Author of psychological mystery fiction
A closed-circle mystery set across seven snowbound days in a Benedictine enclosure in the Umbrian hills. A priest is found dead at the base of the bell tower. A canon lawyer is sent from Rome to find out what happened before the civil authorities arrive. She has seven days, and six novices.
Author profile
Aftab Arbiyani is a software engineer and technical lead based in India, who spends his days architecting systems and his nights building the kind of puzzles that can't be solved with code.
The Probationers is his debut novel, a murder mystery set inside a snowbound Benedictine monastery in the Umbrian hills, where six novices, one body, and sixty-four years of buried secrets converge. The book draws on his long fascination with closed systems, hidden logic, and the question of what a person will do to stay inside the life they have built for themselves.
He writes for readers who believe a mystery should earn its ending.
Another mystery is slowly finding its way to the page.
Contact: aftabarbiyani@gmail.com
Books
Psychological Murder Mystery / Whodunit
Six postulants. One snowbound abbey. A novice master found dead beneath the bell tower, and a truth hidden inside a lifetime of devotion.
Read a free sampleFull details & synopsis →Featured book
At the Abbazia di San Gerolamo, the Great Silence should protect the life of the community. Instead, it hides a murder. Sister Aude Bellamy arrives to separate accident from intention, obedience from fear, and confession from survival.
More about The Probationers →Reader reviews
Mystery
A gripping mystery with plenty of twists that kept me guessing until the end. The story is well-paced and engaging. Definitely worth reading if you enjoy suspense.
A Mystery Worth Reading
A gripping mystery thriller that kept me hooked till the very last page. The suspense, twists, and unpredictable moments made it impossible to stop reading. Definitely worth reading for thriller lovers.
Blog
A Sister Aude Bellamy Case File · №2 · Rennes, 2011. Fifteen years before the monastery
I’m a software engineer in India. I just published a murder mystery set in an Italian monastery.
On an author copy that could not come home, a badge rejected over a hyphen, a website I built in one weekend, and the photograph I keep not taking.
Newsletter
Q&A
Psychological mystery fiction about faith, exile, secrecy, and the private bargains people make to remain inside the worlds they love.
The Probationers is a closed-circle mystery set across seven snowbound days in a Benedictine enclosure in the Umbrian hills. A priest is found dead at the base of the bell tower, and a canon lawyer is sent from Rome to find out what happened before the civil authorities arrive. She has seven days, and six novices.
Start with The Probationers, a snowbound monastery mystery built around a murder beneath a bell tower.
Yes. The Probationers is available on Amazon as a Kindle ebook and a 361-page paperback, and it ships internationally.
Yes. Another mystery is already finding its way to the page, and this profile will grow into a wider author catalogue as future books are released.
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