Vish Dhamija

Vish Dhamija is a British Indian crime-fiction writer who lives in the UK. Dhamija's first novel, Nothing Lasts Forever, was long-listed for "Vodafone-Crossword Book Award 2011."^[1]

Vish Dhamija
Vish Dhamija
Born	Ajmer, Rajasthan
Occupation	Digital Marketer, Writer
Language	English
Genre	Crime Fiction
Years active	2010 to present
Website
http://vishdhamija.com/

Early life

Dhamija grew up in Ajmer, Rajasthan, where he spent the first twenty years of his life.^[2] He attended St. Anselm's School, a convent school in Ajmer established by the Rt. Rev. Dr. Fortunatus Henry Caumont O.F.M. in 1904. He earned his B. Com from Government College, Ajmer. Dhamija dropped out of law school after his first year, and then attended Jodhpur University for a degree in Management. After a few years of working in the corporate world in India, he left for Manchester Business School in the UK for an MBA in Marketing and Strategy.^[3]

In school, Dhamija was very active in literary and stage activities. He was the lead actor in most of the plays hosted in school. He was also captain of the house.

Writing career

Dhamija's first book, Nothing Lasts Forever, was published in 2010 by Srishti Publishers. and was on the long-list for the Vodafone-Crossword Book Award in 2011. A crime thriller, the book is based in the posh locality of Worli in Mumbai, India.

Bhendi Bazaar, Dhamija's second book, was published in 2014 by Rumour Books, and tells the story of a serial killer and the police officer^[4] who attempts to identify the pattern behind the killer's murders before she becomes the next victim. The setting of the book is Bhendi Bazaar in south Mumbai.^[5] Since it was first published, the book has remained on Amazon India's Top 100 list for 'Crime, Thriller, and Mystery'^[2] and has been noted for its ingenuous plot and rich characters.^[6][7][8]

Dhamija has said in interviews that crime fiction, which is mainly what he reads, is the only genre in which he can imagine himself writing for the time being.^[9] He lists his influences as James Ellroy^[10] and Lawrence Sanders.^[9]

In August 2015, at the release of his first legal fiction (his third novel) Déjà Karma, Glimpse Magazine called him: India’s John Grisham^[11] for stimulating the genre of legal fiction in India which was almost non-existent before his arrival on the scene.^[12] Déjà Karma became a bestseller and was featured on both The Financial Express^[13] and Crossword Bookstores^[14] lists for two consecutive weeks. His next book, Doosra – The Other One was released in Feb 2016, and Business Standard featured it in March, calling it a "…must read."^[15]

Personal life

Dhamija works in Digital Marketing. He and his wife, Nidhi, live in the UK.^[3][16]

References