A A Dhand


A A Dhand is a British crime-writer. His recent books are set in the West Yorkshire city of Bradford, a former industrial city very much a shadow of its former self and rife with social deprivation, crime and complex inter-communal challenges.

Early life and education

Born in April 1979 and raised in Bradford from age two, the son of an immigrant corner shop owner, Dhand was educated at Fulneck School, a boarding and day private school in the market town of Pudsey in West Yorkshire. The School features in his novels. He graduated in 2002 with a Master of Pharmacy from the University of Bradford.

Life and career

Dhand worked as a pharmacist in London before returning to his hometown to start a pharmacy business and write books.
He is now a regular contributor to a number of British Asian and crime writers' forums.

Writing

Dhand's first novel featured a character Ranjit Singh and is set against the Partition of India and Pakistan in 1947; but it has been his more recent novels that have won him critical acclaim. These have featured the Bradford-based police detective Harry Virdee, a progressive British Sikh who struggles with his cultural identity and family loyalties. Race, violence and exploitation are on the agenda in the Virdee novels, and Dhand has not shied away from controversial issues of tension between British Asian communities. Dhand is fairly unique as he sets his protagonists in a British setting.
His novel Streets of Darkness was developed as a TV drama. In August 2023, the BBC announced that the Harry Virdee books would be adapted into a six episode series entitled Virdee, with Staz Nair starring in the title role. The series was released in February 2025, following a Red Carpet event in Bradford, attended by Dhand, Nair, Aysha Kala, Vikash Bhai and Danyal Ismeal.
In April 2024, it was announced that Dhand had moved from Transworld to HarperCollins' imprint HQ, as part of a two-book deal. The books will be about a new character, Idris Kalia, a Leeds pharmacist involved in a turf war. In early 2026, HarperCollins released details of the second book in the series, to be called The Kingpin.