review, Narrative Magazine and The Good
Men Project. He's been a finalist for Glimmertrain's Short Story Award, and been listed in Best American
Essays. He lives in Washington, D.C.
Please contact me if you would like more info about A.X. Ahmad and THE CARETAKER. Thank you!
All best,
Sarah Melnyk
Publicity Manager
Phone: 646-307-5662
sarah.melnyk@stmartins.com
Contact: Sarah Melnyk
Publicity Manager
Ph: 646-307-5662
sarah.melnyk@stmartins.com
STUNNING PRAISE FOR A.X. Ahmad’s THE CARETAKER:
“This well-written debut (the first in a trilogy) introduces Ranjit Singh, a former captain in the Indian
army…. In Singh, Ahmad has created a character who is both a familiar everyman trying to do right and a
figure who may be foreign to many. The author has done something similar with the island of Martha’s
Vineyard, offering a locale that readers may think they know, but showing us the island’s harsh winter
face. These combinations of the familiar and the unfamiliar provide a read that moves beyond standard
thriller fare. Weaving together Singh’s Sikh faith with very personal moments, taut action sequences, and
events with international significance, Ahmad’s thriller should have broad appeal.” —Library Journal,
starred review
"Ahmad debuts with a fast-paced literary thriller, shifting action from the desolate ice-clad Siachen
glacier separating India and Pakistan to the posh environs of Martha's Vineyard. . . . Top-notch effort in
the first of a promising trilogy." —Kirkus Reviews
"Poignant. . . . A finely textured story of bravery and knavery." —Publishers Weekly
“The Caretaker is a powerhouse tale, a literary thriller that’s sharply observed and deeply felt. A.X.
Ahmad is a remarkable new talent, and his hero, Ranjit Singh, takes his place beside Arkady Renko as a
man trapped between the system and his own moral imperatives. The Caretaker is a surprising, gripping
love story that manages to be both timely and timeless, and will be a novel people read for years to
come.”
―Joseph Finder, New York Times bestselling author of Buried Secrets and Paranoia
“‛The Caretaker’ isn’t just a solid thriller, it’s a wonderful novel about clashing cultures and painful
histories, held together by Ahmad’s crisp writing and his wonderful character of Ranjit Singh. Shades of
Martiz Cruz Smith here, and echoes of Graham Greene. Bravo, Amin Ahmad.”
―T. Jefferson Parker, author of The Jaguar and The Border Lords
“Though Amin Ahmad's The Caretaker is a tightly wound thriller, it is equally concerned with themes of
insiders and outsiders, race, culture and class. From protagonist Ranjit Singh, a Sikh who once held a
position of status in the Indian Army and is now a disgraced, reluctant refuge in the US, to the African
American Senator who came up from poverty to become a powerful and influential leader, to the
Senator's wife… Ahmad portrays a modern American reality where privilege is not predictable and
identity is formed in a crucible of contradictions… Ahmad has crafted a story that is refreshing, sexy and
heart-felt. I very much hope that this is not the last we'll see of Ranjit Singh, an original, complex hero for
an uncertain, complicated time.”
―Lisa Brackmann, New York Times bestselling author of Rock Paper Tiger