The Dead Know Nothing

Atta Galatta Bangalore Literature Festival Book Prize Fiction 2025 Shortlist Godrej Literature Live! Fiction Best First Book 2025 Shortlist Are doors to the past ever really shut? Are some crimes more understandable than others? Disgraced after failing the university exams, Thankachan has returned to his old life. On Fathima Island in the Ashtamudi archipelago, his days are clouded over by the fear of never making anything of himself, but soon, strange events begin to happen on the island. A dead body surfaces one day, then another. Soon, a murder case considered solved years ago is suddenly once again wide open. Is his evasive brother involved in something sinister? Is the fate of a fisherman’s son really sealed at birth? Packed with intrigue, compelling characters draw the reader into their lives and the heart of the dark secrets that have long lay dormant. Once revealed, they threaten to shake the foundations of community life and wreck Thankachan’s hopes for the future. A small island community, a murder mystery and whispers of a new romance— The Dead Know Nothing is ripe with the energy of everyday life and deeply perceptive of its social tensions. A riveting story of deceit, perseverance and the wild realms of possibility, it will engross readers with its simple charm and beguiling turns.