Rajesh Kumar

Rajesh Kumar is one of the most prolific Tamil writers ever. He has written more than 1500 short novels and stories, mostly in the crime, thriller and detective genres. To put that number in perspective, most novelists write 20 or 30 books in their entire career. Rajesh Kumar has done that 50 times over.

Most of his stories first appeared in Tamil pocket novels and weekly magazines like Crime Novel, Detective Novel and similar serial publications. They were cheap, fast to read, and you could finish one during a train ride.

His main thing is crime fiction. Murder mysteries, detective stories, thrillers, sometimes science fiction. The stories are usually fast paced. Things happen quickly. There is always a twist somewhere.

His most famous detective characters are Vivek and Bharath, who appear in many of his novels. They are smart, observant, and have a Tamil flavour to them. Not just copies of western detectives.

For more than four decades, Tamil readers have been buying Rajesh Kumar novels. Train station bookstalls used to be full of his pocket novels. Even today his books sell well.

His writing is the kind that gets you hooked from page one. He doesn't waste pages on long descriptions. The dialogue is sharp. The pace is quick. Even people who don't usually read books can finish a Rajesh Kumar novel in one sitting.

Honestly, you can pick almost any Rajesh Kumar novel and have a good time. They are all standalone stories. There is no big series you need to read in order. So just look at the cover, like the title, and start.