Monica Ali, author of the Booker-shortlisted Brick Lane, has a growing reputation to uphold, and she does it with style to spare in her stunning follow-up.
In The Kitchen takes the onion of London life, and peels back the layers to reveal the pungent, peppery melting pot at its core. It hinges on a mysterious death in the cellars of an upmarket hotel. As the story progresses and more ingredients are added, it exposes the various characters and quirks of those working in the hotel kitchen, from misfits to culinary artists, exiles to psychos.
With Monica one of the major drawcards at the 2009 Sydney Writers' Festival, In The Kitchen is destined to be one of the must-read novels of the year.